Nuclear Throne
| Nuclear Throne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Vlambeer |
| Publisher(s) | Vlambeer |
| Director(s) | Jan Willem Nijman |
| Producer(s) | Rami Ismail |
| Designer(s) |
|
| Programmer(s) | Rami Ismail |
| Artist(s) |
|
| Composer(s) | Jukio "Kozilek" Kallio |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One |
| Release date(s) |
Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux
PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita Xbox One |
| Genre(s) | Shoot 'em up, roguelike |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Nuclear Throne is a 2015 top-down shooter and roguelike video game by Vlambeer. Early prototypes of the game were distributed through Steam's early access program in 2013. Nuclear Throne released on December 5, 2015, for Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita platforms, with an Xbox One release due in the future.
Gameplay
Nuclear Throne is a top-down shooter action game created by independent developer Vlambeer. The game consist of two main game modes, single player, and co-op (local only). The player controls one of a total of 12 characters that they choose on the loading screen. 10 of them must be unlocked through play. Besides the 12 normal characters, there are 2 'secret' characters. The secret characters are not able to be chosen from the main menu, and can only be played under special circumstances during play. For the average player one run through of the game would take around 30-40 minutes but when you take into account all of the constant restarts you can be playing for hours and not get past the first couple of levels.
Leveling
The game resets your progress when you die. Anything acquired in one play-through does not carry over to the next. The game also has a leveling system that allows you to get different mutations and choose what would benefit your character the most out of a selection of four, randomly selected mutations making the game also slightly about luck.
Weapons
The main aspect of the game is the guns, or really the weapons. The player starts with the basic hand gun, but they can upgrade by grabbing certain crates, one of them contains a weapon (red), the other contains ammo for the currently equipped weapon (yellow). The player can have two weapons equipped at any time, such as a shovel and an assault rifle.
Development
Vlambeer's Jan Willem Nijman and Rami Ismail served as the game's designer and producer, respectively, and shared the development work. Paul Veer, who had previously animated Vlambeer's Super Crate Box, returned to contribute art to Nuclear Throne.[1] The game's promotional art was drawn by Justin Chan, an art student hired on the basis of his fan art for early releases of the game.[2] Nuclear Throne's music was composed by Jukio "Kozilek" Kallio, who had composed for several previous Vlambeer titles. A friend of Kallio's, Joonas Turner, worked on the sound effect design.[3]
Nuclear Throne was released into Steam Early Access in 2013.[4] Vlambeer live streamed gameplay online for the public twice a week during development.[5] Vlambeer announced PlayStation 4 and Vita releases at the December 2015 PlayStation Experience keynote.[4][6]
Reception
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Nuclear Throne has received positive reviews from critics, scoring 81/100 on Metacritic.[7]
Alexander Chatziioannou of Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 4 out of 5 saying, "Nuclear Throne is impeccably presented and tightly designed. There is enough variety in characters, upgrades and weapons to ensure that playthroughs never get repetitive and its visceral combat is a joy in itself."[9] Jordan Devore from Destructoid rated the game a 8/10 saying, "it's one of the hardest, most rewarding games I've ever played. But as satisfying as it can eventually become, I think it is far too demanding for its own good."[8]
IGN awarded it a score of 9.0 out of 10, saying "Nuclear Throne is an enjoyably tough run-and-gun with tons of energy and variety to justify hours and hours of replays."[10]
References
- ↑ "Interview: Jan Willem Nijman On Nuclear Throne’s “Feel”". Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
- ↑ "Nuclear Throne: You Did Not Reach the Nuclear Throne". PlayStation.Blog.
- ↑ Mike Rose. "Meet Joonas Turner, Vlambeer's sound guy". Gamasutra.
- 1 2 Grant, Christopher (December 5, 2015). "Bastion, The Bit.Trip series, Nuclear Throne coming to Vita and PS4 today". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on December 5, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
- ↑ Marinconz, Steve (October 22, 2013). "Nuclear Throne Is Like An 8-Bit Borderlands". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on December 5, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
- ↑ Conditt, Jessica (December 5, 2015). "Radioactive shooter 'Nuclear Throne' hits PS4, Vita today". Engadget. AOL Tech. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
- 1 2 "Nuclear Throne Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
- 1 2 Jordan Devore (December 15, 2015). "Review: Nuclear Throne". Destructoid. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
- 1 2 Chatziioannou, Alexander (December 27, 2015). "Review: Nuclear Throne". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
- ↑ http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/12/16/nuclear-throne-review
External links
Media related to Nuclear Throne at Wikimedia Commons
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