Info about Star of Providence:

Official game description:
_Descending in the darkness of a long-abandoned facility, a lone ship searches for wealth, power and the scattered pieces of the past._  
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Star of Providence is a top down action shooter with procedurally generated elements. Explore a progression of floors as you make your way into the depths of the facility, encountering increasingly deadly enemies, fantastic weapons, upgrades, choices and revelations as you venture deeper towards a great and calamitous power.  
Features:  
*   Smooth, gracious, fast action gameplay, tailored to feel good to play.  
*   13 different types of weapons with over 50 unique modifiers and a ludicrous number of combinations.  
*   A number of floors with their own layouts, traps and enemies.  
*   Intricate and energetic chiptune soundtrack to complement the beat of the action.
The game now comes with the previously paid DLC, Relics of the Past, for free!  
*   **New enemies! New hazards! New bosses! Over 2000 new room layouts!**  
*   **Two new floors!** The elusive Temple and the overflowing b0unds o. -$556/-err  
*   **Looping!** Every game loop beaten unlocks a yet harder one.  
*   **Over 40 unique weapons!** Rare, powerful and different spins on the default armaments.  
*   **Cartridges!** Utilize the power of over 40 ancient, bootleg storage devices.  
*   **Blessings!** The council lends their strength. Choose wisely.  
*   **Practice mode!** Test your mettle, practice any boss you've faced.  
*   **New playable characters!** Yes.  
*   **Hacking!** _Finally._
_May Power Eternal grant you everlasting life._

Release date: Jun 7, 2017

Categories: Bullet Hell, Roguelike, Top-Down Shooter, Procedural Generation, Boss Fights, Unlockable Content, Multiple Characters

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 60; verdict: Aggressive Monetization; summary: The reviews highlight concerns about the necessity of purchasing additional DLC to fully enjoy the game, suggesting a 'Day-1 DLC' issue. Additionally, there are mentions of the game feeling overpriced and underwhelming, indicating potential problems with perceived value.
- Wiki: score 10; verdict: Medium Dependency on External Data; summary: The analysis of user feedback reveals a significant dependency on external data sources, particularly wikis, for optimal gameplay. Users frequently mention the need to refer to wikis to understand game mechanics, item effects, and other crucial information. This dependency is highlighted by comments indicating that the game lacks sufficient in-game explanations, leading players to rely on external resources. Additionally, some users appreciate that the game does not require constant wiki referencing, suggesting a divide in player experiences.
- Steam Deck: score 40; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The game is generally well-received on the Steam Deck, with many users praising its suitability for handheld play and its replayability. However, some users reported the need to enable Proton Experimental to fix certain issues, and there were minor complaints about functionality and quality-of-life issues.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Diverse and well-designed enemies (weight 0.86): The game features a wide variety of enemies and bosses, which are well-designed and add to the overall challenge and enjoyment. Players appreciate the unique and interesting enemy designs.
- High replayability and engaging gameplay (weight 0.8): The game offers significant replay value, with players noting its engaging and fun gameplay loop. The design and controls are highlighted as particularly strong points.
- Highly praised roguelike and bullet hell combination (weight 0.62): The game is frequently lauded for its exceptional blend of roguelike and bullet hell (shmup) elements, making it a standout title in these genres. Players appreciate the combination, finding it both fun and challenging.
- Outstanding soundtrack (weight 0.43): The game's music is frequently mentioned as a standout feature, with players describing it as excellent, incredible, and stellar. The soundtrack enhances the overall gaming experience.
- Balanced and enjoyable difficulty (weight 0.23): The game's difficulty is praised for being balanced and enjoyable. Players appreciate that it is challenging yet fair, making it accessible and rewarding.
- Intuitive and responsive controls (weight 0.23): The controls are noted as intuitive, responsive, and smooth. Players appreciate the tight and fluid control scheme, which enhances the gameplay experience.
- Similar to popular roguelike games (weight 0.2): The game is often compared to other popular roguelike titles such as Enter the Gungeon and The Binding of Isaac. Players note similarities in gameplay and content.
- Charming and beautiful art style (weight 0.17): The game's art style is praised as charming and beautiful. Players appreciate the stylized and clear graphics, which enhance the overall visual experience.
- Abundance of unlockable content (weight 0.17): The game offers a ton of stuff to unlock, including different bosses, secret levels, and cosmetics. Players appreciate the abundance of unlockable content.
- Well-designed and well-made (weight 0.14): The game is noted for its great design, both visually and in terms of audio. Players appreciate the well-made and thoughtfully designed experience.
- Positive updates and improvements (weight 0.13): The game has received updates that have improved the overall experience. Players appreciate that each update has made the game better, adding new levels of awesome.
- Overall positive impressions (weight 0.11): Players generally have positive impressions of the game, describing it as pretty good, cool, and neat. The visuals and overall experience are noted as great.

