Recent reviews by MangoTangoFox

:)

One of the worst FPS games available on PC, not for the modes, movement or shooting mechanics... but literally just because of a few baffling balancing decisions that could all be fixed in literally 30 minutes of code edits:

1. Controller has full on aimbot-level autoaim. You turn the sensitivity high, spin around, and it latches to any target you pass by and then tracks them while they jump and strafe, they cannot dodge.
2. You can't disable crossplay to escape all the controller users, but controller on PC also gives you the bot so that wouldn't even fix it.
3. Enemies can see through their portals but you can't see through theirs. This leads to TONS of camping spots that allow you to camp a portal that oversees a large area INCLUDING your own back, and even if someone gets near you you can just walk forward through the portal and then close it, getting the drop on them.
4, Controller users yet again have the advantage, because the latching and autoaim tracking works through ALL portals, so they just swipe over top of a portal and hold R1 and it does everything for them, even when they had no idea you were even there.

The solutions are to:

A. Allow input-locked matchmaking, mouse with mouse, controller with controller. Work on mouse support on console if possible, but if not it's a F2P game so the game shouldn't struggle too hard finding matches regardless.
B. Disable damage AND vision through ALL portals, apply a force to the character when passing through so you can't stand within them to jiggle peak or use them as a perch. Portals can be spammed infinitely, but players only have 2 nades that can destroy them, that is utterly broken if the person placing the portal can also clearly see through them. If you take away the ability to see through and do damage, the defending player only needs to react once they pass through, instead of constantly being vulnerable to a literal hole of death that they can do nothing to get rid of.

It's probably pretty fun for console players when your only option is easy mode autoaiming... But it's utterly useless as a PC game without those fixes.

Simple fun, with a great feel and visual aesthetic. Runs great at an uncapped framerate with even FOV adjustment and many other settings. Tons of maps and assets re-useable in the map editor.

Try it when it inevitably goes Free2Play, but I would not purchase it.

It was a much tighter game back in beta when it was first person, but now feels less competitive and is only mildly entertaining. Because of EA transitioning it to a paid title before launch, combined with the very niche appeal, the playerbase is incredibly small and it only remains barely playable because of crossplay (Steam/Origin/XBO/PS4).

I've only played the number of hours I have because I got the deluxe version with enough currency for the battlepass which requires playtime or your forfeit the items and currency return. Unless significant changes come down, I likely will not use credits on the 2nd season as I don't wish to be roped into more playtime.

Free2Play to increase the playerbase and/or some kind of PvE boss/bot mode would help significantly. The current PvE mode is against generic bots that don't have identifiable skills like the normal characters, and they are completely braindead to the point where you can easily 1v3 them if for example your teammates leave. A transition back to first person would be appreciated as well.

Amazing and gorgeous. The port has some issues with high framerates and you have to use Flawless Widescreen to adjust FOV, but it runs great otherwise and applying mods is as easy as drag and drop without even overwriting.

The game needs one minor change to go from completely pointless past the first 2 hours, to worth playing for a much longer period...

Collecting Artifacts already generates levels for your character, but they have absolutely no bearing on anything. Simply convert 1 Level to 1 Talent Point, and build out a Talent Tree with basic abilities and buffs that fix the problems people have with the region-locked progression:

• Permanent unlocks of each Key Item (that are normally per-region, and their original spawns would be replaced with an item or gold drop)
  
• Upgrades of Key Items (glider/boat/climbing speed, hidden item find radius, etc)
  
• Automatic reveals of points of interest (instead of manually talking to all the random NPCs)
  
• Increased Droprate
  
• Increased + Item Chance (+ Items work in adjacent zones)
  
• Longer Dodge Roll
  
• Double Jump (?)
  
• etc...

The current progression path is 1-4 hours for an area, and then you're forced to reset to zero for each new area, with no increase in your abilities no matter how many areas you complete. With a talent tree as described above, it would be a similar experience for the first couple areas, but beyond that significant speed and automation improvements would radically change your goals for each zone, how fast you complete them, and even the feeling of your character.

