Developer: OneorEight
Publisher: Rising Star Games
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Tested on: PS4
Earth’s Dawn – Review
One might forget, that next to all the big releases, such as Gears of War 4, Battlefield, Dragonball Xenoverse 2, Paper Mario Color Splash and the many more big guns that release during October and November, there are still many other, smaller titles that reach the surface. Sometimes we get to experience an unexpected gem among all of these, we’ll find out if this is the case with Earth’s Dawn.
Story
In Earth’s Dawn, we take control of soldier in an elite team that has to protect the earth from alien scum. Sounds familiar, corny, boring? Well this is by far the weakest link in this game. The presentation of the story is truly dull and uninspired. Instead of cut scenes (even though we get some of those, but they were bland) that might makes us want to care about what happens to our world, all we get are text filled moments that don’t really give any sensation of immersion.
We expected a lot more from this 2D side scrolling beat’em up/ RPG, where the story usually needs to be enticing, to make the players want to finish the game. We can’t say there’s any substance worth mentioning that makes this game stand out from the crowd. No awe inspiring antagonist, no hero we can relate to, no epic, memorable gaming moments we can daydream over, nothing really, just a blank sheet.
Graphics
Graphically, the art style of the characters immediately reminds us of Gears of War, wrapped in a cell shaded coat, which is a good thing. We liked the bright and colourful environments, even though they became quite repetitive, since most levels almost looked the same. The design of the enemies, which are basically alien robots who look like animals, was also satisfying, they are all very distinguishable, even though the game could use a few more varieties.
Sound
The sound effects were top notch, though we could have done with some background music that took the whole thing to a higher level. In a game like this, you really want some rocking guitar tunes that breathe bad- assery, instead we’re left with some atmospheric music, which is better suited for a tea party. The voice- overs in the game were quite nice, but only if you don’t mind that it’s completely in Japanese, with English subtitles. We enjoyed this a lot though, since one decent voice option is always better than a dozen of half assed attempts.
Gameplay
The gameplay mechanics in this 2D side scrolling beat’em up/ RPG are this game’s strong suit, the usual combination of shoot, jump, strike & dash is very well implemented. The only down side we experienced in this area is the twitchy difficulty level, which was not realistic in the least. At one moment you’re slaying enemies as if you’re invincible, while at times you can barely land a hit. But those moments don’t really put a damper on the fun.
To make the battles even more interesting, there’s a lot of customisation to our weapons and armour, hence the RPG- influence. Next to the many weapons we can buy, thanks to the currency we earn through the game, we also grind for materials, which can be used to upgrade our arsenal. When the main story gets a bit too hard, we can always take on side missions to boost our XP, which is necessary, because of the twitchy difficult we already mentioned.
The combat is top notch in this game, the dash gives us access to flying enemies and the combo chains make the action really come alive, especially when in the air. It reminded us a bit of Devil May Cry’s play style, which is a huge compliment to any designer. The only difference here is that the system seems to be rather random upon granting scores, you might be playing through it, thinking you’ll end up with an S-class score, while ending up with a mere B. Since we tried similar play styles on the same stages, this still needs some fixing, so we’re hoping for a patch. Another dissapointing factor was the fact that our team mates on the screen, just followed us through the stages, without offering any kind of support.
Conclusion
Earth’s Dawn has some good ideas, but does not execute them all to perfection. Even though the frantic combat is top notch, the storyline is one of the least compelling we’ve seen recently. The twitchy difficulty puts a damper on the fun, since it partly takes away the effects of the wide variety of customisation options the game has. The rating system also needs to be tweaked, since it’s not as accurate as one might have hoped. This game showed a lot of potential, which never really comes out the way we hoped it would be.
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