@elcrazy You’re making me really really want to boot it up, it’s sat waiting to be played. Are you using a controller or touch screen controls?
I keep wanting one as things like Dead Cells are definitely much harder without a proper control, but I kept seeing that you have to take your case off to use it. I use the military grade protection ones and they don’t like slipping on and off all the time and I’ve seen they can become stretched or warped from doing so. I have a Nintendo switch pro control for my switch but when I looked it seemed like I could only use PlayStation or Xbox ones.
Having to remove the case is definitely the biggest hurdle with the Backbone controller. It’s not so bad with the Apple cases, but it’s not something that I’d rather do multiple times a day. I usually set up my Backbone when I’m done with my workday and keep it in there till I’m ready to go to sleep. I would love it if Backbone produced a version that came with a compatible case. I believe there is a similar Turtle Beach product that supports cases, BTW. I’m planning to pick one up and see how well it works.
I am using touch screen on an IPhone 11 Pro Max. I can’t imagine how good it would be on my iPad with controller. I just don’t have the time for that lol. Even though I dropped hours into this already. another update. I am still currently in my epic run. I ran through the third chapter mini boss and end boss again with ease. A little worried my current setup is just too powerful. And it keeps getting more powerful. I have unlocked two statues this run I haven’t even seen yet. But I can’t imagine anything being more powerful than the current one I am using. This one was unlocked by gathering scrolls. You’ll see purple lights on it till it opens. It’s the furthest to the right. I don’t want to say what it does but trust me try the first choice on that statue. I am on chapter 4 on this run. I am so happy 3 wasn’t it. I ant to keep going. I have so much more to see and to unlock. I have only used the red gems for skill tree and nothing else. So much to buy still. This game is epic. This is a real game experience like Dead Cells but on your phone. For me personally I like this way better than Cells. I like Dead cells but found it just a little too hard. The replaying started to feel more like grinding. Hades style is the winner for me and this is just that. It’s much closer to Hades then I thought. This really shouldn’t be missed if you’re a roguelike fan. I should also mention it’s a perfect iOS game in other areas. Text is easy to read. Menus are simple. Everything saves!! So you can close whenever you want. Picks up at the last room you entered. Haven’t tried a cloud save yet but I am assuming/hoping it’s as flawless as everything else. Only small issue is the online requirement.
Beat the game! So my epic run ended in an epic win. I unlocked all the statues, except one. Unlocked a bunch of the story parts for new relics and weapons and got 13 red souls. That was such a blast. I did feel quite over powerful by the end. I had so many abilities and powers. I was destroying everyone and everything. I even walked through the final bosses like they were a regular foe. That may be the only issue. You can build up quite the unstoppable character. But it was super fun lol. As I thought, I still have lots to unlock and of course new difficulty have been unlocked with some added bonuses and negatives. I am going to stay on regular for now and try some of the other play styles. I will be back to destroy the next difficulty with the statue blessing I just used. But for know I have to try some other play styles. There are sooo many to try, as it’s two per statue and they are all very different. Just because they come from one statue doesn’t mean they play the same. They just use the same style of damage or bonuses. I also have to note. How beautiful this game is. Even on my old crappy phone lol. I did change to highest setting. But this must look gorgeous on new devices.
All over this if the online requirement is ever removed. Until then, I’m afraid I spend way too much time out of mobile or Wi-Fi ranges to make this worthwhile.
Is it still online only? I want to play it but I don’t want to shell out money for a persistently online singleplayer game. So weird.
[whoops, posted this to the wrong thread] Some initial impressions after clearing the game on three different difficulty levels. Touch controls are fairly good. There’s a bit of a motor control learning curve in reliably pressing dash vs. attack vs. throw, but the annoyance goes away fairly quickly. If you die, it’s game over. After clearing each chapter, you restock healing potions and have some limited opportunities to buy bonuses and upgrade your weapon. Each chapter has a mid-boss and a final boss. You clear several stages before each. Each stage is a map with a beginning and an end, with a very linear progression. The maps are well-designed with respect to enemy placement, and are not procedurally generated. At the end of the stage is a reward and usually a choice of two exits, each annotated with the type of reward for that stage. Rewards are: Souls, Relics, Healing, Ability Scroll, Weapon Souls are the currency of the game. You have 1 weapon slot and 4 relic slots. The relic system is very clever. There are, I would estimate, 30 different types of relics. Each of these types can be equipped in any slot, but their effect changes dramatically depending on which slot you have them equipped on. Their effects are enhanced at higher rarities. Gear-Gear synergies and Weapon-Gear synergies can be outrageously powerful. There are a number well-designed archetypes to pursue, relating to a variety of status effects and damage types. You can have any number of ability scrolls. At the start of the game, you choose a sect. When you first install the game, only one sect is unlocked. Ability scrolls fall into two categories – general, which are equippable by any sect, and sect-specific scrolls, which align with your sect’s playstyle. All scrolls are indefinite passives. Some have interesting effects, but they’re mostly centered around stat bonuses. The first sect focuses on mixing up melee and ranged damage for bonus damage. Another is focused on maximizing ranged. Yet another is focused on cold effects. And still another is focused on spraying spirits, igniting them, and then trying to keep a chain of sprays going so you can incinerate the whole damned map. All enemies telegraph attacks rather obviously, allowing you to dodge on even a small screen. For the most part, I wouldn’t call it a bullet hell, as most threats are melee, but enemies do charge, and some of the bosses definitely do spam the screen with attacks. Cross-game persistence: Clearing a game will unlock the next difficulty level. Killing bosses will give you red souls, which you can spend on permanent perks. You will (mostly randomly) find lore items that you keep indefinitely. Combinations of lore items unlock perks and gear. They appear to be relevant also to getting the True Ending, which I have not yet achieved. Last thing to note: Buttons can be linked. Linking the sword and flying sword buttons is an effective technique for taking advantage of the first sect abilities.
How’s the difficulty? I spent 100+ hours with Hades, loving it unconditionally, but always playing with God mode option on. I’m not a fan of games with just one initial difficulty. On top of that, considering the Chinese theme and their history of hardcore difficulty as a standard, I’m just worried to be mainly frustrated instead of having some casual fun.
Difficulty curve is perfect. It follows hades style. There are multiple difficulties to unlock as well as the DLC. I find Dead cells to be too hard. I had fun but never beat it and found it more of a grind than fun. Love the style and the weapons etc. but gameplay and difficulty was just too much for me. This is like Hades. You won’t beat it on your first run. But every run you feel stronger. You’ll have runs where you are extremely powerful. Difficulty imo is absolutely perfect. Especially playing on a small iPhone screen. They nailed it!
Offline added now. It says you just need to be connected to the internet the first time you launch the game after install but then it can be played offline.
I was waiting for this. I am kinda worn-out of this genre but the quality of this one just might tempt me to dive in again.
I am still playing this all the time. Game is just increidble. You really should give this a try. So much here. It really is a successor to hades. Hades still number one. But this is a nice second. Specially while waiting for Hades 2.
BUMP @anthony78 @ste86uk @Brightsiderus big news all……. Offline update is out! If you haven’t downloaded this, it’s time!