Galak-Z: The Dimensional

 PlayStation 4
  • Publisher: 17-Bit
  • Release Date: Aug 4, 2015
  • Also On: PC
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 139 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 89 out of 139
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 139
  3. Negative: 27 out of 139

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  1. Furtin
    Aug 12, 2015
    10
    Grendizer/Goldrake, Mazinga Z, Jeeg, Captain Future, Harlock, Spaceship Yamato and several other classic anime I use to grow up with in the 70s and 80s, are amalgamated into this videogame.

    But you need to be warned - you have to be a real videogamer at heart (in the sense of sink your teeth in the game, not in the controller), as it will tear you down to shreds and you will lose    Grendizer/Goldrake, Mazinga Z, Jeeg, Captain Future, Harlock, Spaceship Yamato and several other classic anime I use to grow up with in the 70s and 80s, are amalgamated into this videogame.

    But you need to be warned - you have to be a real videogamer at heart (in the sense of sink your teeth in the game, not in the controller), as it will tear you down to shreds and you will lose everything!
    Every powerup, your progression - everything.
    And then you need to start all over again. One season is five episodes long. Should you die in episode five, well you know the drill ...

    It combines the toughness of the old coin-up arcades with the leveldesign of Spelunky and the approach of Dark Souls.
    Master the controls and don't panic!    … Expand
  2. illthreat
    Aug 6, 2015
    10
    A fantastic breath of fresh air into a genre that has been lacking ideas. Vividly colorful with a wonderful story line. A graphical interface that both is easy to use and an "old video camera menu style" for game options.

    Sound fx and music are fitting. The controls are spot on and every button used in an easy to learn scheme.
  3. asterisktec
    Aug 5, 2015
    10
    Galak-Z is a near perfect video game. Being one of those "older gamers" (I'm over 40) I remember the classic TV shows from the 80's such as Battlestar Galactica and the cartoons such as Battle of the Planets.

    You can tell the folks from 17-Bit have taken their influences from that era and made a superb game from it. The art style and sound effects are spot on, the music for the most    Galak-Z is a near perfect video game. Being one of those "older gamers" (I'm over 40) I remember the classic TV shows from the 80's such as Battlestar Galactica and the cartoons such as Battle of the Planets.

    You can tell the folks from 17-Bit have taken their influences from that era and made a superb game from it. The art style and sound effects are spot on, the music for the most part is perfectly suited. The graphics are really slick and it just so happens that your ship resembles a Viper (from BSG). There a lot of really neat touches throughout the game that really adds to the whole cartoon vibe and its spotlessly done.

    The controls of your ship take some getting used to and when you couple that with the inertia effects throughout the game, things can get a little hairy. Learn to use your boost and Juke (Barrel Roll) to your advantage and you'll get the hang of things... stick with it pilot!

    The A.I. is BRUTAL, they are sneaky, dogmatic and will hunt you down ruthlessly. On the other side of the coin they will also run when you get the advantage so it makes the battles all the more intense. If you die (which you will, a lot) it's back to the beginning of the season however its not as bad as it sounds.

    1. It encourages you to carefully think out your attack
    2. The randomly generated levels keep it fresh every time
    3. Its such a great game just to look at
    4. You feel a real sense of accomplishment when you do complete a level

    I've only been playing it for a few hours and I'm really impressed, for $15 (or $20 if you're not a PS+ member) you really cannot go wrong. Once you get past Chapter 1 you unlock the Mech mode and it adds a whole new dimension to the game. I will update my review once I get there.

    This has been one of the best indie releases I've played since Helldivers and its great to see the smaller studios giving the big boys a real run for their money.

