Gearend

What a great game, a truly under appreciated gem. Charming graphics with unique characters and dialogue. The atmosphere is reminiscent of Cave Story and its game-play has light metroidvania mechanics mostly prominent in its obstacle based open map progression. Your character, which is a robot, has interchangeable parts available for specific sections of its anatomy, there is its core/head, which usually offer passive traits, its legs, which affect its form of movement/mobility each set offering a different advantage per the scenario, and last but not least are its two arms which each can be replaced and interchanged independent of the other. This feature is not an accessory or after thought but rather an important mechanic that will require often mixing and matching of parts best to suit the scenario and while you will likely have a favorite set-up, you won't be able to stick to it is for the whole game which is nice because it motivates the player to explore this feature. Finall...

This is a fun little Metroid-style 2D action / exploration game. The graphics look great, this is a 2D sprite game that has dynamic lighting effects! It's so pretty! I really enjoyed the soundtrack as well, the tune in the desert area is my favorite. There are secret things to find all over encouraging you to explore and all the equipment you find is neat and serve a purpose. There is lots of cute colorful dialogue you have with NPC's. The controls are great, I played on an XboxOne controller just fine. I would say the game is challenging, moreso for somebody who isn't a 2D platformer-pro and there are instant death spikes, spinning blades, and crushers to look out for, so be careful! If you die, you're straight back to where you last saved, so it can be very punishing if you haven't reached a save room in a long time! The biggest downfall would have to be that the game is so short and left me wanting more. It only took me about four hours to complete with almost everything. [spoiler...

TL:DR: Worth playing if you like medium-length, cute metroidvanias and don't mind some rough edges. This game has an abundance of charm and personality, and has enjoyable, slightly quirky gameplay. It has all the hallmarks of being a one-person project, and this is both a good thing and a bad thing. The game's plot is simple, well explained, and just ambitious enough to lead to a surprisingly effective resolution. The NPC dialog is a highlight of the game, and the character design is also well-done, varied, and appropriate for the characters. It seems like Cave Story must've been an influence. Regarding gameplay, each new ability changed the character's behavior just enough to be genuinely novel, instead of being merely a new kind of incremental upgrade. I enjoyed playing around with different combinations of weapons and equipment, when normally I find one setup and stick with it unless forced to change by a specific puzzle. This helps the game stand-out from the crowded metroidva...

Gearend was an amazing expreience, To the art, music and animations it was just amazing, The game is a bit short but besides that i had a great time playing, From the start to the end i loved it, The hard yet nice platforming and the NPC's and enemys were very uniqe Everything about Gearend just feels nice, to the walking, jumping, selecting items, and general how everything is played out. After so long of following and finally being able to play this gem of a game i can truely say i loved it.

Game's decent. Stylistically very nicely done, and with a handful of very good tracks. As for actual game, you could probably call it a "metroidvania" as it involves exploring the map and collecting upgrades while working your way towards the objectives. Discoverable items include different weapons (you can equip two at once, which is nice), cores (which grant different passive effects), and chassis (mobility). There are 4 large-ish areas total (each with it's own secrets) and the game takes 4..5 hours to complete (a bunch more if you want to 100% the game and achievements). As for the negatives, there are various small oddities with the game itself ([url=http://steamcommunity.com/app/574500/discussions/0/1353742967808652750/#c1620600279662496628]my notes[/url]), and the framerate can be slightly unstable depending on GPU (which is regulated by changing settings or running windowed). I assume that those will be addressed over time

I've been watching SolarLune's dev vids on YouTube since the reboot of the game's development and I say, for a small game, it was even better than I hoped! Cute characters, nice story, and of course, the classic SolarLuned music! :D [spoiler] P.S. The bonus spiky tower in the weapons area is hair-tearing. [/spoiler]

bad game xd

What to play a metroidvania different from all others? Do yourself a favour and try this game out. Now *this* is what I call a hidden gem. It really saddens me that it's hidden though. The game is absolutely fantastic and it's unfair SolarLune sells it dirt cheap. Splendid graphics, reasonable amount of customisation and a well presented dark atmosphere. Someone get some mainstream streamer to play this game and give it some publicity because it deserves it! Eagerly awaiting for a sequel as well :D

Love your work Solarlune!

Fun if short Metroidvania. I don't usually give reviews but this game is getting pretty overlooked. Pros: - Fairly good animations and some nice graphical effects that make the game feel vibrant and active. - Great soundtrack, with the music you have to listen to the most being some of the best. Lots of variety considering the fairly limited scope of the game, eg every boss has its own music. - Amusing characters and dialogue highlight a competent if not super original plot. Little touches that make me think it was made by someone with a background in engineering. - Fluid and functional controls. - Suitable level of challenge and reward in finding out how to progress further - far from obvious without being completely arbitrary and frustrating, - Some decent platforming/jump navigation sorts of areas that incorporate equipment upgrades well, - Some other equipment upgrades that are interesting if not that useful. - A fair amount of exploration bonuses. - Linux support! - You don't hav...