HighFleet

 PC
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. CD-Action
    Oct 12, 2021
    70
    Brilliant visuals, great music and unusual user interface will score points with people who like games that have a soul despite being very complex. However, to reach a broader audience, the developers would have to significantly improve the transparency of gameplay mechanics and iron out rough edges. [10/2021, p.40]
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  2. PC Gamer
    Jul 29, 2021
    59
    HighFleet has appealing vision, but breaks down due to opaque systems and lack of difficulty options.
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  1. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    Jul 26, 2021
    I think this is precisely why I'm so frustrated with HighFleet. There's a brilliant game in here somewhere, but in its present state it's buried under endless frustrations and restrictions that do little but irritate me and cut me off from engaging with it the way I want to. I hate that I don't love it except in infrequent moments of greatness, and that the frustrations keep piling on at the same rate as I find more impressive details about it. It's kitted out for the stars, but just needs another tune-up or two to escape the atmosphere.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 24
  3. Negative: 2 out of 24
  1. Zebsdee
    Aug 1, 2021
    5
    To summarise, it's a series of minigames tied together with unit management and a strategic map to move around. Playing it I wondered what aTo summarise, it's a series of minigames tied together with unit management and a strategic map to move around. Playing it I wondered what a sub sim would feel like if the conclusion of every hunt was a 2d 80s style arcade shooter. Flashbacks to the old Elite in having to dock manually each and every time, although at least in that game you could eventually purchase some automation and fast forward the dull routine. The game is made difficult by its single save only system, with obscure systems and some clunky controls presenting the only other real barriers.

    What Highfleet has in spades is atmosphere and a really well done dieselpunk aesthetic. Sadly, that just isn't enough to keep me playing. Does make me wonder whether Xenon 2 with a strategic layer could be something we'll see at some point.    … Full Review »
  2. Antonio1001
    Jul 31, 2021
    9
    I really like this game, though I would love if there was a option to save.
  3. zarkokuvalja
    Jul 30, 2021
    9
    Highfleet is incredibly fun and thought through - nothing here is fluff yet it's far from minimal as it's beautiful both visually andHighfleet is incredibly fun and thought through - nothing here is fluff yet it's far from minimal as it's beautiful both visually and intellectually (as far as my intellect goes at least).

    I think some of us go to sims because truth is stranger than fiction so the hope is that a sim which tries to simulate truth would provide a deeper kind of fun at the expense of having to work harder for it. Koshutin got that, took parts of sims that are fun, threw them in the pot with RTS, arcades, RPGs and a hint of adventure and what we've got is something that's kept me playing until I've noticed it's way past 4 AM.

    Do you know of and like the craziness that is the CWIZ? Would you like to have 6 of them on your flying chunk of metal that you've aptly named the "Dakaktron 2000" and are whipping around the picturesque desert skies, fighting enemies, inertia and gravity? You also get flares, point defence, and jamming just to name a few.

    At the same time, do you enjoy the strategy and fighting for survival against an overwhelming foe such as in Homeworld, Deserts of Kharak or the Batllestar Galactica series? Here you get to (and have to) fight tactically but also strategically and outsmart that foe - and it is fun and engaging, not a slog.

    Do you love the sonary parts of Cold Waters or Dangerous Waters but kind of just wish mechanisms like that would exist in a fantastical different world rather than the Cold War? Koshutin managed to include message decoding, waterfall displays and an early warning radar system straight out of a Sukhoi into the game and again make it fun and engaging.

    Everything in this game has been though through, everything is meaningful and if something at first seems like a gimmick, nothing is, down to almost every beatiful knob in the in game UI that is a piece of art and motion of it's own.

    The story is also great and has just enough RPG in it. I mention the story so late only because the game parts of this game are so good I almost forgot about it.

    The biggest praise I think that Koshutin and the team deserve is not that this game has so much in it but that it is all tied together and balanced so beatifully. This could have easily just been a simple shooter or a "it's got guns now" sequel to Hammerfight but they've delivered something of a much larger scope and depth yet as much if not more fun.

    Downsides:

    (I'm reviewing this a few days after release) - the game doesn't really do resolutions and you're stuck with I think is 1080p upscaled. I don't mind but some people get black bars. This might or migh not get changed, no info so far (there are workarounds in Steam forums).

    Controls are not rebindable - for me they are perfect as it is and again don't mind this at all but if nothing more a valid point is the struggles of lefties who can't enjoy games with a typical WASD layout.

    Minor bugs but nothing gamebreaking in my experience - someone also found an infinite money glitch. These are things I optimistically expect will get ironed out.    … Full Review »
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