Subverse is a twin-stick bullethell/ grid based XCOM clone/ H-game developed by Studio FOW who have made such illustrious titles as "Bioshag: Trinity" and "2B: Final ASSembly" and you kids know the rule : "If it has 2B in it, its erotica." and Studio FOW does not disappoint. The main gameplay loop of Subversively distracted us from the fact that FOW have not made another movie for so long is that you complete missions and explore new places to unlock new Waifus and PP (Yes that is the game's official ingame currency). While Doom Eternal is a pie eating contest where the reward is more pie, Subverse is a bland sandwich eating contest where the reward is the most exorbitant and delicious cake you can think of. Or atleast that was the intention. As of writing this ( Where Subverse is still technically in early access) the loop feels more like a bland sandwich eating contest where the reward are small, yummy pastries that that have practically no connection to each other and seem to have been selected at random. So, yes, P.A.N.D.O.R.A is a good idea in concept but the execution has been done terribly. I understand the reason why there is a cost to starting H-scenes, its to motivate the player to actually play the game and explore new areas instead of just doing the h-scenes. However I think that finding and recruiting new waifus should be the driving force to the players actions instead of grinding levels for PP and then doing an H-scene instead of actually progressing the story. There should be a PP system, no doubt about that, but the player should be given way more PP and just give the player a cheat code you have to enter or a button you can press for infinite PP so that those who really are content with the starting Waifus can just have that instead of forcing the player to eat bland sandwiches in order to get the the good pastries. Additionally I am somewhat concerned with the quality of P.A.N.D.O.R.A. As it is, it feels more like a few good looped gifs rather than a single, cohesieve experience.
Sure the speed slider is good but I know Studiofow can do better. Like way better. And I know im not the only one who thinks this way. The current system feels disjointed and incomplete as compared to the rest of the game which has had a stunning amount of care and love put into it. (Glad to see those 1.6 mil kickstarter dollarydoos aren't being put to waste but we would have preferred that that money be put towards P.A.N.D.O.R.A and the animations) Ok, onto the animations themselves. They are all spectacularly animated and look (and feel) great. However I feel like what we were expecting a half-length FOW movie with every P.A.N.D.O.R.A session rather than the collection of jumbled gifs it is right now. FOW said that they wanted to make a "game" and we respect that however amidst all the excellent writing, good combat and excellent talking animations, I feel like the core of the game was lost or not worked on enough. Moving on the other elements of the game,
The space/SHMUP sections are well designed but require both a mouse and KB which is bad for obvious reasons however the grid combat sections do not require a keyboard. They are fun to play and serve well as the main gameplay of the game. They are both surprisingly well polished since in most H-games, there is only "gameplay" and "story" and its refreshing to see something like this.I only have one complaint about it that combat should not be the main focus of a game like this (IK its FOW's game and they can do whatever they want with it but I, and most people were really expecting P.A.N.D.O.R.A if it was good and some fun gameplay and story to go along however it seems like that ratio has been completely switched. In conclusion, Subverse is a good game that is held back by P.A.N.D.O.R.A and a huge dissonance between what Studio FOW wants, what we (fans) want and what the actual game currently is. A complete rework of P.A.N.D.O.R.A and the ratio of gameplay vs "gameplay" is required however it can be fixed due to the game's "Early Access" status.
6.5/10
-BossPhase