One of the tough things about trying out games at a show like the Tokyo Game Show is attempting to gauge just how unfinished they are, and how likely they are to shore up their faults before release. Vulcan 3055 from Kulasta grabbed my attention with its lush visuals that look like something out of a lost SEGA Saturn game. While it’s not completely visually consistent, the game just has a really neat, unique look to it. Playing it, however, proves to be a rougher experience, and I’m not sure if that’s down to the game being incomplete or if that’s just how it’s going to be.
Vulcan 3055 is something of an arena-based action game where you have to guide your chosen super-deformed mech around a multi-tiered stage, battling enemies and picking up power-ups to assist in said battling. Your bot is quite agile and can easily zip forwards and backwards, along with being able to double-jump. You have multiple weapons at your disposal depending on your selected mech’s load-out, and you can find items mid-stage or buy them using collected currency.
At this point, the problem comes down to just how loose the collision detection feels. The mechs don’t feel like they’re following solid rules at all, clinging sometimes to a ledge by the barest of threads or falling through places that look like they should be footholds. While the artwork looks excellent, it can be a little hard to read where each object is when things get hectic, as your character doesn’t always stand out as much as they ideally should. It’s still enjoyable as a bash-em-up of sorts, but at least at this stage of the game, it doesn’t quite have that special spark that makes one want to come back and play more.
Vulcan 3055 is still in development, however, and it’s not schedule for release until either late this year or, more likely, early next year. There’s still plenty of time to work on the game’s feel and make the visual tweaks that help everything pop just right. If nothing else, you can at least enjoy the unusual visuals. It’s not afraid to be a bit of an odd looking game, and I can certainly respect that. We’ll be sure to let you know if it turns out to be a winner.