Common complaints:
- Ammo system is poorly implemented (weight 0.38): The limited ammo system is criticized for being restrictive and poorly designed. Players find it problematic when weapons disappear after running out of ammo.
- High difficulty and steep learning curve (weight 0.29): The game is criticized for being too difficult, with a significant difficulty spike in later loops. Players find the overall difficulty not well-balanced.
- Lack of variety in runs (weight 0.27): Players feel that each run feels repetitive and lacks meaningful differences. The variety between runs is perceived as nonexistent, reducing the game's replayability.
- Visual clarity issues (weight 0.24): Players report problems with visual clarity, particularly in bullet hell scenarios. The screen can get too cramped, making it difficult to avoid damage.
- Dash lacks invincibility frames (weight 0.23): Players express frustration that the dash ability does not provide any invincibility frames, making it ineffective for dodging attacks, especially during boss fights.
- Lack of originality and creativity (weight 0.18): Players find the game lacking in originality and creativity. The music and overall experience are described as boring and uninspired.
- Roguelite elements feel underdeveloped (weight 0.13): The roguelite elements in the game are seen as an afterthought and poorly integrated, providing little meaningful content to the gameplay.
- Poorly explained mechanics (weight 0.09): The game suffers from poorly explained mechanics, which can lead to confusion and frustration among players trying to understand the core gameplay elements.
- Frustration with long runs and no progress (weight 0.09): Players express frustration with long runs that end without any material progress, especially when facing tough rooms or bad weapon luck.
- Items disappear after leaving rooms (weight 0.09): Items disappearing from rooms after the player leaves is seen as a poor design choice, adding to the frustration of the gameplay experience.
- No controller support (weight 0.09): The lack of controller support and control mapping options is noted as a significant drawback, limiting the ways players can enjoy the game.
- Lack of meaningful choices (weight 0.09): Players feel that the choices presented in the game lack depth and meaningful impact, making the decision-making process feel hollow.
- Story and world lack depth (weight 0.08): The story and world development are criticized for lacking interesting meaning and depth, making the overall narrative feel shallow.
- No fullscreen or borderless window options (weight 0.08): The absence of fullscreen windowed or borderless modes, as well as the inability to lock the cursor to the game window, is seen as a significant oversight.

Gameplay feedback:
- Bullet hell gameplay (weight 0.7): The game features intense bullet hell mechanics combined with roguelike elements, offering a challenging and fast-paced experience. Players navigate through waves of bullets in a top-down shooter format.
- Roguelike and shooter blend (weight 0.49): The game blends roguelike elements with twin-stick shooter mechanics, creating a unique experience that combines dungeon crawling with shoot 'em up action. It draws comparisons to games like Binding of Isaac and Enter the Gungeon.
- Variety of weapons (weight 0.39): The game offers a wide range of weapons and upgrades, allowing players to experiment with different combinations and strategies. This variety enhances replayability and customization.
- Similar to popular games (weight 0.36): The gameplay is often compared to Binding of Isaac and Enter the Gungeon, with similar mechanics and style. This similarity helps players familiar with those games to quickly adapt.
- Boss fights (weight 0.26): Boss fights are a significant part of the game, offering challenging and engaging combat experiences. Players must learn boss patterns and adapt their strategies to succeed.
- Difficulty and progression (weight 0.24): The game includes adjustable difficulty levels and a progression system that rewards skill-based gameplay. Players can expect a challenging experience that scales with their abilities.
- Randomized rooms (weight 0.24): The game features randomly generated dungeon rooms and stage layouts, ensuring that each playthrough offers a unique experience. This randomization is a core aspect of the roguelike genre.
- Classic shooter elements (weight 0.23): The game incorporates classic shoot 'em up elements, reminiscent of old NES-style shooters. It features a top-down perspective and arcade-style gameplay.
- Skill-based and addictive (weight 0.21): The gameplay is designed to be skill-based and addictive, encouraging players to improve their abilities through repeated playthroughs. The focus is on mastering the game mechanics.
- Unlocks and secrets (weight 0.2): The game includes various unlocks and secrets, encouraging players to explore and discover hidden content. This adds to the replayability and excitement of the game.
- Multiple characters (weight 0.14): The game features multiple playable characters, each with unique abilities and gameplay styles. This variety adds depth and replayability to the game.
- Hard mode and additional content (weight 0.14): The game features a hard mode and additional floors or hidden content, providing extra challenges and extending the gameplay experience for those seeking more difficulty.
- Secret bosses and endings (weight 0.14): Secret bosses and endings are part of the game, offering additional challenges and rewards for players who seek out hidden content.
- Perks and upgrades (weight 0.12): A variety of perks and upgrades are available, allowing players to customize their characters and enhance their abilities. This system adds depth and replayability to the game.
- Dungeon crawling (weight 0.12): The game includes dungeon-crawling elements, where players explore various rooms and face different challenges. This aspect is central to the roguelike experience.
- Precision and memorization (weight 0.09): The game requires precise movement and pattern memorization, adding a layer of skill-based challenge. Players must learn enemy attack patterns to succeed.
- Less item reliant (weight 0.08): The game is less reliant on item choices, focusing more on player skill and strategy. This design choice emphasizes gameplay mechanics over item collection.
- Gameplay modifiers (weight 0.08): Gameplay modifiers and run modifiers are available, allowing players to customize their experience and add additional challenges or variations to their runs.
- Trials and simple controls (weight 0.08): The game includes trials and features simple controls, making it accessible to a wide range of players while still offering challenging content.
- Bestiary and lore (weight 0.08): The game includes a bestiary with fun comments and lore, adding depth and context to the enemies and world. This feature enhances the overall immersion and enjoyment of the game.

