Developer: Pyramid
Publisher: PQube
Platform: PS4, PS5, Switch
Tested on: PS5
Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix – Review
We’re in no short supply of brawling games, especially considering the genre has been picking up steam again with a lot of Smash Bros clones being released over the last few years. Some of these prove to be entertaining, but all of them offer the same experience. Now however, we ditch the 2D arenas to duke it out in the air in Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix, a game in which so-called Actresses pilot mech-like armors to become to best fighters out there. What seemed like a fairly generic affair turned out to be a rather enjoyable bite-sized fighting game.
Story
The game starts off with an introduction stating how the Earth was under the attack of aliens, called the Vice, and due to this, humanity had to leave Earth. After traveling through space for decades, a new type of energy was discovered that could be harnessed by so-called Actresses. This finally allowed the human race to fight back. Now, peace has returned, and you are currently the captain of a project where simulation battles can be held between said Actresses.
All in all, the introduction sounds very serious for a game that revolves around girls battling in mech-like suits. Nonetheless, it’s fun that each selectable character has their own storyline, and thanks to this, the game does have quite a bit of replay value. Sadly, the very serious introduction feels a bit hollow due to the fact that the alien invasion is only mentioned once to then devolve into a series of ‘cute’ conversations between idol-like girls.
Graphics
Even though the game still looks quite spiffy, you’ll quickly notice that the game is quite limited when looking at character models and the different environments. Almost all characters have the same facial features and only have different hairstyles. Of course, some characters are taller than others, and the outfits are also a bit more varied, but we feel as if all characters were simply modeled from one base model. The arenas you fight in look fairly okay, but they are nothing to write home about due to a lack of details or interesting backdrops. Don’t get us wrong, the game still has a certain appeal, it just looks very simple for a PS5 game.
Sound
The sound design is also quite good. The game has a very upbeat soundtrack that does get you in the right mood to duke it out in small arenas with massive weapons. The sound effects pack a proper punch and give nice feedback for the onscreen explosions and gunfire. What truly steals the show here, however, are the fully voiced dialogues during the story campaigns. Each of the different Actresses has their own story, and all small cutscenes here are fully voiced. The Japanese voice acting was of top-notch quality.
Gameplay
Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix is a 3D fighting game in which you can fly around an arena during battles. You’ll have a basic gun (or launcher) at your disposal, while also being able to use melee attacks, as well as some charged special moves. The offset is very simple, as you simply have to K.O. your opponent(s). You can play 1 vs 1 matches, as well as 3 vs 3 matches and there is also a free for all mode. The latter is something we’d advise skipping, as the game is clearly not optimized for this mode due to the lack of a proper lock-on system when multiple fighters are in the arena.
The meat of the game’s content can be found in the story mode, where you start off with a chosen character to play through the story of said Actress. There are quite a few characters to choose from, so you’ll have your work cut out for you. When playing through the game, you’ll gain more experience and you will also unlock new cosmetic items as you go. You can also swap the gear of your actress, but certain elements are not properly explained, for example, why you cannot select certain character-specific items at the beginning, even if you are playing as said character. This was also the case for the tutorial, which skipped through every step in mere seconds, making it impossible to actually try out all commands.
The control scheme is not too complex, but we did notice that not all skills feel very smooth. Sometimes there are odd delays in executing moves, your own homing attacks are easily dodged while you still get hit by enemies while dodging, and so on. On top of that, the game does suffer from inexplicable difficulty increases for some of its battles. Those sentiments aside, the overall battles are still a lot of fun, and we perhaps enjoyed the 3 vs 3 format the most, as you can create a team with different weapon loadouts, creating a well-balanced team. In this format, you’ll still only have one character in the arena at all times, but you can swap freely between them.
Conclusion
Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix is a fun brawler with a few cute storylines to play through. The game has the right pacing and the battles prove to be rather entertaining. We do wish the game was a bit more polished, as the graphics of the game are a bit simplistic and the controls are not as responsive as they could have been. Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a fairly original fighting game with cute girls in the lead, then this one’s worth checking out.
Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix - Review,
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