DESYNC Review

INTRODUCTION

DESYNC is a first person round/wave based shooter that requires you to eliminate all the enemies in the area to be able to move onto the next. You will need skill and wit to be able to kill all the enemies to then move onto the boss.

If you like games that require you to always be on your toes then DESYNC is up your alley. It’s an extremely hard game that requires ammo management, dodging skill, repetitive nature and lots of patience. If you like games such as Hotline Miami, Bulletstorm and Dark Souls then this game is the one for you.

You can purchase the game on Steam for $14.99. See our video review of DESYNC below:

STORY

Unfortunately, there is no story in DESYNC, with such a confusing world and setting one would think there would be an interesting story here. It starts the game with a couple floating words that make no sense or even sound like they relate to each other. After that the game just starts and doesn’t refer back to what we saw in the beginning, it’s like it was just put there for no reason. With a unique art style and combat system, I would have thought they would implement some semblance of a story here.

GAMEPLAY

Since DESYNC is an arena/round based shooter, it means that you will be killing a lot of enemies. Unfortunately, with its basic formula, the game tends to get repetitive and boring quite quickly. You will be doing the same thing practically over and over again with subtle changes in the environment. There is fun to be had here but not if it is going to be the same thing every time. The weapons in the game are really fun to use because they do so much impact that feels satisfying. Such weapons as the pistol, shotgun, grenade launcher and machine gun are some of the neat tools that DESYNC has to offer in obliterating enemies. I enjoyed using these weapons and doing fun combos with them. The game encourages you to be as creative as possible in killing your foes, that includes using the environment to your advantage such as shooting enemies into walls of spikes, holes, hot lava, etc. There are a ton of ways to kill your foes but sometimes you won’t even have time to be able to do that because they gang up on you leaving you no time to kill them with the environment.

One thing that makes DESYNC unique is it’s aggressive A.I. that will try to kill you at all costs. This is one of DESYNC'S strengths and weaknesses because the gameplay may be challenging but it certainly doesn’t feel rewarding. I felt as if the game was punishingly difficult for all the wrong reasons. Most of the times that I died was due to no more ammo, difficult A.I., traps killed me, etc. There are a lot of ways in which you could die and you have to start the round all over again. There are also some A.I. that have a special color glowing on them, these colors include yellow, purple, red and blue. If any of these enemies have these colors you need to kill them right away because they are a lot stronger and have special abilities. For example, the enemies glowing purple can slow down time if you are near them but the enemies can actually run faster, you are the only one slowed. This is why you need to kill them right away. I enjoyed the variety in the glowing enemies, it kept me on edge and from the game feeling too repetitive.

You can also upgrade your weapons via using fragments you collect in the game during the missions. These will be in some tricky places but nothing or nowhere impossible to find. You can upgrade your weapons strength, speed, the rate of fire, etc. It’s a confusing system that didn’t make any sense at first but once I poked around with it more I was able to use it. You can also unlock two perks that will help you in battle, one is an actual weapon or shield, and the other is helping you individually via gaining health back, more damage on weapons, etc. You definitely want to keep the healing perk because since you will die very quickly in this game it will be wise to keep the healing perk at all times. You can lose health almost immediately after two hits so having that extra health just in case is always a good option. The only way you will be able to use your two perks is if you score enough points by killing enemies or killing them in a cool way via environmental kills or combining weapons (use your secondary stun with the pistol then switch to shotgun to finish them off), this will make your bar go up higher so that you will then have access to these perks faster.

Lastly, I want to talk about the boss battles. They are extremely tough and if you’ve ever played a Dark Souls game then you will feel right at home. These fights are ridiculously cheap and they will test your patience to the highest degree. These huge enemies are relentless and will do everything they can to kill you. What made these boss fights even more unfair is the fact that you run out of ammo so quickly that you have to rely on your pistol to ensure your survival after a while until you pick up more ammo. One boss, in particular, had a second transformation so you're practically fighting two bosses, one harder than the other, not cool at all. These fights are ridiculously hard because you have no room to breath. You are consistently running away and have no time to even think of a strategy. Fortunately, you are blessed with the ability to dash in this game because if you didn't have that then you would be in a lot of trouble. These bosses are merciless in that they know when to attack you and they strike hard, you can die in a couple hits. Each move you make will have a consequence so tread carefully when going against these mech demons.

PRESENTATION

DESYNC is inspired by an 80’s retro chrome style and I absolutely love it. It makes this game unique and different from others nowadays and I appreciate the throwback to the 80’s but unfortunately after a while of playing, my eyes started to hurt. It’s one to look at the same colors over and over again but it’s another when it starts to hurt my eyes, occasionally there will be a lot of lines coming down from the top to the bottom of the screen, this is when my eyes start to hurt. There weren't even any options in the graphical settings to turn off these annoying lines that come across the screen from time to time. They didn't take into account that people do have sensitive eyes, I don't think I've ever played a game that hurt my eyes as much as this game does. I don’t know if it was the themes or harsh colors but that’s the only kind of criticism I have for this game other than that it’s a fresh idea that needs to be implemented into games more often but not in the way that it will hurt your eyes.

SOUND

DESYNC heavily relies on it’s intense retro 80’s music to have a personality on its own. You will absolutely love the music in this game because it just works with it so perfectly and it makes everything way more hectic. It’s the kind of music that is supposed to energize you into becoming a killing machine. I really appreciate the awesome tunes, it just made the game more interesting. It is heavily inspired by games such as Hotline Miami but in a good way, it doesn't really try to copy it, it made its own unique tracks.

CONCLUSION

DESYNC is a repetitious high-octane fueled shooting adventure that always manages to keep you on your tips. It’s 80’s looks is enticing at first but after a while, your eyes may hurt due to seeing the same harsh colors over and over again. Not too mention the hard learning curve in understanding how the game's mechanics work and by trying to play the game by its rules, you will need lots and lots of patience in doing so. Its weapons are strong and impactful, but they’re not fun enough to keep me wanting to come back. Not to mention it’s boss battles is extremely hard and annoying. If you like games that test your patience and skill then this game is the right one for you.