Matterfall Reviews
Housemarque widens its lens with a take on 90s run and gunners, resulting in an enjoyably chaotic if overly slight adventure.
Matterfall succeeds in adapting Housemarque's trademark style of fast, action-packed, arcadey action to the 2D platformer genre, but it feels like a puzzle half solved. There's virtually no content here after you finish its exceptionally short campaign, outside of some harder difficulty modes and a global leaderboard to climb, and its level design isn't well-suited for replay value. It's a ton of fun while it lasts, but once it's over it's hard to not be left with a feeling of “Is that it?”
Matterfall is an enjoyable, arcadey action game with a few twists even though difficulty spikes mar the endgame
PS4's Matterfall is a visually stunning yet uninspiring hybrid of Housemarque's past successes.
Matterfall is a challenging and creative take on the twin-stick shooter. Even if it's sci-fi setting is bland, the multitasking gameplay rarely offers a dull moment. This is a strong followup to Resogun, and one of the PlayStation 4's better digital exclusives.
There's no question Housemarque once again gets its own brand of chaos spot on, and you're going to love what they've got in store for you this time.
Matterfall tried to combine classic 2D shooting games with platform jumping games and provided a good playing style, but despite the powerful abilities and weapons Avalon uses, you will often feel weak and nervous at times because of the difficulty of the game. I would've been pleased if they were added a cooperative mode to increase the fun, but instead the studio has made it possible to compare your scores with your friends and everyone who plays the game around the world to know your world ranking, making you want to go back to the game to reach the top ranking.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Matterfall is a mechanically sound game but has very little to keep you coming back to chase high scores. As it stands, I enjoyed the handful of hours that I spent with it, but I can't see myself going back anytime soon. This greatly disappoints me since I have spent months if not years coming back to some of Housemarque's past ventures. While I like the new direction that Housemarque tried to go in with Matterfall, I'd be fine if we never ended up seeing a game in this same vein in the future.
Fast'n fun; that is how Matterfall works. An interesting videogame that takes back the 16 bits - Gunstar Heroes style with metroidvania elements and offers a hard (but also short) experience based on ability and patience.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Nowhere close to the arcade perfection of Resogun or Nex Machina, this undercooked action platformer lacks the precise controls and instant appeal of its stablemates.
Matterfall has a variety of pleasant gameplay ideas and a good technical side, even if it remains a platform-shooter with no great inspiration.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Matterfall brings back retro gameplay mechanics in a futurist set. However, it doen not bring anything new and becomes a little bit repetitive due to this.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Matterfall is a great shooter and will give you many hours of entertainment if you like chasing high scores and challenging gameplay. However, it does feel like a slight let down after Nex Machina and is the least essential of all the Housemarque games on PlayStation 4. That said, the least essential Housemarque game is still better than most games you will find on the console, so it's still recommended.
Housemarque could have gone a bit farther with Matterfall, because while the general theme is on point, several elements, the protagonist design included, failed to make their mark on me. While it remains stylish throughout there were a few sections where I felt like I was just going through the motions, doing things I had done many times before, just with a nice HDR sheen to it. It's not quite Outland (which Housemarque also created), but it'll do.
Despite closing weaker than it starts, there's a lot to like about Matterfall‘s unique blend of platforming and shooting. It's great to see Housemarque trying something new, and besides some tricky controls, they nail most of their ideas flawlessly. PlayStation 4 owners can safely rack this up as yet another Housemarque gem.
Housemarque's understanding of arcade shooting mechanics is, as ever, strong with Matterfall, but it lacks the flair and bombast of the more thoroughbred members of its family. The core concepts carried over from Housemarque's previous efforts may be signature moves now, but they are starting to grow a little tired, more so when the game they feature in isn't among the best the developer has put out.
Matterfall is the first notable failure in Housemarque's career. There is not even a bright and technological graphics, which studio is famous for. This is faded, boring, artificially prolonged game with a bad save system and stupid enemies. Of course, you can spend three hours of your life on it, but it's better to just skip this project and pay attention to one of the much more attractive summer hits.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Matterfall is a challenging game with simple controls and stylish combat. While some sections are more frustrating than others, it'll keep daring you to come back and try to beat it once and for all.
Anyone who misses the glory days of Metroid should really give Matterfall a closer look.
Matterfall's not the best game Housemarque will release in 2017 – but then, the virtually flawless Nex Machina was always going to be a tough act to follow. There's a lot to like about this side-scroller's pulsating platforming levels, and when it all comes together you'll feel like you're on top of the world. An unorthodox control scheme means that it's not the most accessible game, but once you slip into a rhythm it feels right. Unfortunately, it can be hard to stay in the groove, and while those looking for a challenge will undoubtedly relish the practice required to master this menacing sci-fi affair, it will put others off.