Performance notes:
- Mixed Steam Deck compatibility (weight 0.19): Players report varying experiences with the game on Steam Deck. Some encounter compatibility and performance issues, while others find it works perfectly.
- Performance and lag issues (weight 0.13): Several players have experienced lag and general performance issues, affecting the gameplay experience.
- FPS and V-Sync limitations (weight 0.09): The game has limitations on playing above 60FPS. Some players have had to turn off V-Sync to reduce input latency.
- Random crashes (weight 0.09): The game has been reported to crash randomly, including during the credits, impacting the overall stability.
- Steam cloud sync errors (weight 0.05): Players have encountered frequent Steam cloud sync errors, which can be disruptive.
- Boss performance issues (weight 0.05): Specific performance issues have been noted with the Arbitror boss on PC, causing slowdowns.
- Positive Switch version feedback (weight 0.05): The Switch version of the game has received positive feedback for its performance.
- Screen border issues (weight 0.04): Some players have reported issues with borders on the sides of the screen, affecting the visual experience.
- Achievement fix on Linux (weight 0.04): A specific fix for achievements on Linux involves switching on proton experimental, which has been noted by players.
- Game size optimization (weight 0.04): There have been comments regarding the need for game size optimization.

Recommendations:
- Recommended for shmup and roguelite fans (weight 0.58): The game is highly recommended for fans of bullet hells, twin-stick shooters, and roguelites. It is praised for being accessible to beginners while offering enough depth for veterans.
- Highly recommended game (weight 0.39): Many reviews describe the game as a masterpiece and highly recommend it without any specific genre preferences.
- Recommended for fans of specific games (weight 0.39): The game is recommended for fans of specific titles like Hades, Binding of Isaac, Enter the Gungeon, and classic Asteroids.
- Good value for price (weight 0.12): The game is considered to have high value for its price, making it a worthwhile purchase.
- Perfect for Steam Deck (weight 0.09): The game is noted for being perfect for quick pick-up-and-play sessions on the Steam Deck, making it ideal for portable gaming.
- Recommended when on sale (weight 0.08): Some reviews suggest that the game is recommended when on sale or if the developer continues to add more content.
- Unique recommendation reasons (weight 0.06): Some reviews have unique or humorous reasons for recommending the game, such as seeing a frog or specific memes.
- Best played on keyboard+mouse (weight 0.05): The game is noted to be best played on keyboard and mouse, which might be important for some players.
- Try the demo (weight 0.04): It is recommended to try the demo before purchasing the full game.
- Unique charm (weight 0.04): The game's charm alone is a reason for recommendation, making it stand out in its genre.
- Indie gem (weight 0.04): The game is described as an indie title that may fly under the radar but punches far above its weight, indicating it's a hidden gem.
- Recommended for masochistic players (weight 0.04): The game is recommended for players who enjoy challenging games and have a masochistic streak.
- Learning curve (weight 0.04): The game is suitable for players who don't mind losing a bunch to learn, indicating a steep learning curve.
- Recommend to friends (weight 0.04): Players are encouraged to tell all their friends to pick up the game, indicating a strong word-of-mouth recommendation.
- Variety in library (weight 0.04): The game is recommended for adding variety to a player's game library.
- Support the developer (weight 0.04): Some reviews suggest buying the game to support the developer, indicating a strong community backing.
- Language-specific recommendation (weight 0.03): There are recommendations in different languages, indicating a broad appeal.

