The first time I saw this game was in an animated gif somewhere, and the visuals immediately grabbed my attention. I'm not really into pixel art, but every now and then I come across a game where I have to admit that they really nailed the visual style. This is one one of those games.

We have 2D characters in 3D locations with a fixed side view camera. The third dimension is not just for decoration, in many cases we can move toward or away from the camera, letting us explore quite complex 3D locations. And the locations cannot be praised enough, the environmental design is absolutely outstanding, whether it’s the neon-lit, noisy streets of the city, the grandiose industrial interiors, or the meticulously furnished rooms. The great audio design, ambience and the pleasant synth OST also adds to the atmosphere.

In these 3D locations, especially in the cities, the gameplay is mostly like an adventure game, we talk to NPCs, pick up or use stuff, or solve tasks and side missions. There aren't many of the latter, which is a shame because they are all pleasantly unique with their own little mini-stories. There are also some quite hidden things to discover that aren’t marked on the map or in the database, but enrich the world, so it's worth exploring the maps thoroughly.

In locations where you have to fight, the game turns into a pure side scroller. The combat system is not very deep, but it has enough options. It is primarily melee, with defensive options being the usual block/dodge/parry and jumping. Three types of weapons can be used to attack, a light sword, which can be a single or twinblade, a heavy sword, and a ranged weapon, which is a pistol at the start of the game. Swords have their own moveset, which can be upgraded along with other fighting skills. We can also learn some kung fu moves, which I particularly liked. It's only effective against certain enemies, but kicking the crap out of them was really fun! Overall I think the combat is good, the animations look good, the sound effects are nice, there were memorable bosses, and the enemies have just enough variety to last until the end of the game.

The story takes place in a neon cyberpunk world. Our protagonist is Ann Flores, who works as a mercenary and suffers from a mysterious illness. Her younger brother, Ryan, is trying to find a cure for this, but he disappears during his investigation, so our heroine sets out to find out what happened to him. The story starts out as a thriller, but slowly becomes more and more bizarre as paranormal phenomena, mysterious organizations and a threat to the entire world enter the picture. Anyone who is a bit familiar with the SCP universe will find many familiar things, as obviously this was one of the main inspirations of the writers.

Ultimately, I liked the story, but I think the developers focused a little too much on the SCP stuff. The writing was a bit of a mixed bag, but we have the conversations we overhear in the cities, the NPCs, the many readable notes and emails - the developers did a lot of great worldbuilding and created an interesting setting, which I think had more potential. Not to mention the characters, our protagonist and her relationship with her family was something I think they could’ve focused more on. I still like what we have, and I grew to like Ann and her partner, Ayane, and the rest of the cast. They were cool characters and a fun team, with great voice acting (I played with Chinese voices).

Overall my impression is absolutely positive, the story had its atmosphere, the world was interesting, the combat was fun, and the visual style was fantastic. I think this game is a real indie gem.

The first time I saw this game was in an animated gif somewhere, and the visuals immediately grabbed my attention. I'm not really into pixel art, but every now and then I come across a game where I have to admit that they really nailed the visual style. This is one one of those games. We have 2D characters in 3D locations with a fixed side view camera. The third dimension is not just for decoration, in many cases we can move toward or away from the camera, letting us explore quite complex 3D locations. And the locations cannot be praised enough, the environmental design is absolutely outstanding, whether it’s the neon-lit, noisy streets of the city, the grandiose industrial interiors, or the meticulously furnished rooms. The great audio design, ambience and the pleasant synth OST also adds to the atmosphere. In these 3D locations, especially in the cities, the gameplay is mostly like an adventure game, we talk to NPCs, pick up or use stuff, or solve tasks and side missions. There aren't many of the latter, which is a shame because they are all pleasantly unique with their own little mini-stories. There are also some quite hidden things to discover that aren’t marked on the map or in the database, but enrich the world, so it's worth exploring the maps thoroughly. In locations where you have to fight, the game turns into a pure side scroller. The combat system is not very deep, but it has enough options. It is primarily melee, with defensive options being the usual block/dodge/parry and jumping. Three types of weapons can be used to attack, a light sword, which can be a single or twinblade, a heavy sword, and a ranged weapon, which is a pistol at the start of the game. Swords have their own moveset, which can be upgraded along with other fighting skills. We can also learn some kung fu moves, which I particularly liked. It's only effective against certain enemies, but kicking the crap out of them was really fun! Overall I think the combat is good, the animations look good, the sound effects are nice, there were memorable bosses, and the enemies have just enough variety to last until the end of the game. The story takes place in a neon cyberpunk world. Our protagonist is Ann Flores, who works as a mercenary and suffers from a mysterious illness. Her younger brother, Ryan, is trying to find a cure for this, but he disappears during his investigation, so our heroine sets out to find out what happened to him. The story starts out as a thriller, but slowly becomes more and more bizarre as paranormal phenomena, mysterious organizations and a threat to the entire world enter the picture. Anyone who is a bit familiar with the SCP universe will find many familiar things, as obviously this was one of the main inspirations of the writers. Ultimately, I liked the story, but I think the developers focused a little too much on the SCP stuff. The writing was a bit of a mixed bag, but we have the conversations we overhear in the cities, the NPCs, the many readable notes and emails - the developers did a lot of great worldbuilding and created an interesting setting, which I think had more potential. Not to mention the characters, our protagonist and her relationship with her family was something I think they could’ve focused more on. I still like what we have, and I grew to like Ann and her partner, Ayane, and the rest of the cast. They were cool characters and a fun team, with great voice acting (I played with Chinese voices). Overall my impression is absolutely positive, the story had its atmosphere, the world was interesting, the combat was fun, and the visual style was fantastic. I think this game is a real indie gem.