Ironcast

 PC
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. PC Games
    Apr 6, 2015
    65
    Ironcast starts as a highly promising blend of puzzle game and turn-based tactical mechanics, but is ultimately let down by its monotony, uneven difficulty and sheer lack of content.
  2. Digitally Downloaded
    Apr 7, 2015
    60
    With regards to the artwork, the designs of the Ironcasts and Steamtanks themselves are noteworthy. The backgrounds, however, are very, very bland and simple. Repetitive buildings and uninspiring scenery make for a visual experience that doesn't do the concept justice.
  3. Vandal
    Mar 30, 2015
    56
    After a promising start all the good ideas vanish, leaving an experience with a lot of potential that ends up being more boring that it should.
  5. Hooked Gamers
    Mar 27, 2015
    50
    Ironcast certainly is a little bit of fun, initially. But as you grind your way through mundane turn based battles, one mission feels like the next.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 30
  3. Negative: 4 out of 30
  1. ave
    Apr 24, 2016
    7
    It's a given that in the Rogue genre, almost everything is random and your endgame comes from unforgiving mistakes at first and bad luck atIt's a given that in the Rogue genre, almost everything is random and your endgame comes from unforgiving mistakes at first and bad luck at last. Ironcast is no different, and after about 20 games, I was only able to confront the boss once, and died a glorious death "so close to beat him".

    Is there any winning strategy in this game ? I'm not sure. What I've learned so far, is that Defense is key to survival. If you let your guard down, you will suffer. Oh boy, yes you will. So Defense and Energy Upgrade are a must, but be wary of Energy cost, since some Defenses requires 3 Energy et other ones 4 Energy - this might not seem a lot, but when you are 1 Energy short, you pay a big price in Health, that will later transfer in Golden Bars in the workshop - those precious Bars you need to upgrade.

    What about Weapons ? Whatever your choice, you need one to be used against strong armor and little to no movement (single shot with high damage), and one against fast movement and little to no armor (multiple shots with low damage). Splash damage can be good, as long as you are not in a mission where you have to preserve any component of an enemy Ironcast - just check the splash damage is under the current opponent Defense level.

    One note about Cooling. It's used for Weapons, Defense and Movement. Even if the initial reserve is fairly high, if you use them a lot, you'll be short soon, and working a machinery without Cooling is like setting yourself ablaze.

    On my own, I like to play the first character (Defense and Movement bonuses) with the second Ironcast (Energy weapons) and play like a tower (almost no movement). I usually bet on upgrading Energy reserve up to 12, Defense then Weapons (same ones, but better if available) ; and on the abilities offered each time you reach a level : Cooling + Defense + Golden bars bonuses. My only weakness is that at a certain point, my weapons might not be up to the task.    … Full Review »
  2. Xalard
    May 29, 2015
    5
    This game is plainly way too simple and roguelike elements feel like their only purpose is to extend the pathetic lifetime of this title. I'veThis game is plainly way too simple and roguelike elements feel like their only purpose is to extend the pathetic lifetime of this title. I've bought it after TotalBiscuit's review where he compared it to FTL but the quality of this game is nowhere near FTL. Reading reviews it feels like the people praising the game got stuck on the first area and are blaming the lack of variety on that and not the game itself.

    The match-3 mechanic, overall idea and the story are solid but there's not much more beside that. It works for a few hours but replayability is non-existent and this whole 'global unlocks system' that the devs made doesn't help. I've played 6 hours of it, beat the campaign on the 4th try which lasted 2 hours and have no intention on coming back to this game.

    The huge problem is that there's almost no variety at all. The differences between different 'ironcasts' that player can choose boil down to slightly different starting stats and one special ability that typically will get used twice per battle. Opponents faced, besides the two bosses really boil down to two types with very little variety inside of those types. There's no need to adjust strategy, equipment setup or anything else depending on the opponent you face.

    The equipment pretends to have a variety but really doesn't. There are 3 different pieces of equipment that can be changed - guns (which you can have 2 of), shields and engines. For shields and engines your only real choice is to stay with what you have or upgrade. What to upgrade to is typically a no-brainer. Weapons are *slightly* better in that *some of the time* you might have to use a high-damage-per-shot low-repetition gun for dealing with shields and low-damage high-repetition one for better damage-per-turn once the shields are down. Some of the time. I ran 70% of the game with guns of the high-damage-per-shot variety which also at the time happened to be the highest dmg-per-turn available.

    Augmentations that are gained through leveling do present some real choice at times but still there are ones that are clearly superior.

    The rougelike elements boil down to permadeath and randomness and feel like they are only there because otherwise the game would last 3 hours at best. The randomness in battles is just unfair. I'm fine with the fact that weapons can miss or that the board composition is obviously random. I'm not fine with how randomly the AI acts. Sometimes it will waste its entire turn to repair, gather resources and put some pathetic defenses up and sometimes it will wreck you with three salvos of their weapons, taking out half of your HP and half of your systems (mid-game weapons do around 150 dmg per salvo, AI shots up to 3 salvos in a turn, your ironcast at that point has 600-800 HP).

    My final boss fight was the most ridiculous of all. I've managed to destroy all of its systems and while it still had 2/3 of HP, it didn't fire for the rest of the fight despite constantly repairing its systems. I've finished with 80% of HP intact while in some other fights I've lost 1/3 of HP in a single turn when my opponent repaired his weapons then fired at me twice.

    Overall: a half-decent game for a few hours with no variety and no replayability. Go play FTL instead.    … Full Review »
  3. blaicefreeze
    May 8, 2015
    8
    Not quite sure what made the other negative reviewers so sour about this game, but If you are a matching/RPG lover, I don't see how youNot quite sure what made the other negative reviewers so sour about this game, but If you are a matching/RPG lover, I don't see how you couldn't like this game. The design of the game is global playthrough (meaning if you die during your current campaign you can start with different, and more powerful gear next campaign.

    I have really enjoyed the game thus far, and I would disregard the negative posts, because either the game was too complex, or they had absolutely no idea what they were buying? It is cheap either way, so I definitely think this game is well worth it!    … Full Review »
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