Coreward

Very fun game initially, the movement mechanism eventually becomes extremely frustrating. The upgrades come fast and furious at first (too quick to appreciate, and after a couple hours it is very difficult to get the next one. I'm rating it "Thumbs Up" for the initial experience, but I'm afraid that I'm close to my limit of frustration as the game progresses.

This idle game has one of the simplest game concepts possible: slowly move an energy shield around a core to stop objects from hitting said core. Meanwhile, opposite your shield, you have a tractor beam sucking in points from destroyed objects. The longer you survive, the more points you collect to invest in the usual upgrades you get in such games. Eventually you stumble on the best way to play the game, and also likely hurt your hands if you do it too much: rotate your shields (later, multiple shields for differently colored objects) as fast as possible around your core, by basically making circling motions with your mouse. As exciting as that may sound, eventually all challenges (except one where you’re not allowed) and all main levels can be easily aced with this simple little trick. The biggest issue I have is that the core gameplay is just not very satisfying. Lots of idle games stumble upon very simple but also very satisfying game loops, though the initial loop here, use shield to protect core, then rotate to align your tractor beam to suck in points, is basically the opposite of fun. Not even sure you can call this properly an idle game, as there’s some skill involved, b…

[h1]Unnecessarily grindy[/h1] Game has interesting idea and gameplay, but process of getting stronger/unlocking new stuff is tedious and over-extended. [hr][/hr]So, [b]progression[/b]. It's all over the place. Main "increase income" upgrade is progressing through levels, which are unlocked by completing a necessary objective. They consist of "kill N X" and "accumulate N seconds survived". [i]If there are more - i forgot/missed, because thats what i was mainly trying to accomplish.[/i] When playing the demo i noted that progression was taking too long to evolve (didnt have that many levels). For release, dev took "too long" from upgrade tree and applied it to level progression, because at mid-game point i stopped caring to even read the upgrades cuz they mattered less than unlocking new levels. Problem with "kill N X": there are some tasks where its pure RNG on "if enemy you need to kill will spawn in", like "kill 100 red squares" (rarer variation). By the time you'll complete this task, you would have completed tasks NEEDED TO UNLOCK [b]3[/b] NEXT LEVELS (lvls 9-11 were unlocked simultaneously). Another problem with it is a specific task of "kill 4000 enemies (total)". By the ti…

An addictive game that constantly makes you want to play one more run to achieve a new goal. It has a very deep progression system thanks to its upgrade tree and variety of enemies. It could use a bit of rebalancing in the late game, but I'm sure it will be improved soon, as the developers are continuously updating the game. It also offers a very rewarding experience thanks to the mission rewards. Overall, it is a wonderful game that renews the faith of gamers like me in the gaming world, especially after so many modern, non-innovative and uninspiring AAA games.

Clean, clever design. Incredibly impressed with the new ways to play between the demo and the full version. The upgrades are actually interesting and not all just flat linear upgrades.

Decent game somewhat similar to super hexagon, but with more upgrades and progression, however not as difficult and can be easily cheesed. All achievements done at time of review and I don't see any other reason to continue playing that being said. Still very worth a few bucks if you're looking for something different and engaging to play