Gripper Reviews
With a slick aesthetic, some great synthwave tunes, and intense cybercycling through dilapidated space tubes, Gripper gets a lot right and we enjoyed those parts of it. We can forgive repetitive voice acting, but the other half of the game - the arena boss battles - is egregiously frustrating. The main gripping mechanic fails to work far too often with so much happening on screen, leading to a difficulty level that requires grudging patience rather than player skill. Thus, by the end of the game, our patience for this sci-fi mashup of genres had run out.
Gripper is a boss rush inspired by Furi but different in its core gameplay. Here you are riding a bike to defeat your ennemies, using a winch to destroy them. If the gameplay can be satisfying sometime it can be very frustrating lacking some tweaks here and there, especially on the Switch, to help the player reading the action and knowing what must be done to win the fight.
Review in French | Read full review
Gripper combines adrenaline-pumping race sections with top-down boss fights. The high difficulty provides a challenge, though the gameplay sometimes works against itself to make it a little too difficult. The impressive soundtrack stands out, however this title is unlikely to have you coming back to after your umpteenth deathstroke.
Overall I think Gripper is a fairly fun and unique game, however, my main drawback is its price. For $29.50 AUD, I don't believe the game is providing that much value for its asking price, given that you can beat the game in only an hour or two. Sure you can farm old bosses, but you'd have to really be in love with the game to fight the same boss over and over again, and unfortunately, I wasn't.
Gripper is a fine high-octane action with a heartfelt narrative. Just try not to miss the story at the game's high velocity.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Gripper on paper sounds like a great time, but the way it is carried out just doesn't work. The game design itself just leads to frustration, instead of a fun experience.
Whilst occassionally suffering from the “being unfair doesn’t make it a challenge” issue, Gripper is nonetheless a fun ride. A gripping take on the boss rush style of game, pair this with a controller and headphones for a throttlin’ good time.
Gripper sounds like a cool concept, but its execution leaves much to be desired. It simply makes too many bad decisions in game design to be a fun experience, instead it's primarily a frustrating one.
Gripper is a fun, engaging, gritty little game that’ll have you wishing you could Akira slide in real life. While the game will come and go fast, you’ll appreciate the experience for what it is, and it certainly won’t overstay its welcome.
Gripper stands out for its creative boss fights and interesting tunnel sections, which help bring variety to the gameplay. Despite the bugs and an unbalanced boss, it provides good doses of action that, together with the soundtrack, present a frantic and fun experience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review