Nova-111 (PC) Second Opinion Review

Nova-111 is the video game equivalent of blowing up a truck full of molasses. Disclaimer: this can lead to very serious consequences, and gamers should read about the Great Molasses Flood before blowing up syrup. Now, Nova-111 may move very slowly, but every turn has the potential to be immensely rewarding and ridiculously impactful. The gameplay is very simple, and despite being turn-based, turns take less than a second to play out.

Exploring the map, killing enemies, and locating the titular 111 scientists all occurs through the least imposing movement system to hit games in a while. Although it is turn-based, it's rare that it's noticeable. Drifting around the slowly revealed map will eventually lead to enemies, and evading them feels more like a puzzle than genuine combat. Each enemy is distinct and unique, and figuring out how to manoeuvre around and eventually slay the monsters that lay in the path of absolution is incredibly gratifying.

Surprisingly, this mechanic doesn't seem to grow old quickly, although some monsters are incredibly frustrating. The level of ingenuity put into everything, mechanic-wise, is very impressive. The only mechanic, if it can even be called that, that doesn't seem to fit very well is the scientists. They really just exist as a collectible, and being that half of the game's name is derived from them, it seems weird they factor so little into the gameplay.

The soundtrack and sound effects are generally irritating. Littered with sci-fi noises that sound like stock sounds from 60s sci-fi B movies, it doesn't feel quite as inspired as the rest of the gameplay. It definitely justifies playing the game with the sound turned down, and while it never becomes so annoying that teeth grinding is in order, it's still pretty annoying.

Follow this up with the art, and things again take a turn for the better. However, it definitely goes far before it about faces and stands still. While the art is very pretty, almost reminiscence of Rayman Origins, some of the objects are difficult to see. Scientists tend to be the most easily overlooked item, as they are smaller than anything else. It makes sense, since everything else is gigantic, but it's still annoying knowing that scientists were overlooked because they were so small and out of the way.

Uncovering the map is delightful, and every stage is fairly small. Each world is fairly short, and the game never feels unbeatable, which leads to the last complaint in a title that really overrides most of them: it's too easy. Later on, it feels like the difficulty becomes much more balanced, but for the first few worlds, death is very much an afterthought. The play field being littered with roughly as many health packs as enemies means bouncing between low health and high health fairly rapidly.

These are complaints, sure, but they remain minor. It would be a bad mistake to overlook Nova-111 for its flaws, as at its core it's a very rewarding game. Not in the "so hard it's amazing when it's overcome" rewarding, but a different, much more rare kind of rewarding. Some games are just fun because of the discoveries they bring, where something completely unexpected is around practically every corner. That's Nova-111 - a game that brings both the sheer enjoyment of discovery and the immense reward of completion without alienating players who don't like things too hard. While it may feel too easy some of the time, it is still fun. That's really the only prerequisite of a good game, and Nova-111 nails it.