Review: Guns of Icarus Alliance (PlayStation 4)

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Own the skies in steam-powered airships! Guns of Icarus Alliance is a team-based online game that pits co-op crews against both rival teams and an AI that learns your tactics. Players become part of the story as each battle shapes history in an ever-changing steampunk world.

Pros:

  • Nice detailed graphics.
  • 9.57GB Download size.
  • Platinum trophy.
  • An optional tutorial that covers the engineer, gunner, pilot and an alliance warfare introduction.
  • Six factions to join and earn rep for to unlock new items.
  • Gameplay is a team-based shooter but you are on a ship that you must fly and care for in order to dominate.
  • 12 different ships with unique stats.
  • FOV slider.
  • Ship customization- Three presets, Rename ship, add new weapons.
  • Graphics options- V-Sync + Post proccessing.
  • Character loadout- Three presets. Character editor for goggles, headwear, costume, skin tone, male and female and can set starting equipment.
  • Stats screen.
  • Clan support.
  • Refer friends for free gear.
  • Two modes- co-op or PVP.
  • Leaderboard support.
  • Faction screen shows stats, contribution leaderboards, news and any upcoming unlocks/rewards.
  • Cross-platform play with Steam.
  • View- Third and first person and can be changed on the fly.
  • Login bonuses.
  • Uses DS4 touchpad for chat options.
  • Full of atmosphere.
  • Tremendous sound effects.
  • Roles- Every role- engineer, pilot, and gunner will have unique abilities and weapons to aid the running of the ship. Gunner is better at using the mounted guns than the others, for example, The pilot obviously drives the ship whereas the engineer is in charge of fixing parts/guns and putting out fires.
  • Film grain effect. ( can be turned off)
  • Practice area against AI.
  • Server browser.
  • Global and faction chat channels.
  • Exhilarating gameplay.
  • Such a satisfying experience.
  • The game is frantic, intense but so rewarding.
  • Can communicate with voice or the robust in-game chat text options.
  • World- A part of the game where you can assign your faction units to attack or defend key areas to earn resources, This is an ongoing scenario. You use earned coins from playing to increase your units and do new orders.
  • Decent loading times.
  • So much to unlock from new buffs to abilities to new skins. These are tied to the games own in-game achievements.
  • Games can have 1,2 or 3 ships on a team.
  • Four game modes- Defense, intercept, assault and interception.
  • Nails the Steampunk aesthetic.
  • Some really good outfits to earn.

Cons:

  • Slow paced.
  • Slight screen tearing can still happen.
  • You have to be so precise in the pilot tutorial it is so infuriating.
  • Hard to fly due to slow turning circles, the view can easily be obscured.
  • A lot of brown and black textures.
  • Some ugly textures.
  • Clunky animations especially on ladders.
  • Doesn’t explain everything that well in terms of modes or that world scenario.
  • Huge reliance on people pulling their weight.
  • Bit of an initial load.
  • Daunting for the first few hours as you stare at screens of games, modes, loadouts and then you get in a game with explosions going off, people shouting.
  • The menu layout is not that streamlined.
  • LAG is an absolute killer.
  • Leveling up is non-eventful and very easy to miss you actually doing it.
  • Player numbers are not the highest.

The Numbers:
  • 7/10
    Graphics - 7/10
  • 8/10
    Sound - 8/10
  • 7/10
    Accessability - 7/10
  • 7/10
    Length - 7/10
  • 9/10
    Fun Factor - 9/10
7.6/10

Summary

This game is a lot of fun once you get going and have a good team with you, Friends is your best bet but anyway, the game really nails the teamwork mechanic. You have a role and you must stay on top of your role at all times, Its a lot of pressure but its a good kind of pressure as you feel like you are getting the instant reward for saving a gun or taking down a ship. It has the same issues from the previous game in that the tutorial really doesn’t set you up for the actual game and has a lot of clunk in menus and animations. If you are willing to put the time in the game really shines through and like I say its just a frantic intense experience that you don’t get from many co-op games. It needs a few more lands to fly over and a huge injection of color but for what you get it is so much fun. I would say it’s a great game that no one will play, Whether that be timing or exposure, The game really relies on a high player count in order to get the most out of it. In short fantastic team based fun.

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!