This Means Warp: a space epic and something special between Overcooked and FTL!

Game news This Means Warp: a space epic and something special between Overcooked and FTL!

This means warp presents itself as a rogue-lite with a “management/strategy” dimension. Set in a sci-fi world, the earthlings decide to launch an attack against the norg, a seemingly hostile alien race. The goal is to traverse the galaxies, face these formidable enemies and learn more about this mysterious conflict. Rogue-Lite committed, your course includes random events, gear to restore, and a death that equates to Game Over.

A promising genre mix…

The This Means Warp experience is based on gameplay elements borrowed from titles like Overcooked and Faster Than Light. The main stages of the game take place on board the ship, where you have to perform various tasks: firing and reloading weapons, making repairs and managing defenses. The core of the gameplay is similar to Overcooked in the character controls and the implementation of the various tasks, while the parts management and equipment upgrades are more in line with a rogue-lite like FTL.

To follow the trail of the Norg to the edge of the galaxy, you must cross four “boards”, each leading to a boss. As in a role-playing game, these boards are made up of boxes containing various random events and, in particular, clashes. Note that even if there are fields that give you upgrades directly, each successfully completed field will provide you with upgrades and/or equipment.

In addition to the upgrades available for your ship, successful events/encounters earn both experience and money. The characters (eight in total, including four that need to be unlocked at the moment) need to improve three stats: optimization of shots, repairs and movement speed. The advantage of favoring it is mainly in multiplayer games where it is important to specialize to get the most out of the session. The money, in turn, is used to buy gear every time you arrive on a new board.

The core gameplay of This Means Warp is essentially promising for anyone who likes rogue-lite. But by the looks of it, the game struggles to renew our interest from one part to the other, which is to blame for an enticing melting pot, but ultimately very summary and a distinct sense of redundancy in the missions and events.

…But a suggestion that is not substantive enough at the moment

The gameplay is fully expressed during the clashes, which always take place in the same way. Shoot, reload, repair. This triptych is repeated over and over again and there are currently only a very limited number of variants. Some bosses require precise aiming of shots, they sometimes drop bombs that you have to get rid of… But that’s the main thing. We then just shoot and wait for the enemy’s HP to drop to zero while making sure the ship doesn’t explode. Also, the tactical/management dimension isn’t deep enough yet. The bonuses are often the same and the improvements to the ship are still not very diverse.

If the sense of urgency can lead to crazy situations and some laughs, once again standing still, the game has little interest in soloing. In this mode, players are replaced by an artificial intelligence that can independently take on a main task and do whatever is necessary to keep the ship afloat. So it’s entirely possible to play alone. But the repetition of the tasks and the lack of depth of the gameplay at the moment are detrimental.

This repeatability is also embodied in the various random events. Whether from one part to another, or sometimes within the same one, the recurring events follow one another without a break. Then we resist the damage and constantly repair our ship or hunt bugs to evacuate them. It’s fun again for a while with several people, but these missions tire quickly.

At the time of writing, This Means Warp is obviously not complete. With some gameplay adjustments, as well as a diversification of events and confrontations, it is very likely that this game will appeal to more than one, especially those who like cooperative games. In addition, This Means Warp has several assets, starting with its humor. Whether in player-induced situations or writing specific dialogue, the universe offers an absurd, yet downright refreshing, sci-fi journey. In short, Outlier Games’ software is both a great promise and a largely perfectable title that, with several improvements, could make for an enjoyable video game experience.