    Well done 17-Bit for such a great game!    … Expand
  4. RudigerX
    Aug 6, 2015
    9
    This game is great fun. I've been playing a few hours and am finally getting a handle on the controls. The reviews aren't kidding about the difficulty of this game it is hard. It can be a little confusing at times to just what my progress is or the repercussions of me dying are but with every death I learn more and become more attuned to the enemy and how to approach a situation. The musicThis game is great fun. I've been playing a few hours and am finally getting a handle on the controls. The reviews aren't kidding about the difficulty of this game it is hard. It can be a little confusing at times to just what my progress is or the repercussions of me dying are but with every death I learn more and become more attuned to the enemy and how to approach a situation. The music after a while became irritating so I turned it down but the sound effects are nice. Having no music on helped as it made me less jittery and I began to operate with more stealth. The game play is addictive and has a somewhat "just one more turn" feel to it. There are plenty of upgrades to discover and fun enemies to kill. I am very happy with this purchase.… Expand
  5. iamTylerDurden
    Aug 4, 2015
    10
    Galak-Z is a beautiful space opera that will serenade you with sweet retro melodies one minute and pummel you with punishing difficulty the next. Galak-Z is a flatout fantastic game, it's an 80's anime inspired rogue-lite space shooter that feels like being in a Saturday morning cartoon. It has a significant learning curve and will take some up to a full hour to feel like a badazz spaceGalak-Z is a beautiful space opera that will serenade you with sweet retro melodies one minute and pummel you with punishing difficulty the next. Galak-Z is a flatout fantastic game, it's an 80's anime inspired rogue-lite space shooter that feels like being in a Saturday morning cartoon. It has a significant learning curve and will take some up to a full hour to feel like a badazz space pilot, but once you master the controls and the realistic physics it becomes pure space fighting bliss.

    Galak-Z is broken up into 4 seasons with a 5th coming in 1-2 months via free update, each season is broken up into 5 episodes (levels) which take approximately 10 minutes to complete depending on skill. If you die you must start all over at the beginning of your current season, it's a semi perma-death. Luckily, once you beat a season (5 episodes) and move onto the next it acts as a checkpoint system. If you were to beat season 1 and then die in the middle of season 2 you would start over at season 2 instead of having to play from the very beginning. It can be quite a challenge to beat 5 episodes in a row in order to reach the next season, but once you get to season 2 you unlock mech mode! Mech mode is the ability to transform from a ship to a plasma-sword wielding mech on the fly. Playing as an Optimus Prime like mech is just as awesome as it sounds. The mech wields a viscous plasma-sword that is deadly at close quarters and can be charged for a super attack. My favorite mech ability is the grappling hook arm that can grab any item from close range to long range and can be used for a multitude of purposes. You can grab and throw space junk/asteroids ect and hit enemies for damage, you can grab enemies and smash them into other enemies, throw flammable barrels, you can use objects as shields or to stealthily hide behind, and my personal favorite is grabbing an enemy and thrashing it to death with your sword while it's in your headlock like deathgrip. The two different styles between mech and ship compliment each other well making combat extremely satisfying.

    17bit clearly crafted Galak-Z with love and precision, and you can tell with each perfectly placed pixel. The physics are incredibly realistic and the ai is so dynamical that many times you will come up on an all out battle royale happening independently in space. The weapons and upgrades are terrific, the story is sufficient, and the gameplay is sublime. Galak-Z is a beautiful love letter to retro gaming, but with gorgeous visuals and high style. At first it's tough and Galak-Z will hurt, but it hurts so good, just hang on and learn the controls and you will surely fall in love just as i did. Galak-Z on PS4 gets a 9.5/10.    … Expand
  6. SWERY_51
    Aug 5, 2015
    9
    Galak-Z is the perfect fusion between a top view 360° Shooter and a Rogue like, with 80's Japanese anime style. The gameplay is really enjoyable, very responsive and based on your skill. It's fun, challenging and you can even unlock a pretty cool mecha transformation with new moves after the 1st Act.

    The only slight disappointement came from the soundtrack. The music is too simple and    Galak-Z is the perfect fusion between a top view 360° Shooter and a Rogue like, with 80's Japanese anime style. The gameplay is really enjoyable, very responsive and based on your skill. It's fun, challenging and you can even unlock a pretty cool mecha transformation with new moves after the 1st Act.

