Strider Reviews
Though it falls short of being fantastic, Strider is an impressive attempt to revive a classic Capcom franchise, one whose action, challenges, and player empowerment are more than worth experiencing.
All in all, if you're a fan of the Strider franchise or just are looking for a fun to play action-platformer, I strongly suggest picking up the new Strider.
Strider is a stellar example of how to remake a classic. It sticks to the original where it should, and modernizes where the classic formula can be improved.
It has been over a decade since the masked hero has graced his own game, but Strider is back and better than ever. Double Helix has done a phenomenal job in bringing the futuristic ninja into the modern day by not only upgrading the visuals while maintaining the two-dimension plane, but adding an addictive and well-constructed progression structure to keep the campaign interesting.
Strider successfully reinvents a classic. With its tight, super-fluid control, engaging and dynamic 2.5D presentation, and excellent balancing throughout, the game is destined to hook you from the outset.
Whatever minor flaws Strider might have are very well hidden amongst exciting gameplay, great platforming, and epic boss battles.
Strider makes a great first impression, but really shows its true colors as the short title wears on. Little variety in the environments, a lack of challenge in combat, and a little too much handholding at times, outweigh the flashy presentation of this reboot.
At its blistering best, Strider is a joy to play – its silky smooth controls making it difficult to not feel like the unstoppable agent himself. It's a welcome return to a beloved franchise, but it falls just short of maintaining the momentum that's expected of it, and instead opts to slice its way into a new generation with some less than exhilarating gameplay additions.
Strider is an enjoyable game but it's not one that particularly stands out against others of its type. It is cleverly designed, as this style of game must be, but not so much that it earns the right to sit alongside the genre's ageing greats like Symphony of the Night and it's not quite up to the complex replayability of modern classics like Shadow Complex. It's a decent game that generally looks very nice and will while away a few hours, but you won't be rushing to tell your friends about it and you might not want to return after completing it.
Strider is a glorious comeback for the old franchise, once again proving that Double Helix knows how to breathe fresh life into classic series. While the boss fights are sometimes annoying, the visuals, the fluid animations, and the combat make up for that and once again establish Hiryu as a great protagonist.
Double Helix turns in the best playing Strider ever made, but its game lacks the vital visual panache of its predecessors.
This is a wonderful callback to the original games that adds new ideas.
A few minor presentation and traversal issues aside, Strider is a fun throwback with solid controls and style to spare.
You will find some joy in the action and some sort of satisfaction in killing tons of enemies, but if you're looking for something with any rich substance to it at all, Strider may not be enough of a good experience for you. The game's gameplay structure and design is too unstable to make Strider great. Having said that, the nostalgia might be enough to hook you, and the $14.99 price tag might help all the flaws that Strider brings.
Strider has a solid foundation. The formula is there, but it needs a lot of tuning. The climbing feature should have been better executed in regards to combat, and climbing gets in the way when the game requires players to hurry. The boss fights lack action, and while the last boss has lots of attacks filling the arena; the fight itself is just tedious. When combined with the aforementioned control issues the last fight becomes annoying. By the end of the game I was left with the impression Strider could have been a lot better. Still, this is an above average title for what Strider does do – provide action and wall climbing.
It has its flaws, but they are easy to overlook because the game is just plain, unadulterated fun. In fact, the only thing that would make the game more enjoyable is playing in an actual arcade setting.
This generation's Hiryu is built to take a pounding, and his foes are experts at giving them...
Strider's not really the kind of game the cognoscenti get excited about. It won't be winning any awards or the subject of a load of thinkpieces, and that's because it's nothing more than a simple design executed near-flawlessly. It's limited in the same sense that a cat is limited by not being a dog. Strider is a great game and it gets me totally pumped; it looks incredible, sounds amazing, and is tonnes of fun. If I ruled the world this would be on billboards, and they would say very simply: STRIDER'S BACK.
Fan or not, you needn't worry about getting your money's worth here. Strider strikes a good balance of old school coin-op difficulty and all the modern day trimmings. Double Helix has crafted a reimagining that plays as well as it is steeped in respect for its content material.
The best compliment I can give Strider is that it is a game that will succeed on its own merits and not by comparison to the original. There has been a lot of love thrown into this game by the developers, but more importantly they have also infused their vision of what the original game could always have been. It's exemplary work and while not perfect you really couldn't ask for a better Strider game. If you hear a strange rhythmic noise, don't worry, it's just me at the back of the room starting a slow clap.