The Collider 2
Overview -
Shortbreak Studios, which is the internal sister studio of Techland, found success in 2014 with their fast-paced arcade game 'The Collider.' The iOS release tested the reflexes of players as they tried to steer clear of obstacles and see how fast they could go. Now two years later, the developer is back with 'The Collider 2,' which aims to build a more fleshed out experience for PC gamers.
Video Review
When 'The Collider' released on iOS in 2014, it had a nice minimalistic art style. The reflexes of players were tested as they zoomed by extremely colorful backgrounds. All of that is gone, as 'The Collider 2' has gone for an awfully generic space theme.
From a technical standpoint it's certainly superior to its predecessor. The ships and levels are nicely modelled and have a nice layer of detail, but it gets boring flying through steel colored corridors. All of the charm has been lost, and that's a shame. Sometimes less can be more and instead of Shortbreak expanding upon its colorful world, we now have a drab space game.
Audio Review
'The Collider 2's sound design is totally adequate, but ultimately forgettable. Your spaceship spurts out a nice "vroom" while boosting, and there's an annoying announcer that chimes in every time you crash to let you know that the "mission failed." Good to know. Meanwhile the soundtrack sounds like the artist tried to do their best John Williams' impersonation, or they found a 'Star Wars' track that got left on the cutting room floor. Everything is fine in the moment, but the fact that I had to boot up the game to specifically remember what it sounded like should tell you everything you need to know.
Final Thoughts
'The Collider 2' just doesn't have enough substance to make it an enjoyable experience. In fact, it even seems like in several ways to be a step back from its predecessor. There's a solid base, though, and with a few tweaks to the progression system it could be a much more enjoyable title.
