Developed by Toylogic, Glitch Busters: Stuck on You is a third-person shooter game that revolves around a glitch buster tasked with ridding Tube City of all glitches and bugs. For context, Tube City is an area where AI lives and controls everything that humans get to see, so their security is paramount. With the increased number of glitches infecting the city, many of these programs have fled, while some have been taken hostage.
If you're looking for an intense shooter with an action-packed storyline, this title isn't something you should go for. However, if you're looking for a game you want to enjoy while playing with your friends, Glitch Busters: Stuck on You should definitely be on your radar.
The gameplay is very casual, yet very interesting in Glitch Busters: Stuck on You
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In terms of gameplay, not much has changed from what I saw in the preview. It's fairly straightforward as you only need to move and shoot anything that looks different from you and your teammates. The availability of small puzzles at each level makes things even more interesting.
These puzzles don't require you to perform mental gymnastics, and they're as simple as standing on two different buttons simultaneously. However, being able to coordinate with your teammates is the real challenge. In case you're playing solo, you'll have three replica units along with you.
Not only can you command these replica units to move to a specific area, but you can also control them with the press of a button. This feature is essential for solving mini-puzzles in Glitch Busters: Stuck on You.
At any given point in the game, you'll have a maximum of three teammates beside you. Since the characters have magnets for legs, you can always stack up on each other. I found myself using this feature quite frequently to access elevated surfaces.
What's more interesting is that if you're playing solo and have stacked up, the other characters will keep firing in the direction that you are firing. I found this to be helpful when I was dealing with more extensive and tankier enemies.
On the other hand, if you're doing this in a multiplayer match, the player right at the bottom can handle dodging obstacles while the others handle the shooting. It's an exciting way of dealing with obstacles in the game.
I faced only one problem while doing this. If the computer controlled the bottom-most character of the stack, it would move away on its own most of the time, and I would have to quickly take control and reposition the entire stack.
Different modes and weapons keep the freshness alive in Glitch Busters: Stuck on You
As you progress through the game, you'll earn likes for completing a level. You can spend these likes in the lab to upgrade your weapons, boost character stats, and unlock new ammunition. There are 16 weapons in Glitch Busters: Stuck on You. Each of them is unique and has varying degrees of effectiveness.
Moreover, when you pick your destination, you're presented with three different options. The first option is the Story Mode, wherein you can play through the story. The second option is Patrol mode, in which you can select the length of a specific mission and work your way through it.
The final option, Simulation, is an "endless" mode with the goal to survive as long as possible. There are various modifiers, among which is a time modifier, that you can use here. You can also select the map you want to play on.
The enemies you encounter through the levels keep changing, and not all can be beaten by just shooting at them. You'll have to employ different strategies to take down these enemies. Notwithstanding its simplicity, the game sometimes offers a stiff challenge.
Although the visuals are a treat, the audio might disappoint at times
The visuals are very pleasing to the eye. The designs are simple, and the color scheme the developers selected for the levels is on point. The developers have successfully managed to capture the essence of arcade games.
However, there's one minor issue with the visuals. Every time I loaded into a new level, the screen stuttered for the first few seconds, and then everything returned to normal. It is not a big deal but can be slightly annoying.
The audio also manages to deliver the arcade-like experience reasonably well. The character sounds are quite well-made as well, with the only exception being Ana, a guide you will encounter at the start of the game. She will tell you how to go about things and keep providing you with random bits of information during levels. Although she has text dialogues, her voice lines are nothing but mechanical sounds, so they are very jarring. It hampers the overall experience of the game.
In conclusion
Glitch Busters: Stuck on You is a well-developed title. Barring the audio and video problems mentioned above, it has no significant issues. The game is adorable and aimed at casual players for the most part.
Without a PvP mode, you will have no opportunity to be sweaty. It's one of those games that you and your friends can play on Discord while hanging out after a long tiring day. The gunplay is also fairly basic, and the recoil is negligible. In short, you don't need to be experienced with shooters to play this title.
Glitch Busters: Stuck on You
Reviewed On: PC (Code provided by Skybound Games)
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5 (through backward compatibility)
Developers: ToyLogic
Publishers: Skybound Games
Release Date: May 23, 2023
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