Gripper

When I saw the trailer for Gripper, I found myself drawn to it. It looked like it had some concepts that I loved; Fast paced gameplay, sci-fi apocalyptic aesthetic, battles with titanic bosses... So I tried the game. And let me just say, while the game does have good ideas... They fall flat. First, the story. I'll be brief because there's not much to talk about. The story is bare bones, the characters are one-dimensional, and honestly it felt like it was added as an afterthought. While I was whatever about the characters, it's a bloody shame that there was no real world building, because the setting was interesting. They just didn't do anything with it. The dialogue is also... not good. The writing is weirdly paced and often feels inorganic. Plus, there are several instances where the subtitles don't match the spoken dialogue! It really felt like not much effort was put into the narrative. But hey, you don't need a super compelling story if the game is fun to play, which begs the question: is it fun? The answer is... complicated. On paper, the gameplay has everything it needs to be good; high speed action sequences where you blast through tunnels, the ability to Akira-Bike-Slide on command, and top-down battles against massive bosses. However, in practice... it doesn't do either of these things particularly well. Let's start with the tunnel sequences, because these are the most egregious. You may be noticing a theme here, but on paper, they're good because you blast through 360 degree tunnels at high speeds, being able to pivot in the full 360 degree range to avoid obstacles in your path. However... MANY of the obstacles aren't visible until you get close to them. The problem is the distance at which they become visible is too short for you to have time to move out of the way if you're not already in the right position. In addition, the ability to go 360 degrees is defeated by the fact that doors are only accessible from one direction, meaning being in the wrong position punishes you if you don't know where to be. As a result, while the game wants the tunnels to be an exercise in reaction and reflex, instead they become an exercise in trial and error. With zero checkpoints in the tunnel and numerous QTEs that aren't particularly enjoyable, the tunnels become more of a slog on the way to the bosses. That said, if the bosses were enjoyable, then maybe they'd be worth suffering through the tunnels. And once again... the bosses are only good on paper. What was promised was boss battles where you rip apart your bosses and turn their weapons against them. In reality, the bosses are mostly about chucking random enemies or objects at bosses. The ripping is mostly a "hit their weak spot while they're stunned" effect. What makes this worse however is that hitboxes are atrociously inconsistent. I've chucked an object at a boss, had it make physical contact with the model, only to pass through it and deal zero damage. On the flip side, enemies have no problem hitting you, with certain attacks and grabs hitting you even if you're not physically touching the enemy model! Enemy hitboxes are deceptively small while your own hitbox is deceptively big. It's just not consistent in the slightest. The game is also short. I beat the main story in under 3 hours. The only replayability comes from doing optional missions which involve... fighting the same bosses over and over again, but with added conditions. And you can unlock boss rush and tunnel rush to play all the levels in sequence. With only 5 tunnels and 5 bosses, this gets repetitive VERY quickly. The upgrade system is pretty limited, given most of the main upgrades are for health, energy, or consumables. It would've been nice to upgrade things like the Hook Range, Rip Speed, etc. but no such upgrades exist. Most new abilities come from bosses but those that you do get, you'd think they'd be default abilities. You know, things like jumping or speed boosting. And while you'd think things like Jumps and Speed Boosts would be great for the tunnels... instead, they just add new QTE's. There was so much potential that sadly wasn't capitalized on. I really wanted to like this game. I really did. The concepts were cool, but the game very clearly needed more time in the oven. No matter how cool the concepts are, the game can't go far if the execution is subpar.