    The only slight disappointement came from the soundtrack. The music is too simple and i regret they haven't hired a guy like Jake Kaufman for the OST. Except that point, it worth it's price. :)    … Expand
  7. PercentageWon
    Aug 19, 2015
    9
    So I've been constantly asking myself this question: what's a game with AI that you could say was "good"? Now that's a hard metric to quantify, but Galak-Z gets it right. With AI and gameplay that just leans on the edge of frustratingly difficult, the satisfaction from successfully completing a mission after frantically evading enemy fire and destroying set enemies is ecstatic.

    I will    So I've been constantly asking myself this question: what's a game with AI that you could say was "good"? Now that's a hard metric to quantify, but Galak-Z gets it right. With AI and gameplay that just leans on the edge of frustratingly difficult, the satisfaction from successfully completing a mission after frantically evading enemy fire and destroying set enemies is ecstatic.

    I will say that the flash-like artstyle for the characters are off-putting and banter did get on my nerves on more than a couple of occasions. It's not a game for everyone, but it's certainly a game for my tastes.    … Expand
  8. planetside2suck
    Mar 1, 2016
    4
    might have been fun if the fundamental season system wasn't so **** idiotic. Taking away upgrades it pre-school stuff. I know what I'm talking about because I play Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Play something else, unless this piece of **** is free.
  9. Le_Rik
    Aug 5, 2015
    9
    This game is a perfect fusion between Macross and Asteroids for NES but with a ton more colors and animations. The difficulty curve could be a bit high for some people but if you are able to push through its very rewarding.
  10. Siontis
    Aug 23, 2015
    0
    I can't believe the review scores for this game and the fact that almost none of the reviewers mention that the game is broken! First all , even after two major patches , Galak-z's frame rate is still tragically inconsistent especially during intense dogfights resulting to skipped frames and eventually a game over out of nowhere. To be fair , the patches fixed some issues PARTIALLY withI can't believe the review scores for this game and the fact that almost none of the reviewers mention that the game is broken! First all , even after two major patches , Galak-z's frame rate is still tragically inconsistent especially during intense dogfights resulting to skipped frames and eventually a game over out of nowhere. To be fair , the patches fixed some issues PARTIALLY with the cost of new bugs and glitches. A quick research in youtube is going to convince anyone who thinks I am wrong. Even though I hate Jap-anime , I was waiting for this game to come out like forever hoping that it would at least have a solid performance so I could give Resogun a rest for a while. I was once again misguided by all these Galak-z trailers and fake publicity and wasted hard earned euros for a piece of junk that is littering my HDD. I won't describe all the bugs and glitches this game suffers from, do yourself a favour and make a quick research about this in YouTube before buying it or avoid like the plague.… Expand
  11. Turbodowg
    Mar 24, 2016
    0
    Possibly the worst game they have given us on PS+ since the PS4 launch. Utterly boring, mind numbing drivel.

    I found it hard staying awake after 5 minutes of the laborious gameplay. The controls felt sluggish and old fashioned, the graphics bland and uninteresting, the story weak and something you will want to skip, the load times laughable and the music painful. Mindless dreary game    Possibly the worst game they have given us on PS+ since the PS4 launch. Utterly boring, mind numbing drivel.

    I found it hard staying awake after 5 minutes of the laborious gameplay. The controls felt sluggish and old fashioned, the graphics bland and uninteresting, the story weak and something you will want to skip, the load times laughable and the music painful.

    Mindless dreary game for very simple gamers or people who are in a coma.

