Indie developer iDreamSky recently launched their highly-anticipated anime-styled shooter, Strinova. Since the game has cute anime girls, I was interested, but everyone will notice the key item – anime girls in 2D and 3D form. I had to try it out to see how these mad scientists pulled it off.
Right from the start, when you start up Strinova, you’re greeted with an exciting opening cinematic full of anime girls, guns, and action. The character models of all the anime girls and boys are well designed and look great in their 2D and 3D forms, though more on that later.
The game’s story is set in a post-apocalyptic world in ruins, so much so that people have migrated to a new multidimensional world called – you guessed it, Strinova. In this new multidimensional world, the player takes on the role of the Navigator, each of whom fights for his beliefs and the future of all humanity.
Strinova, like many other hero shooters, has different types of classes that you can play: Duelists who are good at controlling battles, Sentinels who are good at defending and disrupting attacks, Support who are good at full support, Vanguards who are good at detecting enemy lines. plans, and Controllers who are good at modifying battles.
Each type has its own playstyle and they all feel unique enough, though my favorite is probably the Duelist for a more traditional shooter feel. The game changes weapons in that the weapons are permanent and you get upgrades and new status effects. This includes ways to shoot while doing parkour and even heal your comrades while moving.
I haven’t even gotten to the game’s signature feature yet – the “stringify” mechanic that allows you to seamlessly and instantly transition from a 3D anime waifu or husbando to their respective 2D versions. This feature not only makes movement, but shooting very fun and refreshing, opening up the shooter in ways I haven’t seen in other titles.
Instead of being limited to ten years of movement and meta gameplay, Strinova throws all that out the window, letting you climb walls like Link from Zelda: A Link Between Two Worlds. When you get close to various walls, you can literally wall jump like a picture and walk on walls, over walls and surprise enemies by returning to 3D form.
I kept relying on the old move and watching other players run laps around me and other new players, only to realize they were using stringify move entirely. When I started planning movement in full 3D space – not just traditional corridors, the game opened up completely. Vertical movement is not only encouraged, it is necessary in Strinova.
Stringify mechanics also apply to regular walking and entering regular gunfights – you can switch between 3D and 2D, paper-thin versions of your character in 3D space. This does two things: it looks very funny and adds to the overall ridiculousness of the game, but it also allows you to dodge bullets. If you try to shoot while stringified, your character faces forward, and the 2D, Paper Mario-esque model becomes a much easier target for enemies. This is also a factor when running on walls in 2D.
Each character can double jump into Strinova, and each character can also glide after a double jump, although they glide in a ridiculous 2D / paper-thin form (you see, because they float better). I think a lot of anime-themed shooters that try to achieve a true anime aesthetic tend to miss the mark with the mechanics, but overall Strinova is very polished, fun, and rewarding.
As you progress, you unlock more things in Strinova, the earliest game mode being the 5-on-5 bomb mode where the magic really happens. Once this mod is unlocked, I encourage you to plug in, jump in, and watch anime mayhem unfold before your eyes. It’s definitely the highlight of the entire game so far and it’s a lot of fun, even if you lose.
The overall gameplay in Strinova is a lot of fun, and the visual fidelity is very solid. I’ve already spent many hours on the game and haven’t experienced any major performance drops. Network performance also seems very stable – I haven’t noticed any significant spikes in latency and matches seem to fill up quickly. I think I’ve had a few matches where the players didn’t choose their Navigator (playable characters), but that’s up to them.
It’s worth noting that, like many other great efforts in the shooter genre these days, Strinova is completely free to play. So how is unlocking and monetization, you ask? Full disclosure: I’m not overly interested in loot boxes in games, nor am I obsessed with gacha unlocks. Progressing through the game and getting in-game currency to unlock things in Strinova seems pretty fair.
Strinova is a very refreshing approach to the hero shooter genre with its innovative stringify mechanic. I went into the game expecting it to feel like most other hero shooters and came out not only impressed, but genuinely interested in continuing to play and unlock more content.
iDreamSky came out of nowhere from Strinova because not only is it a very polished hero shooter, but it also has a great anime aesthetic and unique mechanics that no other shooter can replicate.
The post Strinova appeared first on ITNetwork.
Source: www.itnetwork.rs
