Full Metal Schoolgirl

Full Metal Schoolgirl is both ridiculous and addictive. The hack-and-slash and shooting gameplay isn't hindered by the inclusion of a stamina meter, and the constant slew of upgrades keeps the roguelike gameplay feeling fresh even after going through 100+ levels. The presentation has occasional hiccups, as does some parts of the gameplay, but there's nothing that actively takes away from a fun experience. Don't expect anything groundbreaking, but those looking for action in a cheesy setting won't be disappointed by Full Metal Schoolgirl.

Full Metal Schoolgirl is a chaotic and fun game that puts its gameplay, anime tropes, and aesthetic above other qualities, for better or worse. The story isn't spectacular or particularly memorable, but it does make fun of black companies and detrimental work culture, so that's a plus. If you're a fan of Lollipop Chainsaw, Earth Defense Force, and other action games of a similar vein, then Full Metal Schoolgirl can be a great time.

Full Metal Schoolgirl is a title that clearly knows its niche and embraces it fully. It never takes itself too seriously, and cute girls shooting cyborgs with massive guns is a winning concept. Unfortunately, a couple confusing design choices hold it back from being something I can sink countless hours into, but those who don’t mind repetition and love the aesthetic will find a worthwhile tower climb.

A fun, if flawed, hack-and-slash roguelike with very randomised, very long runs.

When Full Metal Schoolgirl is at its best it's easy to see the game it could have been, with a good mix of enemies and behaviors making the rooms feel satisfyingly challenging. This can frequently go on for a couple of rooms at a time, but soon enough the enemy mix will lean towards unmanageable, packed with ground-based cyborgs, flying ones with guns, a turret or two or maybe missile-launching dog-bots and a couple spider-bots for good measure. Sure, the weapons make short work of each individual enemy, and if you could see everything all at once, the tools are there to avoid damage, but that's just not possible. Health goes down, batteries are used to replenish it but there's only so many, and the run is over. Dying isn't a problem, but losing a notable percentage of health from off-camera enemies, when you're at floor nineteen of a twenty-floor run and you used your only key to get there, and on defeat need to re-do the lower floors that were interesting when you were less powerful but now have the health, energy, special moves and experience to blow through just feels like busywork. A good run feels nicely satisfying, the combat can be great fun once you lock into its flow, and the variety of encounters means it's not too bad when there are twenty floors between one checkpoint and the next, but when a run feels bad due to elements you can't react to and the punishment is wasted time in areas you're done with, it becomes easy to find anything else to do.