[b] Target Audience: [/b] [I] Those with a lot of Frustration Tolerance and want something a little different in Action [/i] [b] Summary: [/b] Gripper is one of those games that feel like it's on a very shaky foundation. Don't get me wrong, when the tunnel like sections and open arena combat are working the way you want them to, it can be fun and a challenge. But the shaky foundation doesn't like a lot of variation in gameplay: and almost expect you to go one way and one way only. The thing is, if you do go outside the bounds of what the game wants you to do, even for a moment: then all hell breaks loose. Like, I'm not talking about not listening to the game's very oddly written story or the instructions given to you. I'm talking about going left versus right against a hazard in the tunnel sections: and running into a hazard that has appeared so quickly in front of you, you have no chance to dodge it. Or a boss fight where the bosses leading shots are so accurate that you are wondering if the game is literally predicting every movement with the limited turning radius at times. These things start to add up quickly: as it starts to feed into a frustration that you will not only be able to shake, but will continue until you just say “nope, no more for tonight”. But what's worse for me is the overcoming of that frustration doesn't even feel rewarded. It doesn't feel like you've grown despite the fact that you've learned how to get further in each section: it's just that you have information now and can dodge/deal with things even before they happen. You're just glad that the enemy boss is not throwing the same line after dealing with it for 10 minutes of them just mentally exhausting you over and over again. Look, under the surface here there could have been a game that did well to bring bike combat and the tunnel racing to the forefront: but all I have found is a game that felt like it was tested by the people who programmed it: and not anyone outside the knowledge group. Which means that it's very much knowledge is power: and well, have fun trying to get it. [b]Stream Footage: [/b] https://youtu.be/keEMYoNHPg8 [u] Lists: [/u] [b]Positives:[/b] [list] [*] A nice idea with the combination of tunnel riding gameplay with combat arena biking. [*] Some concepts about the themes are nicely used, even if a little bit too in your face about it. [*] Rewards those who are resilient. [*] Some cool designs with the Guardians. [/list] [b]Negatives:[/b] [list] [*] Frustration. Both sections do not really reward skills but knowledge of what's to come: which leads to a lot of times where you get a hit and you're like “OH COME ON”. [*] Game has too many times where it drops a hazard/issue in front of you and you do not have the time to react, even if you're the fastest hands and mind in the west. [*] Very unforgiving for players with lower skill floors/ceilings. No checkpoints, and not a lot of ways to fix things if you go down bad paths. [*] Feels like the game was designed to be 2-3 times longer then it is, and things were cut left and right. [*] Controls on movement are consistent, but still feel like it's constraining in the wrong ways. [*] Writing is confusing at times and feels like half of the plot was cut out. Missing lead-up for information makes it feel like the player is skipping forward and backward randomly. [/list] [b] If you want more reviews/information regarding games I've reviewed, visit my curator. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/6861768/]Dragnix Curator [/url][/b]

I really wish I could recommend this game but it's just not that good. There's a lot going for it—the concept is cool, using a bike to rip hearts out is awesome, and there's creativity and beautiful visuals in abundance—but the game fails to tie that up with gameplay that isn't frustrating. The challenges are particularly bad. Anything with a variant of not getting hit by fire, electricity, or literally anything is way too annoying to deal with because you get hit just once and you have to start all over again. You DO get a shield later on and you can upgrade your Energy to use it often. But then... [spoiler]during the final boss, there is a choice you have to make when you lose your upgrades; you can get them back at a price or fight without them. I want the happy ending, so I chose the latter, but then the boss became an absolute goddamn chore and I decided I didn't want to bother with it anymore.[/spoiler] All the same, I do like [u]Gripper[/u] conceptually, Heart Core have done a good job with the 3D and animations. Writing and voice acting's a bit meh but this IS their debut title and they did put the work in. I look forward to seeing what they do next.

I really liked this game at first but to be honest I dropped it for a while because of the insane difficulty. Later developers added more checkpoints and now Gripper is much more comfortable game to play. It has great visuals, great music and also I was hooked by the plot - I liked its symbolism and psychological topics Gripper talks about. Gripper combines great arcade racing sections and the various boss fights where each enemy needs its own approach. I can recommend Gripper to these players who needs a great story, arcade sections and retowave vibes.

After I got used to the controller, I liked the game. And it’s pretty cool that you can use anything as a weapon. First I thought I can grab only explosives and throw them to the boss but then I realized that I can rip the legs off the bosses! Quite an interesting mechanic. So using the controls was weird in the beginning but it’s just because you need to get used to it.

I like the way you can hook and then sling yourself forward. Quick time events were a little on the left side that I didn’t like as much. The music is good and reminds me of Furi. The way you pull off the leg of the boss is kind of finicky where you feel like that you don’t want to get close to him because you’re gonna explode, that’s kind of weird but I like that they also pick up the enemies and throw back at it. That was fun.