The game would eventually need some manner of end-game challenge that really utilizes all of these upgrades, but it genuinely isn't necessary till well after launch. Just the talent tree alone, with no additions to the content, would allow this to be a satisfying experience through collecting ~50-200 artifacts, possibly even repeated across all 4 character classes for some players.

A system like this is so blatantly obvious and simple to implement, that the only reason it hasn't been done is out of stubbornness, oddly, over a new progression path that was implemented only months ago after 5+ years of development. The dev needs to get over it ASAP, drop everything else and just add the talents, because as you'll see the game will be tanked by its reception otherwise.

[Preliminary Review]

The game has some problems that I'll list below, but I do think it is genuinely unique and worth checking out.

• No Exclusive Fullscreen [FIXED - via simple .ini edit]
  
• No 21:9 Support
  
• No FOV Adjustment, Medium Default
  
• The big one... a 60FPS cap [It's Unreal Engine so it takes half a second to uncap it, but it only goes above 60 in the menus, tutorial, and practice mode, while multiplayer is capped. Feels amazing in practice, as smooth and responsive as all the other hero shooters, but it takes a big hit in multiplayer with that cap.]
  
• Loads through Arc launcher, adding to load times and adding potential for bugs that could stop you from playing.
  
• EasyAntiCheat - Countless games use it (Paladins, Watch Dogs 2, Dirty Bomb, etc), but that doesn't make it any less fishy/intrusive.
  
• SIngle-slot key rebinding, not fully compatible with a couple bugs, and hero abilities cannot be re-positioned (say you want the Q skill on a thumb button, but on another hero the E skill is better suited to that thumb, you can't fix that and would have to rebind every time you swap characters).
  
• Readability problems. Overwatch is basically the only hero shooter to have ever gotten this right, even though it in itself is a lot less readable than real tactical shooters. Not too big of a deal, but the sound effects and visual feedback could use some work so that players know what's happening in the moment.

Mostly technical and hopefully they can be worked out over time, but on the positive side:

• 19 Characters, all with in-match skill trees that radically change their abilities, not just stats, but with new movement abilities and even changing weapon types (from melee to ranged, auto to burst, piercing vs explosive, aoe vs contact, etc). All of them feel extraordinarily different, and many have little unexplained nuances with movement and ability combos that you'll learn over time, making the skillcap feel quite high beyond just raw aim skill.
  
• Only 3 maps (4th on the way), but considerable layout/aesthetic diversity.
  
• $30 for all characters forever (a pack that may go on sale eventually), with no mechanical progression. Free players grind to unlock the characters, but the only thing beyond that is cosmetic skins. You can pay $ to boost exp in various ways, but all you're doing is earning currency for more skins. There are side-grade monster summons, but there are only a couple, so if you want them you merely forego your first few skins and buy those instead. The 95% of other modern shooters outside of Lawbreakers/Overwatch have mechanical balance-breaking progression, even the $60 CODs/BFs, so it's nice to see something more traditional.
  
• Amazing animations. The art overall has a really nice/unique style, but the character and effect animations are absurdly well done. The Turret character has tank treads for legs, and the way he takes off is straight out of Pixar.
  
• Daily Quests are structured in a way that allows you to hold many at once, and you draw 3 and choose 1 to add to that hand. This allows them to have a ton of different objectives offered, including whole sets for all 19 heroes, without forcing them on you. You can complete the same ones over and over for the same reward, OR if you collect and complete any of the full sets, you get much better rewards to buy the fancier skins or unlock the heroes faster.
  
• Practice map allows you to test all the characters and all of their skins at any time, with a variety of roaming bots and friendly/enemy creature summons to test out skills/combos, especially useful if you go the F2P route and need to decide which to buy, plus the F2P rotation which lets you test them in real matches as well. Paladins has this, but quite a few other Mobas do not, forcing you to just watch videos or wait weeks for it to end up in the free rotation.

I received the $30 founders pack from a giveaway and I'm really enjoying the game, with tons of heroes left to test and master. But because of those technical faults, I don't think I would have paid that amount even though I think games that offer complete roster sets (for less than the $200-300 that MANY other mobas want) are doing the right thing. If they work out the multiplayer framerate cap, the binding issues, FOV, etc... I'd definitely pick it up. In a world of grind-fests (or $300 if you don't have a year of your life to waste), this seems like it could be a great value and an awesome little experience.

