Decent but expected much more.
I have to be honest with you guys. I preordered the game just because of my nostalgia and the deep love I have for Apogee. Back then booting a game up and hearing that magical Apogee fanfare at the intro was almost a guarantee that the next few hours were going to be amazing. Even when seeing the first gameplay videos of Bombshell and not seeing any of that magic of the past in them, I still convinced myself that the final product was going to blow me away.
And finally the game was released... and it's nothing to write home about. If Apogee's name wasn't slapped on the front cover, we would just talk about a decent generic isometric shooter and nothing more, the ones that popped up on GOG or Steam and you only consider buying on each Summer Sale for a fraction of the initial price.
The story is nothing to write home about, just the typical alien invasion that only our main protagonist can prevent. But this is only a minor issue, after all even Duke Nukem didn't have a story to show besides "they stole our babes" angle. But that's when you have to ensure that your title shines in the other departments. And unfortunately with Bombshell they dropped the ball there as well.
For starters, the main protagonist is bland almost silent heroine, a far cry of what Duke Nukem was back in the day. No bad ass one liners, no funny remarks, no interactions with the environment, nothing. Bombshell is as expressive as a slab of concrete and almost as silent. You would expect that this is the one aspect that Apogee would try and get right, but unfortunately no, it seems like they didn't try at all.
Secondly, the levels are extremely bland and repetitive, despite the used engine being capable of far better visuals. I'm not talking about the texture or lighting quality, but the level design and the aesthetics of each area. Even though it starts promising, with a big shootout at the White House, soon after you are teleported into the alien world where everything consists of geometrical shapes, making it look like they used a simple level editor to create the levels instead of putting real effort in creating imaginative worlds. There are some exceptions here and there, but none of them will stick in your memory after finishing the game. I mean everyone who ever played Duke Nukem 3D still remembers the first episode by heart, room by room, but here the only thing I remember is basically the lighting color in each level.
So why don't I put a single star on the game and call it a day? Because the mechanics are decent and killing aliens is fun for the most part, especially after unlocking the bigger guns. There is an upgrade system that at least gives you a reason to complete each level in the best of your abilities to unlock better gear and upgrades. Well... that's about it, to be honest. Solid mechanics in a rather bland package.
Do I regret buying the game full price? Not really, I bought way worse titles and I really want to see Apogee becoming a reputable studio once again, creating amazing games and giving me the same chills every time I hear that fanfare at the intro. Buy it when the price drops.
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