Review 1
Purchased!
One of the best random buys I have ever made. I know it says its not casual but
I find it very relaxing. The controls on your plane are simple two handed WASD
(and IJKL) and they give you such amazing control. Took me about an hour to get
good enough at grinding walls to be able to reliably enter dubstep mode but I
was having a great time soaring about within 20 minutes. Its hard enough to be
challenging but you're so in control that if you want to take it easy you can
head down and take a break just peacefully collecting Os until you're ready for
some more intense action.
The camera follows you really well and creates a fluid sense of continuity and
imersion, the aesthetic and the music are quite well put together, the sounds
blend in without disturbing the music, the respawns are seamless. I really just
love how well everything meshes.
Be careful about try-harding though. Actions have consequences.
Still amazing, I hope we see more from the developer!
Review 2
Purchased!
Hello, Welcome to startO.
Take a moment to check your creases, make sure those folds are right, then
lastly make sure to throw it just right. StratO takes you into the world of
arcade paper aircraft flying, letting you take control of individual flaps,
breaks, and more down to the direction they are currently. There is near 8-9
keys in total to control the aircraft. What is your goal you ask? To fly around,
trying to score points by flying into floating rights. You gain more points by
different moves, if you hit the bullseye, or if your in the games "other world"
called B-Side.
Don't worry if at first you cannot figure out how to fly, or if you just keep
crashing. Like they say with learning to ride a bike, get up & try again. Each
time it gets easier, and easier, that is until the game decides to troll you and
spawn a pillar right in front of your plane with you failing to react in time
:).
This game is worth the full retail value, is made by a wonderful and talented
developer that listens to criticism.
You should definitely pick this game up, you wont regret it .
In the words of lemec "Let's airplane! Together!"
Review 3
Purchased!
60 / 100
I have tried to figure this game out, it looks cool, innovative & different (it
is what captured my interest to buy), but nothing makes sense! I have never felt
so lost in a game in years!
Flying aimlessly trying to understand the controls first, then what is
benefitial to do and what is not. Controls are not intuitive, but that is fine,
I do like a challenging game. They are very sensitive though and rather
unforgiving with a controller. Precision of this does improve as you play
further, and taking into account the physics better as you fly.
Sometimes a number in the bottom right of the screen goes up then it goes back
to zero, I hit things and stall or go faster doesn't seem to make any difference
as I haven't been able to find a way to die or string anything together
consistently to start to piece together the obscure game mechanics. Sometimes a
special move pops up in the bottom left corner that I dont really know how I did
it or how to combine these to get something/anything going. Gather I am meant to
get the circles, but not sure what that does. I get a few circles, then the
string of them often disappear into the fog (I guess I go the wrong direction
perhaps)? What are the hazards, should I avoid hitting things or not, or go
faster/slower, or just get the circles as quickly as possible.. I'm so confused.
There is a HUD which has no explaination to it (a bunch of circles and other
symbols/colours that change as you move around), nor what to do to get any score
or navigate through the endless level. Procedural generation is basic from what
I have seen with the same shapes with high level of fog to hide things from
view. Felt like I was going around & around which becomes somewhat nausiating.
Graphics do look nice in the simplistic style used though - they have depth when
coupled with the fog effects. Audio/music gets rather repetitive in a short time
although it does add some nice atmosphere to the game & complements the graphic
set. No real complaints here other that the HUD/UI I have previously mentioned.
With a game with such abstract game mechanics the lack of any type of tutorial,
guide, manual or explaination on what is the goal is or how to play is baffling.
This might be a great game but without any explaination on the mechanics,
scratching my ball sack is more enjoyable. I am clearly in the minority looking
at the primarily positive reviews, but in my time playing it has been
unenjoyable & frustrating. I like a hard game, a game of skill (as the store
page suggests this is), but at least explain the basic rules first!
Update post Devs comments: I have watched the brief introduction instructional
video linked in the comments and also found an extended advanced 22 minute video
on the channel that I have also watched. This does help explain some of the
mechanics of the game and some of the possible moves you can do. To be fair, I
returned to the game to give it another try and did find my initial frustrations
diminished to a degree. I was able to string together some higher scores & get
some of the achievements. Saying this, I do still maintain that the game needs
better explaination for new players and should not need to search online to see
how to play.
Once you get start getting the hang of the plane controls & physics, the game
becomes more enjoyable, but ultimately I do not see this as a game I would come
back to play regularly. Other than getting a higher score the game itself is
repetitive with the same scenery, sound effects/audio & layouts (which do
progressively get harder to navigate). Wall grinding seems to be the best option
to increase your score, but I did try for the circles to see if I could progress
and hit a few of the harder achievements. Finite control still eludes me so
hitting a bullseye of a circle for example was next to impossible & the HUD
still seemed redundant (or I did not pick up what the circles and symbols mean
from the videos). Also, it is hard to judge how close to the bottom of the map
you are where (I now know) your score resets.
I always admire a dev who is willing to try something different and not churn
out the same game or game mechanics we have seen in a 100 other titles. This is
a good effort, and enjoyable to a point once the game was understood, but there
is not enough content or variety, and does still need better explaination of the
mechanics for new players.
If you enjoyed reading this review, please follow True Blue Reviews for more
recommendations! [http://steamcommunity.com/groups/TrueBlueReviews#curation]
Review 4
Purchased!
It's fun.
You might start it up and have no idea what you are doing.
Keep coming back to it. Study the controls. Practice.
Explore the game and you will find a uniquely enjoyable experience like nothing
else available.
Review 5
Purchased!
Not for the faint of heart. With a large learning curve and very unique gameplay
elements, Strat0 challenges you constantly as you learn to fly. It's a
remote-control paper airplane with rockets and magnetic wings flying through a
space that seems to try to kill you at every turn. You can casually glide
between the upper and lower "zones" and collect the rings in the middle or you
can magnetize your wings, boost downward and aeleron roll through 3 rings while
columns and pillars burst into existence almost faster than you can react. And
just when you think the game is starting to get easy and routine, WAM! it cranks
up the difficulty in a mesmerizing burst of light, color, and shadows.
Seriously... try to get as many rings as you can without getting stuck. I
beleive!