Developer: gFaUmNe
Publisher: gFaUmNe
Platform: PC, Xbox One, Switch
Tested on: Switch
Flowing Lights – Review
Play your familiar retro arcade shooter but with a modern twist! Going from old school to new school, Flowing Lights also brings in puzzle elements to the game. With all these things combined, they are meant to offer a challenge for the brain on top of the fun of destroying little aliens! While not getting the high score in this scenario, we did moderately enjoy the experience.
Story
There isn’t a big storyline given within the game – not that it is necessarily needed in these types of games. When starting a new game, you are met with a few screens containing sentences that explain your current situation. Your objective is further explained when the first level begins.
“Your spaceship was attracted by an unknown planet that has an unusually strong gravity. You are forced to land…” You and your spaceship survive the crash. We now have to travel to the North Pole where the gravitational pull is the weakest so we can take off from there and escape the planet that is infested by hostile aliens. Other than that, there is no real story content to dig into.
Graphics
We have mentioned before that Flowing Lights has a modern approach to the classic arcade shooters that we have grown accustomed to. Besides the puzzle elements, the game separates itself from the retro-style with its smooth 3D animations and surroundings, and its use in colors. There was a good attempt with the color schemes and the glowing effects from the lasers, but other than that, we found the experience somewhat underwhelming. The colors themselves weren’t a bad choice but we didn’t get why most of them had to be so bland. The color tones are not at all fitting with the space theme, and it would’ve been better if the developers opted for a Tron clone for this one. The levels feel so dim and lifeless in contrast to the gameplay.
Sound
Unlike the graphics, the sound design was much better. We found it more fitting for the overall sci-fi theme. Because of the music and sound effects, there was still a bit of life brought into the game’s otherwise bleak aesthetics. The sound effects are indeed effective and helped with the immersion of the game. The electronic/synth soundtrack is okay, but it felt kind of dramatic and out of place at times. The latter can a little obtrusive but it also isn’t something to fret over.
Gameplay
Flowing Lights is a third-person shooter that is based on classic arcade shooters. Now, what makes Flowing Lights different from other games in the genre is the fact that it combines puzzle elements with the generic ‘pew-pew’ action of these games. This is made clear by the fact you can’t just blatantly fly into the enemy zone and shoot ‘em up; you need to be more strategic and think about your approach.
The objective of the game is to fly through consecutive zones, tactically shoot down enemy aliens, until you reach your end destination – which is level/zone 200. The battles themselves are pretty fast-paced, depending on the puzzle. The puzzles in each zone are very obvious in what you have to do to pass through the zone, but it’s still challenging enough for you not to nonchalantly fly through it without losing one of your six lives. Well, at least, if you play on easy or normal. You’ll only get a maximum of four lives in hard mode. You can change between the game’s three difficulties at any given time during your gameplay. It does affect the gameplay drastically because it will change the game’s pace, the toll on your reflexes, and in-game fatality rate among other things.
The core of the puzzles is mainly the same. There are aliens that are shooting bullets (and who knows what kind of other stuff) at you, and all you have to do is avoid them and kill the aliens who are attacking you. What makes it so challenging sometimes is the fact that you can’t just shoot straight ahead at the alien in front of you, because of the distance your bullets have to traverse and how the walls of bullets are formed, preventing you to come closer. This is where you need to think of different strategies. It’s often a matter of deciding what weapon is best for the job. You’ll also need to keep your surroundings in mind since the dips and the hills affect the gravity of your bullet(s) massively. There is nothing more to it than that. It’s definitely fun to play, but it can get repetitive after a while.
Another fun thing about the game are the scores and leaderboards; which you can share online if this is turned on. Both of these are automatically disabled when you change the difficulty to easy. Your score is divided into ranks C, B, A, and S, and it depends on your time, accuracy, and combos. Ranks A and S can only be achieved by completing all combos.
Conclusion
Flowing Lights stands out from other arcade shooters because of its puzzle element and tactical gameplay. The game itself is, unfortunately, not revolutionary. If we didn’t have this spruced-up gameplay loop and (online) leaderboards, the game would be very mediocre. This is in part because of the game’s very bland visuals. Luckily, the sound design balances the scales in the favor of the game again. Even though the game gets repetitive after a while, it can still be fun to play in short bursts, or as a score-beater for those wanting to satisfy their competitive nature.
Flowing Lights - Review,
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