Now that all the initial obligatory anti-freemium comments are out of the way... This is really good. I like how the game world itself actually explains the rogue-like endless death mechanic by making your character a perpetual series of clones. It has a nice dark humor to it as well that reminds me a bit of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books. The IAP doesn't bother me, isn't pay to win, and I might just buy the crystal tripler just to thank the developers. Also, the game can be played offline as well which is a big plus for a lot of people. Man, this is good.
Found a wierd bug...completed the tutorial area and picked up a crab pet along the way. Now in the 2nd level (Forgotten Labs) and I have spawned into the level with my crab in the lower-right connecting hex and metallic looking crabs in the upper-right and upper-left connecting hexes. I cannot attack any of them or move out of the way. And there is no quit button so I have to hard-shut the application. Not a great start.
Huh. That sounds strange. Have you tried tapping your own square (to pass time) or tapping the square your crablet friend is on (to trade places with him)?
Yep, I systematically tapped every hex. When I restarted the game and hit "Continue" it put me back on level 2 but in a new map and I was able to move.
For those interested in the behind-the-scenes of Shattered Planet, Tanya writes some fascinating blogs about design on Gamasutra
I'm really liking this game. I can't believe it's free! I haven't played a lot so I'm not sure how necessary iap's become later on but it's a good, fun adventure so far
It's ok but when you're battling enemies and collecting crystals to buy weapons to help in your quest you don't want a fedora hat or a royal crown they're not helping!
Totally enjoying this game as well. More than I thought. Not sure how much the tripler is required but I'm getting closer to purchasing it...
Game Impressions I really have no problems with the freemium implementation, the graphics, animations and presentation are really nice, the game has plenty of immersive qualities, the progress mechanics are rewarding and strike a nice balance between hardcore permadeath and softcore gallivanting, the exploration and discovery mechanics are unusual and add character, and the general idea behind the game is spot on. But the combat is just so, so boring. This is perhaps the only negative aspect of the otherwise nice and mildly surprising revival of the roguelike: we suddenly have on our hands a steady trickle of tactical turn-based RPGs without any actual tactics. Dungeons of Dredmoor (iOS port already, Gaslamp) mixed things up nicely with quite a large selection of abilities and attacks, and character customization which offered MANY and very different ways to progress. And Quadropus Rampage said to heck with it and married a charming realtime combat system with permadeath and level descendance mechanics for a very refreshing take on one of the oldest genres in the world. But the vast majority of new roguelikes offer less depth in both combat and character evolution than the Angbands, Morias and Nethacks of old. And in this case, with just about every other aspect of the game so polished and appealing, it is a durned shame one of the primary activities in the game consists mostly of tapping, with no skill or tactics involved.
This game has some good things going for it, but the strategy here seems ultimately very weak. Level up, die, repeat. Without skills, the only strategy is the random potions. I don't see where this gets more interesting. Dopamine reward trap without much challenge-joy.
The parts that interested me the most in the description: "research the alien wildlife" Do you get a bestiary/some sort of codex that lets you catalog/analyze the wild life? That sounds pretty cool if you slowly unlock information about the diet/behavior of various organisms, even if it is ultimately cosmetic. "solve the mystery" Is there a mystery that can be solved? Are there story tidbits/journal entries/etc. to piece together? I think "rogue-like with a strong, if artfully hidden story" has a lot of promise, but I'm not sure if these are just marketing buzzwords or if something deeper is going on. I appreciate any thoughts from those who have played it for awhile!
Nice! I just past 10 for the first time. REALLY polished game. I love how almost everything can be tapped on for a description of what it does. I like that you have to memorize what the potion type thingees do. It's intuitive and quick to interact with the world, so the experience is a constant stream of exploration and experimentation.
Yes, there is a "codex" and it is not just cosmetic. Each time you find a new something (not just enemies; inventory items, and events as well) you get points towards leveling up your character.
This may be a bug: after synthesizing a helmet and weapon and then closing the app, when I return to the game the weapon is gone and so are the credits used to synth it. This seems to only happen while the character is on the ship. Also the option to turn off music resets when restarting the game.
For anyone concerned about the IAP in this, I wouldnt worry. Except for maybe the tripler which would be pretty helpful, the game is fairly generous in its currency giving.