After 6 years, they revoked the command console so that they could add dozens of pay2win micro-transactions into a single-player experience.

Don't buy the game. If you own it, convert your review to negative. Spam emails and social media posts at them until they revert the changes. Companies MUST be punished, severely, for blatantly anti-consumer moves like this, especially when done retroactively on already released products.

Update:

Either they restored the cheat command, or merely changed it (in the exact same pacth as the micro-transactions...) and didn't tell anyone, but it should work again now. The shameless micro-transactions are still very much a thing, so this review will remain in place untill significant time has past, proving that nothing is excluded from the commands and that it isn't revoked again after people lose interest.

Promising upon first impressions... I customize a little character with a ton of different weapons/clothing/accessories/hair, the menus navigate well enough, and then hop into the first level... MASSIVE stuttering during most mouse movement despite pushing >100FPS, movement acceleration per key press that resets on direction changes so the movement is unresponsive and incredibly clunky, mouse aim feels completely off, weapon changes and abilities often don't work while making other inputs, etc. The melee combat has no weight to it, and the shooting at least with the revolvers I chose offer some of the least satisfying gunplay I've seen in years irrespective of the stuttering.

I made it through a bad tutorial with timers for each section so you have to wait even after you've completed the objective, and a few of the levels, but when I go back to the customization and find EVERYTHING I had access to on first launch is now locked behind large exp and currency requirements, and simply entering that menu reset my character to defaults even though it stuck fine prior during the first few levels.

Judging by how the movement operates, and the hitching (almost outright freezing at times) during mouse camera movement, I have a feeling this was designed for controller despite having seemingly functional key rebinding. I'd whip out a controller and try it, but honestly f*k that, there's no way I'd want to play a 3rd-person shooter without mouse aim, so there's no point.

I remember seeing this 4 years ago during their Kickstarter campaign, and then again last year when Jim Sterling covered the first builds. The only thing I can see that has changed since is the effect when the "mayhem level" increases, that and there's no insane stuttering likely because he used a controller. The original pitch and concept art was absolutely superb... interesting classes and abilities, fantastic style, color choice, and atmosphere... this "released" game (minus the amount of customization options and the visuals) is as if it's still in the programming stage before even pre-Alpha, before core gameplay has been established.

It's so disappointing it's painful... so imagine how the Kickstarter backers feel about the state of this, and the fact that I just got the game and it's DLC for free from their Alienware promotion, and not the $8.29 they just sold it for in the sale two weeks ago, or the $15 they charged 4 years ago on Kickstarter.

Steam key provided by the developer for review.

Scorecard:
http://i.imgur.com/scEQiwj.png



Unity launcher (Windowed or Borderless Fullscreen), with a few graphical options once in-game (SSAO, Bloom, Shadow Distance, V-sync, TAA, and FOV). TAA is essentially motion blur, hindering clarity, so I’d recommend forcing SMAA externally. 4:3-16:9 are fine, but I can't currently confirm 21:9+. The SSAO tends to flicker, but I like the cleaner aesthetic without it anyway. FOV adjustment (50-140°) is welcome, and it's extremely easy to run.

Framerate has an impact on the damage trucks take, meaning that at 120FPS trucks explode twice as often, making certain levels far more challenging. A dev said it should be fixed, but I’ve tested on the newest builds and it is still very apparent.

Load times are non-existent, and re-spawning happens instantly after any input during the death screen. In-game level editor and Steam Workshop support which will hopefully foster some interesting user-created stages.

Xinput controllers are supported, but the movement on the left analog stick is digital. Controller will definitely hinder you, while also leeching a lot of the satisfaction too. You can try it as a challenge, but I would definitely not recommend it over M/KB.


It's not at all an easy game and it can be frustrating at times, particularly because of the random nature of the AI trucks and trap timings. The physics will fail you from time to time, but generally the movement can be mastered, and it’s wildly satisfying when things go right.

The goal is simply to pass by a goal by hopping on the backs of trucks. They behave more like a school of fish of cattle being herded; very erratic, they’ll bash into things, explode, flop over, or flip wildly into the air. Place them in these grand environments, filled with all sorts of crazy contraptions, and it turns into one hectic romp that feels pulled straight from the craziest of super hero movies.

