Upd:
[h2]4 times better, 4 times the siz- shorter, actually.[/h2]
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Did not expect for dev to take note of EVERYTHING in the review i made and release an update addressing 95% of the things mentioned here... and guess i was right, because after aforementioned issues and suggestions got ironed out-game got GOOD, [i]but also shorter (duh).[/i]
With all the QoL's added, the [b]gameplay loop and flow felt VERY smooth:[/b] prestiging wasnt stressing me out anymore due to faster transitions/improved corium gains, i didnt need to play clicker on upgrade/rocket lab screen after every prestige, i could check all the hidden upgrade paths in one go (after a point) and adjust, etc. It's just better.
But due to all these improvements-[b]game went by way faster[/b] than what dev was building around, and it feels like there [b]should be some space for one more level[/b] [i](despite main skill tree branches going in all 4 directions from the center already)[/i]. That [b]price[/b] tag might be [b]a bit too much[/b] for this length for most people.
Still there's a couple of things to note:
[list]
[*]add "new round" hotkey
[*]"max buy" for costs in rocket lab should update with RP increase (+display "how much you buy" would be nice, no biggie tho)
[*]"go back" button is broken: got stuck in a loop of "rocket lab-milestones-...",
and path "prestige-back-any screen that has "back" button-back" puts you to main menu rather than level select
[*]cutscene sound is still tied to sfx xd
[*][b]RAISE THE CAP FOR RP GAIN[/b], im 40 minutes into writing this and im STILL nowhere near done XD
[/list]
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[b]Good little something, "Night in Venice" track can go to hell xd[/b]
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[h1]"Obsolete" review below, e v e r y t h i n g was addressed:[/h1]
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[h3]tl;dr Fine for casuals, Dissapointment and a chore for completionists.[/h3]
Having tried out the game jam version of this game on itch when it came out - i did enjoy it, but steam release left me very bitter...
Gameplay part of this game is quite nice for an incremental: keep upgrading your chain reaction capabilities and watch chaos unfold, upgrades are fairly balanced along the "main story" progression (albeit they're mostly filler), but the main gripe i have with this is going for 100% and [b]gameplay loop[/b]:
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[h2]Prestige sucks[/h2]
Prestige is the main progression point of most incrementals, and the one implemented in this game is SEVERELY underwhelming:
[list]
[*]Prestige currency (Corium) [b]scaling is tied to level[/b] you reached [b]at 1:1 ratio[/b], meaning that if you want to grind corium-best course is [b]early resets[/b] (1-2 runs).
[*][b]Prestige upgrades are few (10) and very bland[/b], main upgrades being: [b]More upgrades[/b], main one for progression; [b]More XP[/b], simple x1.2 mult per level; [b][u]T W O[/u] QoL upgrades[/b], one keeping track of purchased upgrades (should be on by default really) and the other keeping RP currency across prestiges (but not RP upgrades...); [b]More RP[/b], simple x1.1 mult per level. That's [b]HALF of worthy-of-notice upgrades[/b].
[*][b]The other half[/b] im having trouble of understanding why they are even in the game: [b]Idle mode[/b] which clicks atoms once a second, takes too long to restart and can be turned off mid-game BUT NOT TURNED ON, because of [b]Idle mode XP gain[/b] upgrade, which collects all XP at the end of the round (which should've been a QoL upgrade...); [b]Free upgrade points[/b], [u]O N E[/u] per level, be better off buying more XP; [b]Bigger RP offline gain[/b], offline upgrades are impliying you'll have to use them, and [b]offline'ing[/b] to progress [b]SUCKS; upgrade which allows to 100% the game[/b], final "ending" has to be not just tediously grinded for, but also unlocked access to.
[*]Speaking of [b]grind[/b]: because early resets are the way to grind corium, the UI navigation is making the grind even more choreful than it already is, forcing you through [b]2-second transition screens[/b] (3 of them, cheatengine can shorten it to 1 second, only transition animation is sped up...), then holding a button to prestige (instead of... just a button) and [b]constantly swiping[/b] to level 2 card (minor gripe). There are [b]NO PRESTIGE CURRENCY UPGRADES[/b], 1:1 lvl ratio is ALL you get, no any sort of special neuron upgrades, no "X upgrades persist through prestiges" QoL upgrades, not even an auto-buyer, which would really be welcome, because
[*]Every time you prestige-you have to [b]buy every single upgrade one by one again[/b] (you CANT buy last upgrade on the tree node so previous ones will auto-buy themselves, neither can you hold LMB and swipe across upgrades) and [b]music resets to start[/b], every time... Grinding is [b]monotonous, slow and now nerve-racking.[/b]
[*][b]You cant buy upgrades if you have corium pending to receive[/b] (essentially if you have more than 0 levels) even if you have the amount, buttons just refuse.
[/list]
And my [b]main personal gripe[/b] due to the chore that is 100% completion, there are 3 milestones (which are also achievements) that i despised, 1 more than the next one:
[olist]
[*]30 prestiges... i started hating on it before realising that full completion would actually be this tedious...
[*]Level 300, it requires you to gain somewhere [b]around 2-3 quadrillion xp[/b], which requires you to get at least 35 x1.2 xp upgrades [i](x59.000 general multiplier, game doesnt tell you how much levels you have),[/i] the price of this upgrade will scale to ~400-500 corium and the final push will be veeeeeeeery sluggish, but its either that, or buying more x1.2 multipliers or cheating the currency to buy the only upgrade that can help...
[*]Getting the rocket in rocket lab to speed of light, not only it needs a fee to obtain it, it needs the same grind process, but with x1.1 mult this time (although upgrades for it are cheaper)
[/olist]
[b]Smaller gripes[/b] would be:
[list]
[*]You cant sell upgrades , only way to reset the tree is to prestige, thus limiting experimentation with special atoms or other items in the tree
[*]Going back from prestige screen to level select ALWAYS opens it at the end of the list, forcing you to swipe to earlier levels because you dont have enough damage for level 3 levels to pop even a single atom. [spoiler](lvl 2 has 2 hp (1 click), lvl 3 has 25 (12.5 clicks), and you can only do 6 dmg at most with no upgrades.)[/spoiler]
[*]I expected a "chain combo always goes up", but there isnt one. [i]The way chain multiplier works is the "source" carries its multiplier to the "target", i.e. you can have 2 chain reactions going with one having x30 mult, while other being at x10[/i]
[*]UI is a very weirdly laid out map which has only specific entry points on each window [i](you can enter rocket lab from skill tree window, but not vice-versa, prestige has only 1 option to go to and its back to level select);[/i] bottom left button looking like "go back" is just a "level select" button but with an image lmao
[*]Milestones tab doesnt show "!" when there's one ready to be claimed
[*]Ending cutscenes music is tied to SFX audio slider rather than music, also once it starts playing-changing slider values does nothing, it has to play out for it to shut up
[*]"Graphics", mostly being "rank up post-processing fx" are turned up to max by default, they really should be in the middle by default, because its an actual eye strain, and lens distortion is too slow reverting to normal-it gives motion sickness... how???
[/list]
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For casual play it might feel a bit shallow since there isnt that many special upgrades going and tree is mostly filler upgrades, i'd better recommended them the free itch versions and ask "if they want more" to buy this, cuz all the difference that i remember between these are special orbs and thats it, i didnt feel much different between completing demo and release. What a shame...
