In the world of games development, there are a handful of important factors to take into consideration when making a game. In my personal opinion, a good game is one with solid game mechanics, a good story, and a sense of fulfillment as I interact with the game world.
Neptune Flux, the first release of Zoxide Games, puts you at the helm of a submersible working to build a habitat for colonization after the surface of the world became uninhabitable.
The Good
Overall, this is a fun, story-driven game. The graphics for the game are fairly good quality on the PC so I can only imagine how much more immersive it would be on a VR headset. The voice acting is also well done, which is important for a game based around a story-driven narrative.
Additionally, the music for this game was spot on. It was the right levels of relaxing and not so intense that it took my focus away from the exploration aspect of the game.
The Improvements
Audio – Some of the sound effects are a bit on the loud side, like the sonar ping. After awhile, it becomes kind of a nuisance which isn’t good for something you’re going to be using for the majority of your play.
Controls – Using the controls was a bit of trial and error since there was no mapping for controls. They felt a bit on the clunky side and the player’s field of view makes the player feel like they are smaller than they actually are which leads to you bumping into your surroundings from time to time.
Gameplay – The game feels short, very short. Even after exploring all around I had finished the game in just under 1.5 hours. I feel like the story was really rushed and there could have been some more to it. Exploration felt very concentrated as you had limited battery power for your vessel so you couldn’t stray too far from your base of operations.
Price – Coming in at a base price of $14.99 I can’t recommend this game to other people. It simply doesn’t have the substance to command that price point. Now, if there were to be additional content added to the game in the future then I may reconsider but a more appropriate price, in my opinion, would be no more than $7.99.
Final Verdict
Overall this game was an enjoyable, albeit brief adventure. While not, in my opinion, worth the $15 asking price it is still a good game and has the potential to be a truly great adventure and exploration title with the addition of more content.
Pros
- Quality voice acting
- Immersive feeling
- Interesting story concept
Cons
- Very short play time
- Feels rushed
- Not a $15 title
If you’re interested in playing you can find the game on the Steam marketplace and it will be coming to PlayStation 4 sometime early 2017.
