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Twin character hack and slash gameplay with toon-style graphics | Full Review - The Segment Twins

2K View2023-06-20

THE SEGMENT TWINS

7.7

ActionAdventureArcadeHack And Slash

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The Segment Twins is a fast-paced hack and slash game that brings players into a world filled with artistic visuals, synergistic twin character system, and relentless button-mashing combat. With its simple controls, toon-style graphics, and the ability to switch between two distinct characters, the game promises a fun hack and slash with rogue-lite elements.

🟩Pros

+Unique character switching mechanic

+Simple controls

+fast and frantic hack and slash combat

+Clear levels in under a minute

+Novel experience and skill progression system which can go backwards

🟥Cons

-Not much depth in terms of abilities and weapons

-Lack of enemy variety

The Segment Twins introduces players to the twin girls, Matilda and Amanda, whose profession involves hunting down nefarious creatures that closely resemble friendly mushrooms. However, their routine takes an unexpected turn when they fall into a portal and get transported to a mysterious world that exists simultaneously in different places. The story sets up the premise for their segmented journey, where the gameplay mechanics and challenges revolve around these distinct segments. There isn't much emphasis on storytelling, as the game primarily revolves around hack-and-slash action.

The Segment Twins stands out with its toon-style graphics, capturing the essence of comic book and hand painted aesthetics. The use of halftone patterns and glitch effects reminiscent of the recent Spider-verse movies further enhances the unique graphical presentation, immersing players in the game's distinctive art direction. It also features playful upbeat soundtrack and lighthearted sound effects that goes along very well with its light hack and slash gameplay.

The core mechanic of The Segment Twins lies in its segmented gameplay. Each stage is divided into two distinct segments, with two types representing each twin. While players control both characters simultaneously, only one is displayed on the screen at any given time. As the character steps across the line into the next segment, the game automatically switches to the other twin. In addition, players can also manually switch characters but with a short cooldown. This dynamic switching system adds a layer of strategy and adaptability to combat encounters.

Matilda and Amanda have different fighting styles, with Matilda excelling in swords while Amanda is a skilled gunslinger. The controls are intentionally simplified, focusing on basic attacks, dashes, and a limited number of combination moves for special skills using the face buttons – all with cooldowns. Over time, the combat mechanics tend to become repetitive and monotonous over time, as the optimal strategy often involves randomly spamming basic and special strikes regardless of the character's preference.

The Segment Twins incorporates an experience point system to unlock skills, and currency system to upgrade your characters’ stats – which are shared between both characters. As players accumulate experience points, they can level up their characters and gain access to new abilities. However, the game introduces a challenging twist I’ve never seen before—taking damage causes players to lose experience points, potentially losing newly acquired skills as quickly as they are obtained. This risk-reward mechanic adds an extra layer of tension and decision-making during combat encounters. This means that skills unlocked are not permanent, and can be locked again if you lose enough XP points.

To replenish health and acquire various items, players must destroy boxes scattered throughout the arenas. These boxes also contain in-game currency, which can be used to purchase upgrades in the dedicated upgrade room that will appear from time to time. Upgrades primarily focus on improving damage output and speed, enhancing players' overall effectiveness in combat.

The game features fast and frantic stages that prioritize quick reflexes and rapid decision-making. Each stage consists of multiple segments, and skilled players can clear them in less than a minute each. The game rewards players with grades based on their performance, providing additional monetary rewards. While striving for high rankings can be tempting, it is worth noting that becoming overly obsessive with earning S ranks in every stage may result in unnecessary frustration, and even failure.

In addition to the regular stages, The Segment Twins includes minigame stages that offer lucrative rewards. These stages introduce specific objectives that must be completed within a time limit. Excelling in these minigames can significantly boost the player's in-game currency.

The adversaries in The Segment Twins primarily consist of mushrooms and mechs, each displaying different attack patterns and abilities. While the variety in enemy types adds some visual diversity, the fast-paced nature of the game prevents players from truly appreciating their unique appearances. The focus is primarily on reacting to their attacks, which are telegraph by red color coding. Some enemies employ explosive AOE damage, while others create fields that temporarily disable the player's abilities. The boss fights offer fairly challenging encounters that require strategy and skill to overcome, providing highlights within the game's otherwise repetitive combat gameplay.

The Segment Twins offer a moderate level of replayability, with each world comprising around 20 stages and a boss fight at the end. Completing the game unlocks new worlds, introducing new segments and enemies. However, due to the repetitive nature of combat and the lack of significant gameplay variations, prolonged sessions can be unsustainable. Players seeking a short burst of fast-paced action and challenges will find enjoyment, especially since individual levels are easily completed in under a minute, but those looking for addicting gameplay mechanics and long play time may be left wanting.

Conclusion:

The Segment Twins offers an action-packed experience with its twin character gameplay, simplistic hack-and-slash controls, and stylish toon-style graphics. The game successfully introduces an intriguing mechanic where players can lose XP and skills upon taking damage. However, the combat gameplay becomes repetitive and lacks depth, relying heavily on relentless button-mashing rather than thoughtful engagement. The game's visual presentation, including its comic book-inspired graphics, adds charm to the overall experience. Thankfully, the game is affordable, and considering what you're getting, I'd say it's worth the price if you love playing these kinds of hack-and-slash games.

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THE SEGMENT TWINS

7.7

ActionAdventureArcadeHack And Slash

Get

Hack and slash... and shoot your way | First Impressions - The Segment Twins

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THE SEGMENT TWINS, a new hack-and-slash game with dual-background stage!

THE SEGMENT TWINS is now available on Steam. This game delivers a compelling fusion of dual-background stage gameplay and tag action mechanics that keep you on your toes. Playing as Matilda and Amanda - the Mush Hunter Twins, each with their own unique attack style - Sword Master and Gunslinger. Game pace never slackens, rewarding players with satisfying, impactful combat. The toon-style graphics, reminiscent of comic books, give the game a distinct charm, enhanced further by the halftone and glitch effects.

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