Aperion Cyberstorm (PC) Review

First things first: get those gamepads out of the box, because this doesn't feel the same with a keyboard, although it won't create any problems either - oh, and it's "those" gamepads instead of "that" because some may simply not work. That's just a small word of caution, though, as, while this has happened to the author of this article, few if any have run into a similar issue for the time being. The good news? Other than this flaw, Aperion Cyberstorm is a fine-working piece of software.

...Is it fun, though? Well, it's a pretty typical, twin-stick shmup - even when you take the infusion of bullet hell-type action into consideration. You know: fly around your ship or whatever, shoot bullets at the stuff that come towards you, and avoid theirs. There are temporary boosts to find, and it's possible to combine two abilities, from a long and varied list; abilities that alter the way your little monochromatic flying cannon spits death.

In terms of modes, the first, Campaign, mixes simple shooting fun with the overall structure of a Metroidvania game, along with a little bit (read: a lot) of dialogue thrown in to make things a little bit more interesting. Don't expect this to make you forget about your favourite Metroidvania any time soon, though. This is, undoubtedly, the worst mode out of the three on offer, first because the level design is simplistic, but especially due to the boring plot that's shoehorned into it.

Campaign can also be enjoyed in local co-op, for up to five players, but as mentioned before, this mode is not that enjoyable. Versus and Onslaught is where Aperion Cyberstorm shines, but only when playing along with friends, as things can get pretty boring too soon. The arcade-esque Onslaught is probably the best amongst all modes, as it provides you with all ships, upgrades and the like, and lets you confront wave after wave of enemy forces.

Obviously, this is basically a couch-friendly title as there's simply no reason to play alone, unless you approach the Campaign mode as a sort of a long tutorial mode. Things aren't perfect with the multiplayer aspect, first because of a severe lack of options, but mostly due to the fact that this can't be enjoyed online like it should - after all, finding four additional people to play isn't always easy, especially as this version offers no Switch-like portability.

A final thing that must be mentioned about Aperion Cyberstorm is its unimpressive art direction and sound design. Careful, before leaving a comment about how "not every game should look and sound like Doom XVII," note that this doesn't mean something like that. This is basically another example an indie game production where 'retro' is used an excuse, when it shouldn't. In other words, neon colours isn't retro, it's simply boring...

Of course, the reason for that is not the use of the palette itself, but the way it has been implemented. Simply put, the visuals lack that extra something; the feedback; the eye-catching fireworks - and the same goes for the limp sound effects and eye-shutting tunes that bop along to the action. This might seem like a silly complaint, as this is not an RPG, or something, but no, immersion is probably the most important thing in videogames, maybe even more important than gameplay...