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One of the most challenging types of indie games I run across are the ones I really admire for being daring, combining styles of play in unanticipated ways, and being unapologetic in their approach… but it doesn’t quite all come together. That’s very much the case with Volta-X, which mixes giant robots, some real-time-ish strategy, team and relationship building, base and resource management… a veritable kitchen sink of concepts, but then pairs them with some interfaces and menus that make them more difficult to navigate and keep up with than it should be. You’ll need to pretty carefully work out how best to utilize your team, upgrade their skills, keep working on new parts for your robot, keep an eye during battles on which areas need help and which of your crew may be on their last legs, work out how they’re spending their time back at base, be sure to navigate through the story screens to be sure you’ve gotten rewards and all tips for missions… do you get the idea that the game is simply a lot? Yeah, it is, and that’s a double-edged sword. On the one hand it really tries to give you a lot of bang and depth for your buck, you can chart a crazy number of paths to success and do things pretty well your way… but all of that flexibility can make decisions a bit bewildering to begin with, and then when you regularly notice you had some opportunity buried in a screen you could have pursued or made use of a battle or two ago it can be frustrating. If you’re up to the challenge and are out to enjoy a pretty wild ride of light strategy and resource building mixed with some tropey story beats and giant robot battles it can be a great time, just you may need to be patient with it and excuse its warts in a number of places.
Justin Nation, Score:Good [7.5]