"Star Gladiator" review: robots meet gladiator arena, adrenaline is surging

Watching robots "punch to flesh" in the ring has always been a very popular theme in the field of science fiction. In terms of TV programs, the popular science to the "Robot Challenge" has been popular all over the world; In terms of film, the story of "robot" and "boxing" is "Iron Steel", which reflects the family affection of father and son behind the story, and many audiences are moved by it; Animation, the comic book industry not to mention Transformers, Gundam, are many people's childhood memories.

Therefore, the description on the Steam store page of Star Gladiator Arena that "players play as the robot J3 and participate in the most popular dueling tournament in the universe" makes me feel very close. Of course, "friendly" has another meaning - there are too many games in the same genre today, and robots can see too much, and players may suffer from aesthetic fatigue.

The pixel wind based "Star Gladiator Arena", in the game screen and object modeling, compared with most of the same genre, naturally at a disadvantage. Speaking of the most intuitive feeling of the game, if it was not in the battle, saw the opponent's body fell off the block components, I may not realize that this is two robots in melee.

Therefore, the gameplay has become the key to whether this game can attract players. The game's creators are well aware of this, and have long since posted "arena," "show," "RPG," and "action game" on the game's brief.

After the trial, "Star Gladiator" is indeed in these aspects of the effort. The arena, needless to say, is the hexagonal ring where robots fight each other. The stage was filled with spectators watching the game, and the LOGO of the so-called "sponsor" was printed on the border. However, it is interesting that the game production team has introduced many game-related media, websites, and platform logos into the game, creating the illusion that "everyone has invested money".

But really want to talk about, or "Star Arena" in the "performance" of this design. It can be said that in addition to fighting and developing gameplay, "performance" is the most important part of this game.

The performance is easy to understand. Gladiatorial fighting, in ancient Rome, was originally a cruel show designed to please the nobility. However, in the game, the fighting between the robots is much safer and more harmonious, and the composition of the performance is also stronger. There are many mechanics designed around "performance" in the game, and combined with the combat system, it helps the player better defeat the enemies in front of them. Combined with the cultivation of gameplay, it can increase the fans and popularity of players - gladiators in the game are not like ancient Rome, which are bitter slaves. They are more like stars like bullfighters, with their own fans. The more powerful the gladiator fans, the more interaction with fans through the game's "micro blog" - "star Bo", is also part of the leisurely gameplay of this game.

Of course, the real value of the performance is in the gladiatorial process. The first point is that during the battle, the audience will issue missions to the player from time to time. Players complete these tasks in gladiatorial fights, and they can get rewards from the audience. In addition to being able to buy items in the shop after the game, the most important point is to increase the attack power of the gladiator. In other words, the more you give the audience what they want, the more damage you do.

Another point is that the show can also take the initiative to ask for gifts from fans in gladiatorial fights. Compared with the ordinary audience who only have the reward on the gold coin, the fans set up before the game start often give the player some actual material support. Like blood packs and buffs. Want what kind of gift, arrange to send the corresponding gift fans to the "special seats" before the game, enriching the side of the game is not very rich fighting gameplay.

It is said that the combat gameplay of this game is very lacking, mainly because of the combat move level.

Don't look at the design of the game has a changing system, but the game's changing, basically belongs to a change of jewelry, will only affect the audience issued by the task category, will not affect the player's value. At present, the game can affect the player's health, attack and defense values only weapons. That's the long sword in my hand.

The player can only use this weapon throughout the battle, resulting in an extreme lack of combat moves. In other words, you can only attack with flat A five combo, and to show the operation, you can only rely on reaction and dodge. In addition to the fact that the main output is only five combos, the game's auxiliary combat system is also very simple - a small auxiliary robot with a CD that can automatically aim and deal damage.

Manufacturers have also recognized this and designed some remedial measures accordingly. Since the player can only rely on the dodge show operation, then the reward of extreme dodge is naturally necessary - a large increase in movement speed and knife critical attack. At the same time, the idea of combat is designed to encourage the player to find an opportunity to output by ducking. On the one hand, this is reflected in the enemy's high-damage moves, and on the other hand, when the player attacks the enemy, in most cases, it is not able to cause a hard straight.

On the issue of "only using the long sword", the manufacturer thinks of upgrading and improving the weapon. Similar to Monster Hunter, after defeating the enemy, the player gets some material, which is the key to strengthening the weapon. The player's sword can be broken down into eight parts, each of which can be individually enhanced.

The destruction of parts in battle, I think it was also inspired by Monster Hunter.

In addition to the combat-related parts mentioned above, the base of the players' usual activities in the game has a different flavor. The functions of different areas are different, but the most critical is the various Easter egg plots, and the design of small interactions. It makes the dull life of battle rich and interesting.

All in all, Star Arena is a fun game. Although the combat part is slightly lacking due to the lack of moves and weapons, the addition of the "performance" system makes the entire battle process not boring. Overall, though, this is an action game that eats away at the player's proficiency. But fortunately, the BOSS's difficulty curve design is reasonable, and there is no such situation as to persuade the player to quit at the beginning.

Of course, there are a variety of interesting Easter eggs and memes in the game, and the title design after opening the game is full of humor. Without the dark, cramped tone of other action games, I felt more relaxed and enjoyable playing the game.

By the way, as a final note, the game is a top-down Angle, so players can't freely rotate the Angle of view during combat.

Can't rotate the view freely? Isn't that a lot less action fun?

That's true. But for players like me who get dizzy easily, it might be an unexpectedly good design.