Project Nimbus: Complete Edition Reviews

Reminds me of Zone of the Enders and some other underground cool mecha game that I used to play during 2007 or so.

pretty fun game, especially for one dollar. the part where you have to slowly limp through the depths of hell for 20 minutes is definitely a necessary thing. yup. 100%

Ehhh... I don't know. The gameplay itself is fine-ish. Very stylized, fast, a few options in terms of weapons. I've read how others think of this as "mecha Ace Combat", but it's really not. Movement is very twitchy, allowing your mech to boost in every direction at the press of a button (that's gotta suck for the pilot, suddenly pushed around at a 100 G's). And Ace Combat's beauty lies in how you can turn your movement into a ballet - pull the plane up into a loop, drop down into a gracious dive, skirt the ground, et cetera. In Nimbus, the ground doesn't play any role. Inertia isn't a thing. Movement can be any which way you want, but remains very basic. But it's the package around it which is kinda wonky. The story is shaky, with lots of weeb stuff thrown in (because "OMG ITS JAPAAAAAAAAN! ECKS DEE", so of course you've got a small girl inside your cockpit, built buy an old man who's so out of touch with reality that you really have to wonder why he's even allowed to broadcast his opinion (I mean, he's preaching about peace and cooperation through technology, yet fails to see why the people left on the surface aren't really interested in this nonsense) and character portraits drawn in the Japanese cartoon style. Why? Everyone is supposedly American. And this game isn't made by a Japanese developer, so... Why? (Again - because JAPAAAAAN! OMG! ISNT JAPAN AWESOME?) The pacing of it also feels off - you're a new (but skilled) member of a PMC, immediately have a rapport with everyone else (How? You literally start your first day as a city gets attacked. Doesn't leave a lot of room for introductions) and briefings are filled with lines like "Remember that engagement you were just in?". Like, the mission I finished not even 20 seconds ago? Yes, I do remember that, thank you. I mean, fuck, it's all so wooden. If they'd dropped the weeb nonsense and tweaked the story a bit, it'd have been a very nice experience indeed. But I get it - the developers were high school kids in Thailand, so they don't have the life experience to see what makes a good story. It's an incredible achievement in any case, just marred by the unnecessary bloat. It's a hesitant recommendation, because there is some entertainment to be had.

I think what I appreciate the most is that, for an indie game, it is a pretty decent mech shooter. And because its always on discount, its a no-brainer. It isn't Armored core, it isn't Another Century, but it is a passion project of sort. I remember playing the old version years ago but couldn't run it at max settings. At max settings the game is beautiful for an indie title. I love moments where I'm flying at max speed and pierce through the thick haze of clouds. Going from below the clouds to above to see starry sky, or above the clouds to below to see a neon city, it makes you appreciate the little things. Watching other units duke it out in the distance with gunfire and missiles filling the screen, its always a spectacle. Granted, initially it can feels overwhelming, and you can't tell which missiles are heading to you. But with practice, you become a sort of newtype, multitasking weapon selection, enemy positions, and incoming missiles. The mech designs while simple are still appealing, especially on high graphics. I especially love the cockpit mode and how different mechs have slightly different cockpit styles. It adds to the immersion. The characters though aren't 3D (with exception of one stage) and most of the time you will see their portraits as they communicate. Certain cutscenes have full body 2D cutouts, but it all gives vibes of low budget indie title. But that is not a bad thing. Rather, this simplicity (not cheapness) adds to the flavor. Even the mission briefings are just 3D holographic renders, like they often show in sci-fi war movies. As for the story, I'll admit, it does pick up later on. Initially its the same old gundam-style story we have seen many times before. But there are some nice ideas thrown here and there. Its great we see the plot through the lens of two different characters from both sides. The voice acting is passable. The music, a few tracks really rile you up during showdowns between important character; those tracks are my favourite. The gameplay has its weaknesses, in that there is no 'addicting' gameplay loop. You don't earn any resources or credits from missions, you don't upgrade or buy weapons, its all one linear ride. And the weapons don't have ammunition counts, just cooldowns. So, its just a sequence of spamming weapons until cooldown is completed. If it weren't for the visual spectacle, it would be boring. Perhaps this is why I only played till ACT III and didn't continue further. There wasn't enough incentive to play, but maybe I will come back to it later on to see how the story resolves. I still recommend this game to mech fans.