Have you ever thought that maybe you are being watched and tested? Others have it worse because they know it.
The heroes of the games are different: people, animals, aliens, other humanoids or robots. Rarely, apart from humanity, these groups are torn by internal conflicts. Protocore is an example of how tensions can arise among machines – especially when one becomes conscious.
The shorter the flame, the greater the flash
In the first-person shooter from the IUMITEC studio, we play the role of a robot that is forced to break through hordes of its brothers who are just waiting to tear it to pieces. In our trip, we are accompanied only by a mysterious, mechanical voice, which from time to time comments on our actions, usually in an extremely mocking and malicious way. We go through successive rooms of a mysterious spaceship in constant attempts to get out of a dangerous place. Who we are? What were we created for? Why do all machines want our destruction, and who repeatedly laughs at us with their slightly suspended monologues? So many questions, so few answers.
The gameplay is divided into three sections, at the end of which we have to face powerful bosses. Each part of the trinity contains several episodes consisting of different missions, the last of which ends with, and of course, a fight with larger opponents. The tasks are divided into two stages. In the first one we explore the simple labyrinths of the ship’s rooms filled with not too dangerous opponents, in the next we land in quite sterile rooms. At this point, we decide when the game will begin to achieve the set goal, thanks to which we can safely see the arrangement of the rooms, and the only exception are locations with bosses. The missions we have to perform are not very ingenious. Oh, you have to destroy specific objects or escort something. However, this is not the essence of the game.
200% more weapons equals 200% more fun!
Before hitting the road, assemble your party, as the classic said. Protocore is focused on cooperation up to four people, but you can choose companions only from your friends. Currently, we do not experience the possibility of playing with random people, so if our friends do not have copies of the game, we are forced to fight alone. In addition to choosing a company and a mission, we choose useful skills and two weapons before starting a merciless defeat. However, unlike the standards known from other shooters, here we do not switch between guns, but we use both at the same time. I admit that sowing damage from several different barrels at the same time gives me a lot of fun, and the crunch of the loading shotgun to the accompaniment of the clattering of the rifle with a hail of bullets gave me great pleasure. It should be noted, however, that the tools of destruction work independently of each other, being assigned to both buttons of the mouse, which forces a rather unusual keyboard, slightly contradicting the habits of similar titles. Weapons should be used with caution, however, as ammunition runs out surprisingly quickly, enemies multiply like rabbits, and the game consistently does not forgive mistakes.
The work of the IUMITEC studio, although it definitely belongs to the genre of first-person shooters, allows itself to romance with solutions known to roguelikes. We have to approach each task many times, usually ending our attempts with badly commented failures. Each repetition results in receiving experience points necessary to gain new development of your abilities. This does not mean, however, that performing the same missions again and again becomes more and more boring, because although we still go through exactly the same locations with the same objectives, each time we are drawn to different opponents and special powers that we have to watch out for. Interestingly, the pack of the latter, which include things like strengthening a specific type of opponent or quite embarrassing mines, increases each time
The protosyn points, which we gain during the first part of the exploration, also make the game more attractive. Thanks to them, we can replenish the stocks of ammunition and vitality in special windows, or gain access to hidden rooms, where there are small packages of the previously mentioned goods and unique weapons. Unfortunately, the usefulness of some of them is far below expectations, which we learn only after the fact, and replacing our basic weapons with them is irreversible.
Even though I am a robot, I hate robots
Visually, the game presents a rather interesting vision. The weapons look very nice and the reloading animations for some of them are very creative. Opponents, quite rich in details, showing a nice variety, although mostly they retain some similarities, clearly indicating that they come from one creator. You can also easily recognize whether the machine running towards us belongs to the weaker models, falling from a few shells, or whether a much more serious opponent is approaching us. The locations are also intriguing. The first part presents us with a dirty spaceship, full of rubbish, protruding metal sheets and other meticulous elements, while the second part turns everything around 180 degrees. Ceilings, walls, floors, ramps, balconies, everything is made up of almost identical, flawlessly flat panels only with a light mesh, as if everything were screens ready to display virtual reality at any time. Such an extreme difference in decor, however, fully corresponds to the climate that accompanies us constantly. We are a machine in a huge structure flying in space, fighting against hordes of robots using the wonders of murderous technology, commented on by an automated voice. Can anything technological surprise us here? All in all, maybe it is, because we will meet a rather strange solution here in the case of moving around. Yes, everything works just like in similar productions, but our protagonist tilts quite significantly with every twist during the march, giving the impression of a rather sober character. Of course, you get used to it, but it still remains a peculiarity.
However, it is different with the audio layer. Yes, the weapon sounds pretty good, the malicious commentator can fill you with a note of anxiety with his occasional suspensions of certain words and other sonic impurities, each of the opponents makes individual sounds that allow for trouble-free identification of the threat, and the containers with protosyn points let you know about their existence by quiet, melodic noises, but the music here is very economical. Although the silence increases the tension when exploring the more detailed parts of the location, and in sterile rooms it is the silence before the storm, the silent menus and windows for development, skill selection and weapons are exceptionally noticeable. Let’s hope this is only the fault of early access, because the music that fits the atmosphere during dynamic moments shows
Protocore is a difficult game, forgiving mistakes, sparing in the translation of weapons and skills, thus forcing the study of everything by trial and error. Suffice it to mention the annoyance when it turned out that the weapon of my choice did not harm the targets I was about to destroy, making it impossible to complete the task, or when I discovered that the grenade launcher did not do as serious damage to the enemies as it should. Annoying can also be a commentator, repeatedly ridiculing our failures and the stubbornness of a maniac belittling our successes, but dedication a decade of patience results in the discovery of an interesting game, combining proven solutions with a hint of freshness, trying to create its own atmosphere. If the creators refine some details, especially in terms of music,
