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Overture is a hectic rogue-lite game developed by black shell games. It was released on Steam in January of 2015 and currently has a very positive rating.
Premise:
Hack, slash, shoot, and cast your way through the crazy hectic dungeons of Overture. There is not a second for you to rest. With enemies and projectiles flying at you from every direction, you need to be constantly on your toes!
Collect experience to level up your hero, and use your collected gold after every death to permanently level up your character!
Visuals:
Overture is a reasonably cute little game, though a little lazily put together.
Character and item sprites are quite generic.
Menus are a little too pixelated for my liking.
Backgrounds also tend to be a bit bland and lifeless.
Music:
Crazy hectic music for a crazy hectic game. A strong soundtrack, and it fits the game incredibly well. It gets you in the mood for some fast-paced dungeon-clearing action.
Menus/Interface:
Not exactly the greatest menu system. I find it frustrating that you can use the mouse to do things on certain menus, but on others, you need to use the keyboard. The game has mouse support, so why not use it to its fullest extent? Not a giant deal, but something to take note of.
Also, the in-game HUD gives you extremely little information. It won't give you information on your current items if you hover your mouse above them, and it doesn't show you your exact current HP or Mana. I suppose this is partially remedied by the fact that they have all your stats in a menu that you access by pressing the C key.
Gameplay:
As I mentioned before, gameplay is crazy hectic. You're running around constantly trying to avoid the hordes of monsters clamoring to your position. One wrong call and your position will be overwhelmed, and you will have no chance of escape. You will find yourself dying quite frequently.
A lot of damage you take seems unfair and out of your control, as there will be shots flying at you from literally every direction, and many enemies have erratic and un-dodgeable attack patterns.
Death is an integral part of eventual victory, but unlike other rogue-lite games, this progress seems extremely gradual and slow. I had put a couple hours in at one point, and I still couldn't beat the first boss.
Boss fights come off as very dull and linear. They are essentially a test of your patience to run around in a circle and avoid it while hitting it a couple times, and every boss seems like the same exact fight as the others. Not much strategy to defeating these guys at all.
Usually you will fight small and easily beatable enemies, but some common enemies are stronger and pose a significant threat if not handled correctly.
Here is a link to a gameplay video of me clearing the first level: Dungeon Souls Gameplay
Controls:
Controls are simplistic, and it seems to work out well. Every hero has one basic attack, and one special attack, both of which are initiated by the left-click and right-click. You will never find yourself hitting the wrong button.
Also, Overture has a running mechanic which I found interesting, but I'm not completely sure about it. Here is an in-game screenshot to explain it:
I won't say its good or bad, but running certainly is different from what I've seen in other games.
Summary:
Despite its many issues, Overture has its appeal. This game would be good for fans of the rogue-lite genre.
Pros:
Cons:
SCORE: 7.5 / 10
Do you agree? Let me know in the comments below!
Also, stay tuned for a future let's play series on Overture!
Visuals:
 |
| Its cute, but nothing really special. |
Character and item sprites are quite generic.
Menus are a little too pixelated for my liking.
Backgrounds also tend to be a bit bland and lifeless.
Music:
Crazy hectic music for a crazy hectic game. A strong soundtrack, and it fits the game incredibly well. It gets you in the mood for some fast-paced dungeon-clearing action.
Menus/Interface:
Not exactly the greatest menu system. I find it frustrating that you can use the mouse to do things on certain menus, but on others, you need to use the keyboard. The game has mouse support, so why not use it to its fullest extent? Not a giant deal, but something to take note of.
Also, the in-game HUD gives you extremely little information. It won't give you information on your current items if you hover your mouse above them, and it doesn't show you your exact current HP or Mana. I suppose this is partially remedied by the fact that they have all your stats in a menu that you access by pressing the C key.
Gameplay:
As I mentioned before, gameplay is crazy hectic. You're running around constantly trying to avoid the hordes of monsters clamoring to your position. One wrong call and your position will be overwhelmed, and you will have no chance of escape. You will find yourself dying quite frequently.
A lot of damage you take seems unfair and out of your control, as there will be shots flying at you from literally every direction, and many enemies have erratic and un-dodgeable attack patterns.
Death is an integral part of eventual victory, but unlike other rogue-lite games, this progress seems extremely gradual and slow. I had put a couple hours in at one point, and I still couldn't beat the first boss.
Boss fights come off as very dull and linear. They are essentially a test of your patience to run around in a circle and avoid it while hitting it a couple times, and every boss seems like the same exact fight as the others. Not much strategy to defeating these guys at all.
Usually you will fight small and easily beatable enemies, but some common enemies are stronger and pose a significant threat if not handled correctly.
Here is a link to a gameplay video of me clearing the first level: Dungeon Souls Gameplay
Controls:
Controls are simplistic, and it seems to work out well. Every hero has one basic attack, and one special attack, both of which are initiated by the left-click and right-click. You will never find yourself hitting the wrong button.
Also, Overture has a running mechanic which I found interesting, but I'm not completely sure about it. Here is an in-game screenshot to explain it:
I won't say its good or bad, but running certainly is different from what I've seen in other games.
Summary:
Despite its many issues, Overture has its appeal. This game would be good for fans of the rogue-lite genre.
Pros:
- Hectic gameplay keeps you constantly on your toes.
- Combat is simplistic in a good way.
- Fitting soundtrack
Cons:
- A lot of unfair combat.
- Boring visuals.
- Tedious bosses.
- Tedious level progression.
SCORE: 7.5 / 10
Do you agree? Let me know in the comments below!
Also, stay tuned for a future let's play series on Overture!
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