Other player notes:
- Influence of online personalities (weight 0.08): Some players mentioned being influenced by online personalities like Dunkey and a frog character, which affected their purchase decisions.
- Compatibility with Steam Deck (weight 0.05): The game is noted to be compatible and enjoyable on the Steam Deck, appealing to players who use this device.
- Gifted copies and community generosity (weight 0.05): Players mentioned receiving the game as a gift and paying it forward, highlighting a sense of community and generosity.
- OST availability on Bandcamp (weight 0.04): The game's original soundtrack is available on Bandcamp, which is appreciated by players who enjoy the game's music.

Emotions:
- Excitement (weight 0.21): Players are excited due to the game's variety in gameplay elements, continuous unlocks, and fresh updates. The balance of humor, drama, and challenging yet rewarding mechanics, along with intricate boss designs and smooth controls, contribute to this excitement.
- Frustration (weight 0.18): Frustration stems from visual clarity issues, lack of controller support, and difficult gameplay mechanics. Players also struggle with unforgiving mechanics, repetitive gameplay, and specific design choices that hinder the overall experience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.1): Disappointment arises from the game's unfulfilled potential due to poor design choices and lack of depth. Players find the weapon system lacking, gameplay shallow, and the overall experience underwhelming compared to expectations.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.09): Satisfaction comes from the game's skill-based and rewarding gameplay, polished mechanics, and the feeling of improvement. Players enjoy the balanced progression, varied weapons, and the sense of accomplishment after overcoming challenges.
- Joy (weight 0.07): Joy is derived from the fun and unique bosses, enjoyable gameplay, and fantastic music and graphics. Players appreciate the tight controls, pleasant mix of genres, and the overall positive and well-designed experience.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.04): Enjoyment is driven by the game's fun and fair gameplay, variety of weapons, and high replayability. Players appreciate the quick and accessible gameplay, unique features, and surprising lore.
- Excited (weight 0.04): Players are excited about the game's continuous updates, upcoming expansions, and the discovery of new content. The game's ability to meet expectations and provide a positive gameplay experience fuels this excitement.
- Admiration (weight 0.04): Admiration is directed towards the developers' passion and dedication, as well as the game's high-quality design and mechanics. Players are impressed by the successful fusion of genres and the masterful pixel art and music.
- Love (weight 0.03): Love for the game comes from its overall enjoyment, unique characteristics, and engaging gameplay mechanics. Players appreciate the game's deserving tag and the personal growth it inspires.
- Appreciation (weight 0.02): Appreciation is felt for the game's thoughtful presentation, unique mechanics, and continuous content. Despite some issues, players value the depth and various aspects of the game.
- Addiction (weight 0.02): Addiction is driven by the game's compelling loop and the urge to keep improving and attempting runs. Players find the feeling of becoming good at the game quite addicting.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Nostalgia is evoked through comparisons to classic games like Isaac and Gungeon, as well as memories of playing similar games at arcades. The game's familiar elements trigger a sense of nostalgia.
- Hope (weight 0.01): Hope is expressed for future updates that could bring more diversity and language support to the game. Players are optimistic about the game's potential with continued improvements.
- Gratitude (weight 0.01): Gratitude is felt towards influences like Dunkey for bringing attention to the game and for the addition of helpful features like aim assist. Players appreciate the positive impact on their gaming experience.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise comes from discovering secret endings, the game's small file size, and the realization of a new genre. These unexpected elements add to the game's appeal.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.01): Enthusiasm is driven by the variety in playable modes, modifiers, and story content. The game's engaging gameplay and visuals contribute to this enthusiasm.
- Awe (weight 0.01): Awe is inspired by the game pushing players to their limits and the realization of their own capabilities. The game's challenging nature evokes a sense of awe.
- Curiosity (weight 0.01): Curiosity is piqued by the game's obscure details and the need to critically examine everything. Players are intrigued by the game's depth and hidden elements.}