    Avoid even for free.    … Expand
  12. diggityd2713
    Aug 9, 2015
    3
    If you don't want to have any spoilers here is a summary of my review. I loved the game but a glitch killed me half way through a season by making my ship unable to shoot so I had to commit suicide and start over with all my scrap gone and upgrades removed, pretty much soured my experience with the game

    MINOR SPOILER This game is beautifully done, with a simple concept fleshed out    If you don't want to have any spoilers here is a summary of my review. I loved the game but a glitch killed me half way through a season by making my ship unable to shoot so I had to commit suicide and start over with all my scrap gone and upgrades removed, pretty much soured my experience with the game

    MINOR SPOILER

    This game is beautifully done, with a simple concept fleshed out into a challenging game that is just punishing enough to make the end goal rewarding but not so difficult that it pushes the gamer away. This game was a solid 9 or 10 to me UNTIL A BUG RUINED THE EXPERIENCE FOR ME. When transforming from mech to ship there is a bug that will make any grappling, shooting, or attacking impossible so all you can do is move helplessly around the map waiting for something to kill you. This means you have to start all the way at the beginning of the season, losing any upgrades and scrap you've accumulated. To add some salt on this the salesman, Crash, decided to cash in all my Crash Coins before the level, meaning I lost about 3000 scrap, and a good array of upgrades that made my ship pretty unstoppable. I still like the game well enough, but if you are going to make a game be rouge like and punishable you need to make sure these bugs are smoothed out or it will make the game seem unfair and frustrating    … Expand
  13. homer4president
    Apr 29, 2016
    6
    As with every other PS Plus game that is released every month (except a few exceptions) it gets boring way too quick. Although, I liked the art style of the game.
  14. drlowdon
    Nov 2, 2016
    5
    Playing Galak-Z instantly brought to mind the NES title Solar Jetman which, given the 80’s arcade style presentation, is probably not completely unintended by the developers. Unfortunately however the game doesn’t really add all that much to that now 25 year old formula. Gameplay wise there are a few unlockable abilities, that do help add a little variety to proceedings, but the sluggishPlaying Galak-Z instantly brought to mind the NES title Solar Jetman which, given the 80’s arcade style presentation, is probably not completely unintended by the developers. Unfortunately however the game doesn’t really add all that much to that now 25 year old formula. Gameplay wise there are a few unlockable abilities, that do help add a little variety to proceedings, but the sluggish controls and repetitive missions meant I lost interest pretty quickly and matters are not helped by the dull graphical style or overly long load times every time you (re)start a level.

    In the end I can’t really say this game is any more than OK and not really a title I’d recommend to anyone.    … Expand
  15. FriedConsole
    Jan 3, 2016
    9
    This game is awesome. Roguelike space shooter. Non twin stick shooter controls that take a while to get use to. Great fun when you master it. Only complaints is that it is too harsh on mistakes. It is hard to feel progression because you carry very little from run to run. Great music and art. GOTY list for me on this. Has a few stuttering issues on PS4 but not bad. Get it.
  16. Kendojosh
    Apr 17, 2016
    10
    Very addictive game, I got hooked fast. It's a great game with a steep difficulty curve for the first two 'seasons'. I died many times before getting through season 2 - but by the time I'd gotten skilled enough to beat that, season 3 and 4 were beaten in one go. Still had a blast all the way through, the action is very intense at times and it give a great sense of accomplishment to winVery addictive game, I got hooked fast. It's a great game with a steep difficulty curve for the first two 'seasons'. I died many times before getting through season 2 - but by the time I'd gotten skilled enough to beat that, season 3 and 4 were beaten in one go. Still had a blast all the way through, the action is very intense at times and it give a great sense of accomplishment to win some of the harder battles.
    The only disappointing thing was finishing season 4 only to find out season 5 was 'coming soon'. I want more, please.    … Expand
  17. Dionysus777
    Aug 22, 2015
    8
    Really diggn this game my peeps.Minimal complaints my robots. Complaint 01000001101100011111110010101. Me wish it had more progressive structure. Please comply. Oh yea dont go holdn out on me when i pay for sumptin. If there is another season just give it to me or dont put it on dar captain. For $20 bones there should easily be 10 or 20 seasons on it. Which would fit a more progressiveReally diggn this game my peeps.Minimal complaints my robots. Complaint 01000001101100011111110010101. Me wish it had more progressive structure. Please comply. Oh yea dont go holdn out on me when i pay for sumptin. If there is another season just give it to me or dont put it on dar captain. For $20 bones there should easily be 10 or 20 seasons on it. Which would fit a more progressive structure perfectly! Good game with way more potential and priced 2 high. Would give it a 9 or 10 if you made it my way suckers. As it stands its a fun 8. Season 5 holderouters. Sons of @!?#%/.................................. .......Good day sirs.… Expand
  18. Dal_ReviewedDat
    Mar 17, 2016
    7
    PS+ for March 2016:

