Seraph PC Preview by Eivmoe of We Touch Games
Genre: Action, Early Access
Developer: Dreadbit Publisher: Dreadbit
Release Date: Apr 26, 2016
Seraph is a highly skill-based acrobatic shooter, where all you need to focus on is how to dodge and where the next platform is! The platforming in this game is heavily on point, both for your own acrobatic skill, but also as a challenge. You fight as an angel who only has a small amount of her powers, attempting to escape a prison which is infested with demons. The game is now out for early access, developed and published by Dreadbit.
Action in Seraph is as much as you want it to be, play it as a pacifist all the way up to the boss, or play it as a murdering angel killing and destroying everything in your path. With an automatically aiming weapon, your biggest struggles will be dodging. (And your viewers if you are in twitch mode.)
RPG? Wait there is rpg elements in a high action shooter riddled with enemies and tons of weapons!? 7 weapons, 6 blessings, 3 miracles, and 7 different wards. All unlocked through crafting and story? This game offers a lot for what it is asking for. With a dedicated development team, only more can be hoped to come from this, so as a tip, keep an eye out for Dreadbit!
So, roguelike but the market is overfilled with that already…? Nope, wrong, Seraph is not a roguelike, your angel Seraph can be slain in her battles, however that means you will be starting with less than maximum health on the same stage, and the only way to save your progress is through hidden checkpoint orbs which saves your game and works as the checkpoint, so when you die you respawn there. In my experience in a certain level, you’re going to die at least a few times.
Twitch mode, you say? It isn’t really a mode, so much as you are streaming to twitch, and giving your viewers a voting system so they can screw with you. While the viewers can be quite #EVIL, from destroying your primary weapon to increasing your difficulty, they are never #EVIL enough to make the game unbeatable or a grindfest. Remember, everything is about dodging and platforming, so using these to your advantage you can take down everything, even with your basic pistol! Which makes this a challenging game that is sure to bring a lot of fun for both yourself and whoever may be watching!
Just as they can be #EVIL, however, they can also be #GOOD. From giving you a bigger chance of a save room, more weapon lockers, wards, or even short cooldowns, the game balances itself out without much trouble. That is if your viewers decide to do you some good, of course.
Not a twitch user? While the majority of the players may not be streamers, the game offers many different options for you to play, speedrun, standard, hero, and impossible all start the game at a different difficulty and increases the challenge as you go on. So be you a twitch streamer, speedrunner, or just a casual player, this game offers it all in a high action package, with platforming!
A great soundtrack accompanies the wonderful storytelling, and while it is not amazing, it quickly becomes a great part of the game that follows what you need or want. It’s not overpowering with dramatic music, but goes well with the high action and sound of your weapons firing. It fits the visual style perfectly.
Controls are amazing as long as you use a gamepad. Its keyboard and mouse, or just keyboard, controls are sub-par, but you are able to customize 100% of the buttons, so you can tweak them until you are happy about it. Default, however, is decent. I tested the gamepad controls with PS3 and PS4 controllers, and I only found that the onscreen prompts only used Xbox buttons. However, after talking with the devs, they will be adding an option to select from, making this tiny complaint void.
The character movement is as fast as you can make it using your own skill to get by. Most of the game can be played through without getting hit, if you are good enough. You have a short range teleport to dodge the worst of stuff, or just to make you run a little faster. It feels like you have no input lag and everything responds quickly and just as you want it.
All in all there is little negative to say about the game, except that it is not released as of yet. However, even as it is now, it’s a great game worth its price, and worth buying even for an early access game as it does feel like a complete game with only more to be added. Definitely worth checking out!
Pros:
+No need to aim, focus on dodging
+High speed with many different modes
+Weapons you pick are all viable and are up to play style
+Fitting soundtrack
+Dedicated devs as of writing this, weekly updates
+Beautiful 60 fps
Cons:
-Not fully released yet
Eivmoe gives Seraph a Drastik Measure 9.5 out of 10 (95)
Eivmoe
http://store.steampowered.com/app/425670/
