Early Impressions: Godstrike
Godstrike is a tough boss-rush arena-shoot game that will either hook you or break you.
Godstrike is an intense boss-rush game by OverPowered Team that will give any bullet rush fan a run for their money. The steep learning curve, paired with the various upgrades and abilities, can allure some players, but may have pushed a bit too hard for me to fully enjoy this adventure.
In Godstrike, you’re in control of Herald Yissia, the fast moving protagonist, where the goal is to defeat various creatures and beings through multi-phased boss battles. After defeating each boss, you gain more abilities and powers to customize how to progress and plan to defeat the other bosses.
The big deviating factor to Godstrike is the unique way fights and time are handled. Instead of having your own health bar, each boss fight has an allocated time that changes based on which abilities you equip beforehand as well as when you are damaged in said fight. Want to use Herald Step, then it’ll cost you 15 seconds. What about Phantom Slash? Another 40 seconds. Don’t forget about getting hit from the barrages of attacks...all of which destroy the amount of time you have left. Though this was an incredible idea at the start of my gameplay, I eventually found the harsh reality unsustainable.
Even worse, since this is a bullet rush-orientated game, I kept getting hit multiple times within one bad bout - essentially making that run obsolete. For me, this destroyed any enjoyment of the game and had me pressed on whether or not I wanted to continue for the night. The game, after several losses from a boss, will ask if you want to turn on ‘Easy Mode’. Though it doesn’t explicitly say, it seems that each successful attack on you takes off less damage, and in my time with Godstrike, only minimally helped defeat the foe.
Mobility in the game, however, was a real highlight. The character zips throughout the arena while I attempted to ebb and flow through the cascade of bullets. The crispness of movement was like an ice skater in the ring, possessing incredible grace, speed, and, on occasion, power. The aiming of the attacks however, were less than ideal. For much of my rapid standard attack, it always seemed to be slightly off while I was attempting to also maneuver through the enemy’s attacks. I even tried alternate joy-con and my pro controller with similar issues. Though it’s likely my own human error for the inaccuracies, I can’t help shake the feeling that I never really figured out why I was askew.
Godstrike also boasts a variety of modes to delve into. I originally started in Story Mode, which gave me a microdose of story, but it felt more of an afterthought to catalyst me into the bosses. After each defeated boss, I felt an empty sense of success, especially since the story didn’t advance in those post-victory moments.
Arcade Mode, conversely, throws you right into having every ability unlocked, giving me a lot more options to experiment with powers and combinations. I started to use this mode as a tutorial and training session so I could do a sort of guess-and-check for ideal combos for the other modes. And of course, Challenge Mode throws another monkey wrench and shuffles the abilities and bosses - another cool spin to the concept for players to dive into.
Though I’m mostly lukewarm on the loop of these tough fights, there’s still a small inkling for me to go back and try again. Maybe I just need a break to get fired up again. But, if these tough fights sound like your spot of tea, then Godstrike is going to give you a fun run for your money.
A copy of Godstrike was provided for the Nintendo Switch by the publisher.
Impressions by Harry Loizides