Controls are WASD movement, a variable jump (hold longer = higher, w/ endless bouncing while held), mouse aim, and your abilities on L/R click. Pretty simple, but there's a load of nuance. You can do front/back-flips by simply rotating the camera, but the movement stays with your original orientation. Cling to vertical surfaces by pushing into them, and launch up by jumping from there. Certain props don’t kill and can be landed on, and smacking into the goal sign still counts (tele/grapple to it). The main factor is learn how to build/maintain momentum, and how air control effects that.

Levels reward you with Style Points, used to unlock various abilities. You can equip one from each category, and they entail passive mechanics changes, active powers that consume recharging energy, and others that can’t be used until the energy is completely full.

• Double Jump – Recharges each time you land.
  
• Air Dash
  
• Jetpack
  
• Levitation – Maintains elevation while held.
  
• Grappling Hook
  
• Truck Boost – Makes the truck you’re standing on sprint forward, smashing through others.
  
• Disrespected Blink – A warp to where you click with a color-coded distance indicator.
  
• Trucker Flip – Trucks do kick-flips after you leap off.

• Time Slow
  
• Portable Truck – Shoots projectile that spawns a truck.
  
• Back Truck – Teleports you back to the last truck you touched.
  
• Trucksolute Zero – Freezes all trucks in place.
  
• Epic Mode – Letterboxes the image and plays tribal drum music, while doubling points awarded for tricks.
  
• SUPERTRUCK – Desaturates the level color, makes the trucks red, and slows/stops time as you slow your movement on the back of a truck.

I beat all levels up till the end of world 8 with no abilities, and the whole game seems doable that way. There are many possible combinations, but there do seem to be “optimal” choices depending on the map. They can massively decrease your clear times, open up big shortcuts, and can make recoveries far easier.

9 worlds with 10 stages each. I was quite impressed with the amount of visual and mechanical variety between these stages. Clustertruck is continuously inventive, so my desire to succeed was so high, just so I could see what it would throw at me next. You constantly learn new things, the nuances of the movement system, and once you’re done there’s reason to go back and do it all again. Not just because of the leaderboards, nor just to use new ability/modifier combinations, but also because the worlds have their own feel/pace.

Leaderboards (from main menu or after completing a level) allow you to see times of players/friends and challenge their ghosts. I’d like to see icons state abilities each player used, and a way to swap ghosts from the pause screen.


The menus are visually clean, quick and easy to navigate. The low-poly geometry and low object density of the levels isn’t going to impress anyone, but it succeeds is in it’s use of color and bright lighting. Large blank spaces are filled with smooth gradients of really mellow colors, and while many of the scenes aren’t necessarily cohesive, I think it’s approach is appealing. Visibility is pretty high, and even more so with the stark white & red look of the SUPERTRUCK modifier. My only real complaints are how blurry it can get with TAA enabled and how much explosions obscure your view.

The soundtrack entails a track for each world, and mixture of guitar and what I believe is ‘Drum & Bass’. Music plays continuously between deaths/stages, only changing once you enter a map from another world. Well suited to the game, but a limited appeal beyond that imo.


Clustertruck can be painfully hard at times, but is unique, inventive, and oh-so-satisfying. They took a simple concept, made sure the base movement was fun, and then proceeded to answer YES! to dozens of “Hey but what if we had <crazy thing>?” inquiries. Each world has it’s own look, geometry, and gameplay focus, and even though they could’ve pumped out way more than 10 levels for each without the player getting too bored, they chose to keep it concise, constantly presenting new ideas and scenarios.

It should take ~3-6 hours to get through it the first time with minimal ability use, but speedrunners can manage the whole thing in under 30 minutes, utilizing a number of advanced techniques and shortcuts. While it’s not overflowing with content, every moment of play requires so much of your attention. There’s absolutely no waiting around, just pure, intense gameplay. The game rewards skill in spades, it has a ton of speedrunning potential, but there’s a lot for the average player to enjoy as well. There’s more than enough reason to replay levels with all the variety that comes from different ability combinations, the drive to improve your skill and clear times, and quite simply because the game is a joy to play.