Space Ribbon has been brought to the PSN by Onteca, an Independent Games Studio based in Liverpool, England, who specialise in “producing innovative top-tier Casual games and applications iPhone/iPod touch/iPad and Android”.
So, how have they done with Space Ribbon and what is it all about? Let’s find out below.
Introduction
Immediately Space Ribbon grabs my attention. Racing what can only be described a remote control cars on a randomly generated track in space sounds a lot of fun! Having seen some trailers for the game I found the speed of the game appealing and the bright colours within an even bigger pull.
The initial menu is basic and easy to navigate; offering you all you really need to start the game. We are given the options of a Campaign Mode, Free Play, Change Difficulty and a Options menu where you have the ability to change all sorts of things to change how the game plays out in front of you.
Having the ability to vary your gameplay via vibrations levels and camera shake is great to have and would be welcomed by many gamers.
Gameplay
The gameplay is simple and fun to begin with. Starting out on easy I was able to race to the end of the ever expanding randomly generated track, finishing in first place in the first race with no problems and earning me the chance to finish top of the leaderboards in my first cup. Winning this gave me some welcomed upgrades that I would be able to use later in the game when more tracks were unlocked.
It didn’t stay this easy for long…. As you move up through the cups and upgrade you vehicles the game gradually gets tougher. More opponents are introduced as the races get tougher and faster. Weapons too are brought into the mix, with Rockets, Shields and Ghost icons appearing on the tracks for you to utilise. This is where the games begins to get as equally frustrating as it is fun.
Graphics
Graphics wise the game is bright and well put together for what it is. The speed of the gameplay did not suffer for unnecessary sparkling out of this world graphics. This is not to say that they are not very good, on the contrary, they are presently surprising when you are at full speed.
This had an old school feel for me. A fun factor that I have not felt for a while when it comes to the racing genre. Add into the mix the PSVR compatibility and you open up a whole different game. This is something to experience in Virtual Reality!
Trophies
Space Ribbon has a very disappointing list when it comes to trophies. Firstly there is no Platinum Trophy (not that this by any means is a terrible thing), but also the trophies any fairly imbalanced.
Playing for the first couple of hours will net you three quarters of the entire trophy list with little to no effort, but for the other quarter of the list you’re looking at a tough time. As a hunter myself, this sort of imbalance really does stick in my mind and makes me wonder what sort of audience this game is appealing too.
Replayability
You’re looking at a decent few hours to complete this game, not only that you’ve also got a split-screen mode that’ll keep you entertained with couch co-op. This is a great little addition that adds to the appeal of the game. You’ll not get bored in this mode, as the randomness of the tracks will have you pulling your hair out one minute and rejoicing the next.
Playing in PSVR mode also adds more to the game. Whether you play for 10 minutes, or 2 hours, you’ll have fun with the variety of difficulties and the sometimes randomness of the opponents.
I would like to thank Onteca for the opportunity to try this game out. If you want to see some videos of myself playing the game feel free to check out the below first impressions video.
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- Fun, old school type feel
- PUpgardes/Cosmetic Changes
- Fast paced action
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- Can feel a bit repetitive
- Unpredictability of UI contact
- Steep increase in difficulty
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