    So another freebie for PS+ subscribers. And another little treat! I am a huge fan of Manga / Anime and instantly loved the 80s Neo Genisis feel to Galak-Z. The graphics and animated cut-scenes are drowning in retro-loveability. It's painfully appealing, but did the gameplay match? Yes, pretty much. At first I was really put off by the initial level. I    PS+ for March 2016:

    So another freebie for PS+ subscribers. And another little treat!

    I am a huge fan of Manga / Anime and instantly loved the 80s Neo Genisis feel to Galak-Z. The graphics and animated cut-scenes are drowning in retro-loveability. It's painfully appealing, but did the gameplay match?

    Yes, pretty much. At first I was really put off by the initial level. I avoided astroids and the cave system basically made me feel like this was a very linear game pretending not to be. But, I was wrong. The game overlooks the collisions if you've good shield levels and what could of been a pretty basic glorified-star-wars-1983 arcade coin-up, is actually a lot more rewarding and tactful. I've only put in 20hrs or so on Galak-Z, just because of my sick addiction to Fallout4, still, but there hours I appreciated!

    The only downside is some frame-rate issues, but these dont really hinder gameplay all that much all that often, but a patch would be nice.

    It's not the greatest of games, not even the greatest of PS+ titles in the past 12 months, but it is good fun and deserves your time - especially for FREE!!    … Expand
  19. Nel
    Jan 22, 2017
    7
    This game takes some time to get used to, but when you have got used to it you will have a fun time. The controls are hard at first. The game is fairly short, but it is hard, which will add to the playtime. The music is great.
  20. stamito
    Apr 12, 2016
    7
    I’ve gone through half of the game already and I can, confidently, say this game is good; good but not great. Good things, if you like old arcades, quick direct funny games, you’ll find quite a bit of that in this one and that is a good thing. Also, the game play is great, simple but very well implemented and the controls are very very good, you really feel in control of the ship, notI’ve gone through half of the game already and I can, confidently, say this game is good; good but not great. Good things, if you like old arcades, quick direct funny games, you’ll find quite a bit of that in this one and that is a good thing. Also, the game play is great, simple but very well implemented and the controls are very very good, you really feel in control of the ship, not frustrating at all. So basically, I’d say the strongest point of this game is its gameplay, it is funny to play (and unfortunately not so many games can say that today).

    Bad things, lacks story and background info to explain its universe. I don’t think this is a completely bad thing, this game feels a bit like a classic and a lot of great classic games don’t really have a great script behind them. But at the same time can be frustrating for other people, so just be aware you won’t find an interesting story behind this game. The other main bad thing is that is feels awfully repetitive. As I said the gameplay is really good, but the missions all feel the same, really similar objectives and, for me this is worse, almost identical stages in terms of the art and how they are. So, for example, all stages are always maze like structures, and these structures don’t vary a lot in terms of how they look. I mean, for instance, in season one, it’s always inside an asteroid and season 2 is always inside space hulks. It lacks life and the settings are not memorable at all; you want all season 1 missions to be inside asteroids?, fine no problem, but make those asteroids a bit different. For example, one can be the typical rocky type asteroid, another one can have crystal like structures, another one can have massive plant life, and next one can have some kind of ancient civilisation structure inside and that can also slightly affect the gamplay (e.g. find traps in the ancient civilisation structures). I mean, the asteroid concept accepts variability but unfortunately they didn’t think of that (or they didn’t have budget, could also be that). Anyway, summarising that lack of, let’s say, life on the settings plus not a lot on variation in mission objectives makes the game feel a bit repetitive after a few hours…and in my opinion, ruins the experience a bit.

