Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture, Gyroscope Games, Digital Reality
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One
Tested on: PS4
Sine Mora EX – Review
During the last few years, remasters and ports have become a common trend. In many cases we get reinvigorated gems that even stand out between todays games, on the other hand, we also get a lot of lazy ports that seem to be rushed just to make a quick buck. The latter has happened way too often and has of course been a thorn in every gamer’s eye, so we were really curious to find out how a remake of a five year old game that mostly flew under the radar when it was released, even though it managed to rake in decent review scores, turned out. If done well, this could be a great occasion for fans of a genre that mostly has to settle for twin stick shooters, to put itself on the map and introduce new players to a genre that bloomed during the eighties& nineties, and has become a niche market nowadays.
Story
While most games in the genre, mostly have a simple, straight to the point story, without many plot twists and are limited to still screens with subtitles, Sine Mora EX brings a whole other experience to the table. It has a broad storyline that isn’t scared to bring some controverse to the table. While we have to put an end to the enemies opression, controversial themes as rape and facismhave a part in this game. There’s also a lot of swearing in this game, which explains the 16+ rating alongside the atmosphere.
All characters are really distinctive from each other and you get to pilot different aircrafts, where you can experience the story of different pilots. The narrative driven moments cut the pace a little between the frantic action, while they really raise the whole gaming experience.
Graphics
Sine Mora Ex is a really bright and colourful game, with many changing backgrounds. The only negative part about these backdrops is that it can get way too busy on the screen, while we already have to deal with a lot of bullets and enemy aircraft. Everything on the screen is extremely detailed though, and the enemy bosses really steal the show, since they almost take up the whole screen and all breathe personality.
Sounds
The soundtrack really sets the pace in this one, with bombastic background that seems to be timed perfectly throughout the game. While on most occasions, we’re rushing through the game, hyped by the tracks, it also changes pace with total silence, as if it wants us to take a breather to get ready for action again. The voice overs add a lot of drama and suspense, while the sound effects are all really sharp.
Gameplay
This is where this side scrolling 2D Shoot’em Up really hits the sweet spot, the movement as accurate and fluent as it could ever get, and all buttons are mapped logically. Next to the standard shooting button, and a special weapon function, we also get to influence time, which makes the game stand out from the competition. The life gauge is also slightly different, instead of just going down when we get hit until it depletes, we race against time and only die when it’s up. The best may to raise your score and time, is to avoid getting hit and to destroy as many enemy aircraft along the way.
To make sure we got to survive, we needed to take down enemies, which gave us power ups, and also extra added time on the clock. When getting hit by the enemy aircraft, we lost power ups, which we could of course recuperate, if we were fast enough. Next to the bullet hell, the game also contains a stealth element, where we need to guide or aircraft through debris, at a constantly changing pace, to avoid enemy contact. The game also contains a lot of different difficulty levels, where normal is already tough as nails, so the replayabilty is close to endless. When you just want to play the game without the story, you can just go nuts in Arcade Mode, co-op mode, or just play versus online.
Conclusion
Sine Mora EX is a decent visual remake of an already great game that packs a ton of innovation. While the enemy bosses are huge, extreme and intimidating, with the time manipulation and the stealth parts we get two gameplay features that make the game a truly unique experience. The game is really colourful and the only graphical downside is that the screen can get too busy with the living backgrounds. The amazing soundtrack and intricate story also bring this one to a whole other level.
Sine Mora EX - Review,
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