For the first day of Next Fest, I will be playing a demo of Lightyear Frontier for the PC. I’ve managed to play through the demo and will give my thoughts about the game. There will be hundreds of games releasing their demos this week so I’ll be on the hunt with unique games and eye-catching gameplays that can truly excite any player for the days to come.
About Next Fest 2024
Next Fest is Steam’s yearly celebration of upcoming games by giving out free demo versions. Different genres from different developers with a multitude of selections ranging from adventure to horror. Steam is changing the landscape by promoting all new games that will soon be released on their platform. Customers are left to explore and play hundreds of demos and can also watch the games’ developers try their games in live stream.
I will be checking out 7 games in 7 days in this multi-day extravaganza and will do my best to give my first impression on each game. For the first day, I’ve decided to download and play the demo for the upcoming release of Lightyear Frontier.
About Lightyear Frontier
Lightyear Frontier is an open-world crafting game that has the advantage of using a mechanized robot for traveling and resource gathering. From developers FRAME BREAK and Amplifier Studios, Lightyear Frontier is paced to make its March 20, 2024 release date and is currently opening a demo for their intergalactic game for 2024’s Next Fest event is Steam.
In Lightyear Frontier, you play as an explorer tasked in discovering new and interesting elements in an abandoned planet. The main focus of the game is resource management, crafting, farming, and discovery. You are given a world that is stress-free with a non-combative experience. Apart from other crafting games, there is no survival hindrance in the form of hunger, thirst, or stamina mechanics.
To start this review, the gameplay for Lightyear Frontier is a gather-and-craft game with a mech twist. Though the aspect of creating buildings and exploring an alien world is as cliche as any sci-fi genre game, wandering through the expanse of the landscape felt clunky and boring. Maybe because I was riding the big, giant robot through most of my gameplay.
Gameplay
As I’ve said before, the game is a stress-free exploration game. If you’re looking for an action paced, lore focused game, this may not be your cup of tea. With Next Fest releasing Lightyear Frontier’s Demo gives us a glimpse of a quiet and peaceful open world game. There are a lot of other games that can scratch that crafting itch, the one thing good about Lightyear Frontier is that you don’t have to keep reloading every save file to progress through the game.
The mech robot you are tasked with riding for a big chunk of your game doesn’t feel big compared to the open world. After a while, the feeling of walking through forests or canyons felt the same. There is no magnitude in the scale of your perspective as opposed to the terrain you are trekking. Everything feels the same height. I’m glad Next Fest held this demo week.
The arm equip mechanic in Lightyear Frontier was a quirky addition to a crafting game. However, it can be a bit irritating after a few hours of play through, waiting for the constant recoil-and-load animation to switch through equipment. Maybe it’s just me, I’m just used to a quick change slot as seen with other open-world games.
The open world is massive, but there is little to no variety. It is an alien world after all, so it is required to have that feeling of emptiness. The lack of interaction apart from gathering resources numbs any kind of motivation to move forward and progress with the story.
Lightyear Frontier’s Graphics and Audio
The graphics are vibrant and cartoonish. It is a fun contrast from the dreary crafting games that had been released before. Their aesthetic gives you the feel of a peaceful voyage rather than embarking on an urgent mission. The colors may distract you from the overall emptiness in the world but never fret, it will be your job to make due with the current landscape and construct your own buildings to beautify the scenery.
The audio is serviceable in Lightyear Frontier, though the robot companion PIP-3R can be quite annoying after each mission because there is a lack of other notable NPCs that can communicate with you in dialogue.A lack of music selection is not really a priority in this type of game. All you have to do is gather resources, there’s nothing complicated about it, and a boisterous soundtrack will just hinder the overall playthrough. The calm and serene background with the added loneliness really hits you when creating your home base, all alone.
Who’s this game for? Next Fest’s Lightyear Frontier Demo
Lightyear Frontier is a resource-gathering, crafting, and exploration game. It is focused on those three things so hard-core crafting survival fans won’t enjoy this. This game has a more sit-back and relaxed kind of play. You get to ride and operate a hulking robot so that’s a nice gimmick. It’s a chill game so don’t expect any dark or sinister undertones from this.
Final Verdict for Next Fest’s Lightyear Frontier: Buy or Bye
To recap, this is game with no fighting involved. Just gather, plant, and create around the environment you are in. Sure there are a lot of the map I haven’t explored yet, but Lightyear Frontier gives me the option to just bask in my wondrous creations and keep improving the things I’ve built. Overall I can categorize this game as a farm building simulator, with a mech robot.
It’s a good enough game to pass the time. Open-world crafting enthusiasts will get a kick out of building their unique base in a remote planet and explore its mysterious background. I think there is more than meets the eye on this one. Get it? I made a robot joke.
I’ll give it a BUY for now. I like to see where they’re going with this. I hope that they haven’t shown us all that there is to see in Lightyear Frontier.
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