    Still quite a bit of things to enjoy about this game, I just felt a bit disappointed as I think it could have been a great game and it is just good (in the more strict meaning of the word). Did try it for “free” with PSN plus but, now that I know how it is, I wouldn’t mind to have paid a few quid for this. By the way, this isn’t good or bad and is highly subjective, but I don’t think this game is too hard as some people do suggest, nor too easy either, sits in the middle in my opinion.    … Expand
  21. tomvs123
    Oct 20, 2020
    5
    Having fond memories of Solar Jetman, I bought this game, looking for something similar. It's not at all like Solar Jetman.

    It is a roguelike and is very difficult, even by roguelike standards. You will be going through 5-15 minute missions to find stuff or kill enemies. The story mode has 4 seasons with 5 missions each, and it took me a good 10 hours to get through the first two    Having fond memories of Solar Jetman, I bought this game, looking for something similar. It's not at all like Solar Jetman.

    It is a roguelike and is very difficult, even by roguelike standards. You will be going through 5-15 minute missions to find stuff or kill enemies. The story mode has 4 seasons with 5 missions each, and it took me a good 10 hours to get through the first two seasons due to my constant dying.

    The main difficulty comes from the controls, which are not rebindable. I've played a lot of space games, but this is the first I've played with such a control system. The left stick points you in a direction and the triggers move you frontwards and backwards. The right stick is limited to moving the screen around so you can see a bit farther, which isn't the best use of the stick, in my opinion.

    So no, this isn't a twin-stick shooter. Though a twin-stick layout would have needed some major modification done to your ship model and mechanics to work well.

    I was all up for learning the controls and getting better at moving my ship, but my carpel tunnel got in the way. Using the top triggers frequently doesn't work well for me, and with no option to rebind keys, after 10 hours (and two seasons), I had to put the game down.

    The first season was relatively fun and easy. I especially liked the commentary between the pilot and the ship's captain. It successfully pulls off being serious, corny, and silly, all at the same time. Both characters also had appropriately-cast voice actors.

    The second season is a big difficulty spike, with a clear rate of 3% on PS4. You simply must learn to control your ship (and its robot form) better, including creating tactics for getting rid of especially big/fast enemies.

    On the easiest mode, I was thankfully able to restart after each mission, rather than starting all 5 over again (which is the intended way to play). The missions varied too. So each time I had to restart a mission, the map and dialogue between the characters changed, which was a welcome addition.

    At the end of the 2nd season, another character joined the bunch, who was not nearly as interesting or well-voice-acted. With my wrist in pain and my dislike of the new character, I then moved onto the next game in my backlog.

    The game also has what appears to be an endless score-attack mode, where you fly forever, getting items and killing enemies in a more traditional roguelike setting (without much of a story). I lasted about 10 minutes here and decided it wasn't for me.

    So for hard-core roguelike fans who are able to easily learn new control schemes, this game might be just what you're looking for. I don't really recommend it for anyone else, unless they add in a super-easy mode in the future.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

39
#39 Best PS4 Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 42 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 42
  3. Negative: 0 out of 42
  1. Hobby Consolas
    Mar 24, 2016
    79
    A challenging roguelike space shooter with anime style and a varied set of procedurally generated levels. Great!
    Read full review
  2. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Oct 16, 2015
    80
    It looks lovely and the frantic combat is delightfully nuanced, but be warned: it’s brutal. [November 2015, p78]
  3. Games Master UK
    Oct 15, 2015
    85
    A roguelike for the cerebral pilot. Those with viper-like reflexes shouldn't miss this step up for gaming AI. [Oct 2015, p.69]
See all critic reviews »