Gripper kinda reminded me of Danganronpa 3 minigames where you’re also in the circle with a bike and doodle stuff, love this. The grappling hook with the grappling is a little bit counter-intuitive. The actual hooking is fine but the throwing was kind of off and it took me three tries to understand how to use the throw detection. I think I’m not good at this game, I say with a grain of salt but it’s fun. Also the music adds to the adrenaline if you know what I mean so it’s a really good fit. And about the character design - at first when I saw the hand I thought it was just a hand and it would be the master head from Smash Bros but with the face was really cool to change around and have different expressions and it was creepy as fuck which I love.

I tried extensively to give this game the benefit of the doubt. It had a really cool idea of doing Furi's concept but with a bike and hyper stylized art style that I was ready to love. The ingredients sound solid, but oh boy it doesn't work. The boss designs are way too simple, boiling down to just the same solutions. The isometric fight sections feel terrible to control, and the game is a buggy mess. I am unable to progress past the Acceptance stage, as the game just does not play a cutscene after the boss is beaten. I have restarted a number of times and verified integrity of my steam files, and have been extremely disappointed that it's consistent enough to prevent me from even getting to the latter half of the game. 0/10, save your money.

I really liked the game mechanics, it’s something new. It was a surprise for me that you can throw stuff. At first I thought it was a game fro shooting but it turned out that not only. The music is really good.

I like the idea that you can grab things and then throw them to the bosses. Liked the tunnels to the bosses, the fact that there are obstacles and you slide away from it, that’s really cool.

The controls are a bit tricky to understand and it’s hard. There’s a thing of try-harding, you want to get better at the game. And I HAVE to finish it

It's a very unique action game. It took me a while to figure out how everything works. I like the motorbike A LOT! I feel the speed, like the Akira slide.

I literally caught fire playing this. The graphics are impressive and the controls are simple, but at times the complexity can be frustrating. Overall, a great choice for hardcore fans. Separately, I will note the great music

Great game. boss fights and an amazing soundtrack is all you need.

Very unique vibe like a bit of cyberpunk. It’s really difficult. I was like I WANT TO BEAT THE BOSS!!

Boss fights all over. A fun ride, action packed game that performs great on Deck! Recommended!

The trailers make this look like a smooth, stylish, high-octane bullet-hell. In reality, its a janky, frustrating boss-rush with poor controls and worse encounter design. I refunded it after an hour of play (First two bosses defeated)

~ DIFFICULTY ~ 🔲 My 90-year-old grandma could play it 🔲 Easy 🔲 Normal ✅ Hard 🔲 Dark Souls 🔲 Understanding Dark Souls' story ~ GRAPHICS ~ 🔲 MS Paint 🔲 Bad 🔲 Meh 🔲 Graphics don't matter in this game 🔲 Good (nothing special) 🔲 Beautiful ✅ Masterpiece ~ MUSIC ~ 🔲 Bad 🔲 Not special 🔲 Good 🔲 Beautiful ✅ Masterpiece ~ Gameplay ~ 🔲 Try not to get addicted ✅ Very good 🔲 Good 🔲 Nothing special 🔲 Bad 🔲 very Bad ~ Audience ~ 🔲 Kids ✅ Teens ✅ Adults ~ STORY ~ 🔲 Not important in this kind of games 🔲 Bad 🔲 Text or Audio floating around ✅ Average 🔲 Good 🔲 Lovely ~ PRICE ~ 🔲 Free 🔲 Cheap ✅ Acceptable price 🔲 Could be cheaper 🔲 Overpriced 🔲 Complete waste of money ~ REQUIREMENTS ~ 🔲 You can run it on a microwave ✅ Potato pc 🔲 Average 🔲 High end 🔲 NASA computer ~ LENGTH ~ 🔲 Very Short (0 - 4 hours) ✅ Short (4 - 10 hours) 🔲 Average (10-30 hours) 🔲 Long (30-50 hours) (if you go for everything in the game) 🔲 Extremely long (50-100+ hours) 🔲 No ending ~ FUN ~ 🔲 I'd rather watch paint dry 🔲 Hard to enjoy 🔲 Repetitive 🔲 Actually pretty amusing 🔲 The kind of fun you'll remember ✅ Ride of your life ~ REPLAYABILITY ~ 🔲 It's a one-time experience 🔲 Only for achievements ✅ If you wait a few months/years 🔲 tens of times 🔲 Definitely 🔲 Infinitely repayable ~ Bugs ~ ✅ Never heard of 🔲 Minor bugs 🔲 Can get annoying 🔲 ARK: Survival Evolved 🔲 the game itself is a big terrarium for bugs ~ WORTH BUYING ~ 🔲 No 🔲 Wait for sale ✅ Yes

