Giants Uprising – Spotlight
The idea of playing as a gigantic creature destroying everything in their path has been used in games before, but I’m surprised more video games haven’t taken advantage of it. I was a big fan of the Rampage series as a kid. It’s fun to take control of a monster with superhuman strength and watch it obliterate everything in its path. The first time I saw Giants Uprising, I was captivated by this very aspect of the film’s plot. Not specifically looking for a giant game, but the idea of razing mediaeval towns with a massive giant seemed like it might be entertaining to me. A few tweaks and optimizations could make Giants Uprising an even more satisfying devastation game.
There are Giants everywhere. Humans and giants on the brink of revolution have been allies for a long time. Eventually, the giants lost their ancient wisdom and their civilization began to disintegrate. Due to their size and strength, the giants were easily enslaved by human factions that recognised their own frailties. You take on the role of a giant who manages to break out of prison with the help of a human accomplice. Those who enslaved them in the first place will be held accountable for their actions, the two say in their declaration of independence.
Giants Uprising’s gameplay follows a predictable pattern for the most part. You take on the role of a massive, powerful giant who must destroy everything in your path. Close combat attacks, such as punches, charges, and stomps, make up the bulk of the game’s combat. It is possible to pick up the remnants of a destroyed building and use them as weapons or projectiles. If you run out of health, you’ll have to start over from the beginning of the game. You can heal some of the damage you’ve done to yourself by eating pieces of meat that you’ve scavenged from the wreckage.
There appear to be two major combat foci at this point in the game’s storyline. There are two types of combat: one is a more traditional sword and sorcery style, and the other is more like a slugfest. Blocking and avoiding their attacks while dealing enough blows to defeat them are the only ways to do this.
I was less enthusiastic about this type of combat than the other. In a sense, this is a 3D action fighting game like many others. There is no real sense of being a giant outside of the battlefield because you and the enemy are both the same height. Combat like this is fine. When you fight other giants, you can still feel their strength, and it’s a lot of fun. In order to get in a few punches against the other giant while they’re stunned, you’ll need to hold the block button for most of the fight.
The fact that one must engage in combat with other living beings adds another layer of difficulty. They can’t do much to you because you’re so much larger and stronger than they are. They are far more numerous, however, and they have a variety of towers from which they fire projectiles at you. While attempting to take out as many enemies as possible, you’re also attempting to devastate as much as possible in these sections of the game.
When I first saw Giants Uprising, this was the most intriguing aspect of the game to me. Everyone wants to play a game in which they are an overpowered giant who can easily destroy nearby buildings and annihilate entire armies of soldiers with a single hand-waving motion. This is where the game really shines right now. In these situations, the game does an excellent job of making you feel powerful. These situations, while not particularly varied because you can just mash the attack buttons and destroy everything around you, are still a lot of fun because of how simple they are. If the prospect of wreaking havoc and devastation is what initially piqued your interest in the game, you’re on the right track.
When it comes to gameplay, I’d classify the combat as “action/button mashing.” When fighting in large battles, you must dodge and block attacks to avoid being smashed to pieces and losing the ability to fight back. As a result, the game becomes more like a button-masher when you’re trying to take out humans. To begin with, you’ll have to prioritise the towers that fire projectiles, but if you don’t, you can just wreak havoc as you see fit, occasionally checking your health. If the combat relied on more precise parrying and dodging, I believe the game would have gotten bogged down. In some games, the only thing that appeals to you is the ability to obliterate everything in your path.
In terms of gameplay, the controls could use some improvement at this point in time. The controls are simple, with just a few attack buttons, a block button, and a dodge button. Simple and straightforward combat in Giants Uprising is an asset to the game. The size of your characters is the biggest issue I have with the controls. As a result of their enormous size, giants and other large creatures are often stereotyped as being slow and stumbling. It’s understandable that the developers didn’t make the controls as tight as they could have, as it would look out of place if your giant could perform quick, precise movements like an athlete. However, there are times when your character feels a little too slow. There were times when I struggled to control the giant and direct it in the direction I desired. To maintain immersion, you cannot make the giants too mobile, but the combat and controls feel a bit off.
Besides the sluggish controls, the most pressing issue with the game right now is that it needs to be optimised and polished. In the early stages of a game’s development, there is always room for improvement. Missions ending with nothing more than a “mission complete” message and buttons to begin the next mission are minor examples of polish. For now, it’s not critical, but when the album is released, a few more flourishes would be nice. Most of the time, the game runs smoothly with regards to optimization. Although the game tested my PC more than it should have, I was able to play it on a PC with higher than recommended settings. Expected given the sheer number of enemies and buildings that can be demolished. During some of the attacks, I was able to clearly see a decrease in framerate while I was executing the attack. As the game continues to be optimised, this could be fixed as a minor annoyance rather than a major problem.
There are some good aspects of the Giants Uprising theme and storey, but there are also some areas that could be improved. Overall, I thought the graphics were quite appealing. While it won’t be able to compete with a AAA blockbuster, the game still looks great. Buildings are demolished and human enemies are slaughtered with just one swipe. In terms of the plot, I was satisfied. There’s more thought put into the storey than you’d expect from a game about a giant who destroys everything. The storey is conveyed through a combination of still images and voice-over narration. The storey is a little cliche in some ways, but it’s more than I expected from a game like this.
It’s possible that Giants Uprising isn’t quite there yet, but I believe it’s on the right path. Everything revolves around being a gigantic monster with the power to annihilate everything in its path. It’s generally successful in accomplishing that goal. When you can easily destroy buildings and take on a much larger army, the game succeeds in making you feel powerful. A mediaeval village’s destruction has a calming effect on the mind. The controls can be a little sluggish at times, but destroying buildings with a single punch is hard to resist. Other than a few minor adjustments to the controls, the game could use a little more optimization and polish. At the moment, there may be some issues, but overall, it looks like it’s on track to deliver the kind of destruction-based game that fans of this subgenre want to play.
As far as advice goes, I’d say you should keep in mind two things. Giants Uprising isn’t for you if you don’t like the idea of giants destroying villages. In any case, you should have a good time with the game. Whether or not you should buy the game now depends on whether or not you plan to follow the game’s development. Fun is had in its current state, but some areas of the game are still a little rough. As long as you don’t mind this and the premise of the game piques your interest, I think you should give the game a try. Otherwise, I’d wait until the gameplay is a little more polished before deciding whether or not to buy the game.