That game is kind of peace of art! God, I didn't see a lot of styles in one combination, even don't want count. You MUST buy this game if picture for your eyes already incredible. Glad to be present in this story and action. Highly recommend! Thanks for this heart;)

The visual style is cool. But just as cool is the drive and emotion you get on the bike, overcoming obstacles and destroying bosses one by one.

Pretty fun fast-paced action game about riding a motorcycle. Graphically it looks good, like any other cyberpunk styled game, especially the effects and world development. The gameplay is exciting and challenging at some points (I only passed the first 2 bosses, and already the game was quite difficult). Gripper has a simple plot, but as for me, there is nothing particularly interesting in it. I recommend giving it a try.

Gripper is a game that combines quite unusual mechanics. It's dynamic and fun to play. I realize that in many aspects this game is behind the others, but that does not mean that the project is bad at all.

A good game to relax from Elden Ring or in's kind :) I liked the idea of ripping enemies apart with the hook attached to your bike, and the game is not very long, so don't worry about getting bored with this mechanic.

From the trailers I thought this game would be akin to Furi+Akira, but sadly Gripper is not either of those. It clearly wears shows its inspiration from Furi however Gripper does not have the same depth or fluidity of controls as its spiritual predecessor. The best way to describe the controls as feeling inconsistent, the range of the grabbing arm, the direction an utility of the drift/sliding mechanic, the damage attacks to do to bosses. It makes the the act of fighting the bosses feel more like fighting the controls. Additionally the runner segments are really lack Cool Math Games Run-esque sections which are only broken new and unlocked mechanics are actually just quick time events. They were what i was looking forward to most and honestly I didn't wanted to skip them every time I encountered them. That being said I think the art design is really great, the sound design is fucking fantastic, and the cut scenes with the split perspective and art style is really interesting. It is an indie game after all, and for $20 they get a lot of slack from me so they still get a thumbs up. Just know that these are my issues with the game and I wish the gameplay could be better but Heart Core still deserve congratulations for shipping their first game.

Gripper is a game for those that love to challenge themselves, and because of so many failures the victory feels so rewarding. you're getting better and better, fail, play, fail, again fail, but still keep going.

This game is something definitely new for me. Liked the hook and grip movement, also the slide moving in the tunnel. I've played in this kind of game before like ball moving in the tunnel with the same moves and I was addicted to this game, I was playing it all the time and forgot about it, it’s quite a good reminder of it.

It's fine for what it is but very short- I finished it in 104 minutes. Buy only at the right price point for your time.

"Gripper" is an exhilarating rush of adrenaline! The motorcycle action, hook mechanic, and post-apocalyptic setting make it an addictive and thrilling experience. Highly recommended!

Similar structure and vibe to Fury. A little clunkier to play and a different mechanic where instead of shooting you tether items on the arena and launch them. Instead of walking between bosses you play that minigame from Sonic where you go 3D and run down and endless tunnel with obstacles you clear by steering or using QTEs. Worth it at the price if that all sounds up your alley.

Great action game, great art!! great music, cool vibe of challenge

I didn’t really like the tube part, it was a little slow I think but the boss fights are really cool! The hook mechanic I like a lot.

I like the artstyle because it’s very simple but not too simple. The game looks very energetic

All you need to focus on is your skill. this game is pure awesome.

Quite different from the usual boss fight.

FEEL SO GOOD TO MURDER ANGER

A MASTAPIECE OF VISUALS!!

AMAAAZING!!