Akimbot

In the sprawling universe of 3D action-adventure platformers, Akimbot enters the scene with a promise of robot mayhem, explosive action, and a galaxy-spanning adventure. Developed by Evil Raptor and published by PLAION, Akimbot thrusts players into the role of Exe, an outlaw robot with a penchant for chaos and a mission to save the universe. With his trusty sidekick Shipset, Exe embarks on a high-octane journey that involves blasting through hordes of robotic enemies, piloting spaceships, and exploring vibrant, diverse worlds.

Set in a sci-fi universe where only robots exist, Akimbot offers players a mix of fast-paced combat, intricate platforming, and open-ended exploration. The game starts with a bang and a prison break that sets the stage for an epic battle against the nefarious Evilware, a former scientist who has gone rogue. As Exe, you’ll navigate a series of colourful and chaotic environments, encountering many unique characters and overcoming many challenges.

What sets Akimbot apart is its commitment to delivering a fun, dynamic, and visually striking experience. The game’s emphasis on fast-paced combat, diverse weaponry, and intricate platforming mechanics ensures that players are constantly engaged and entertained. Whether you’re blasting through waves of enemies, mastering tricky jumps, or upgrading your arsenal with the latest high-tech weaponry, Akimbot promises an adventure that is as rewarding as it is exhilarating.

This review will dive into the key elements that make Akimbot a standout title. From its colourful and imaginative setting to its deep gameplay mechanics and satisfying combat, we’ll explore how this game brings the thrills of a classic 3D platformer into the modern era. Get ready to gear up, blast off, and join Exe and Shipset on an unforgettable journey across the universe!

Setting and Story

Akimbot takes players on a wild ride through a vividly imagined sci-fi universe where robots reign supreme, and the stakes are nothing less than the galaxy’s fate. The game’s setting is a vast, colourful galaxy filled with diverse planets, each boasting unique environments, inhabitants, and challenges. From lush, vibrant jungles on alien worlds to the cold, metallic corridors of enemy strongholds, Akimbot ensures that each new location feels fresh and exciting, inviting players to explore every corner of the universe.

The story of Akimbot kicks off with a thrilling prison break as Exe, a rebellious outlaw robot, and his unexpected sidekick, Shipset, make a daring escape from captivity. This high-octane beginning sets the tone for the rest of the game as the duo embarks on a mission to stop the evil machinations of Evilware, a former scientist who has become a galactic menace. Evilware, with his sinister plans and army of robotic minions, poses a severe threat to the galaxy, and it’s up to Exe and Shipset to thwart his schemes and save the universe from impending doom.

As players journey through the game, they’ll encounter many quirky and memorable characters, each with their role in the unfolding narrative. The story is peppered with humour, wit, and a touch of drama, keeping players invested in the fate of the galaxy and the characters they meet along the way. The camaraderie between Exe and Shipset is a highlight, as their banter and interactions bring a sense of light-hearted fun to the game, even in the face of galactic peril.

The narrative is also driven by the quest to save the Algorithm, a powerful force that holds the key to the universe’s balance. Evilware’s plans to corrupt or control the Algorithm add a layer of urgency to the mission, pushing Exe and Shipset to explore every planet, battle every enemy, and uncover the truth behind the chaos that threatens their world. As the story unfolds, players will learn more about the history of this robot-filled universe, the origins of Evilware, and the true nature of the Algorithm.

Each planet and spacetime player’s visit in Akimbot is not just a backdrop for action but an integral part of the story. The game’s environments are rich with lore, offering clues and insights into the broader narrative as players explore and interact with the world. From hidden data logs to conversations with NPCs, every detail helps to build a picture of the galaxy’s past, present, and potential future.

In addition to the main story, Akimbot offers side missions and optional objectives that further flesh out the world. These tasks often involve helping fellow robots in need, uncovering hidden secrets, or taking down perilous enemies. Completing these side missions rewards players with valuable upgrades and resources, providing additional context and depth to the game’s narrative.

Overall, the setting and story of Akimbot combine to create a rich, immersive, engaging, entertaining universe. The game’s blend of humour, action, and adventure, along with its diverse and imaginative environments, ensures that players will be eager to see what happens next as they guide Exe and Shipset on their quest to save the galaxy.

Gameplay and Mechanics

Akimbot delivers a thrilling blend of fast-paced combat, intricate platforming, and deep customization, creating a gameplay experience that is as dynamic as it is engaging. As Exe, players will blast through armies of robots, navigate complex environments, and upgrade their arsenal to take on increasingly challenging foes. The game’s mechanics are designed to keep players on their toes, offering a mix of action, exploration, and strategy that ensures never-dull moments.

Platforming and Exploration:

At its core, Akimbot is a 3D action-adventure platformer, and the game’s platforming elements are both challenging and rewarding. Players must master various moves to traverse the game’s diverse environments, including jumps, dashes, wall runs, and grappling. These mechanics are smoothly integrated into the gameplay, allowing players to string together complex maneuvers as they explore the galaxy’s many planets.

The environments in Akimbot are designed with verticality and exploration in mind. Whether navigating the treacherous terrain of an alien world or exploring the hidden depths of a space station, there are always new areas to discover and secrets to uncover. The game encourages players to think creatively about using their platforming abilities to reach new heights or uncover hidden paths, rewarding exploration with valuable items, upgrades, and lore.

Combat and Weaponry:

Combat in Akimbot is fast, fluid, and explosive. As Exe, players will face off against various robotic enemies, each with its attack patterns and weaknesses. The game’s combat mechanics are intuitive, allowing players to switch between weapons and abilities in battle quickly. The game’s responsive controls and dynamic camera further enhance the action, keeping the combat smooth and exhilarating.

One of the standout features of Akimbot is the ability to upgrade Exe’s arsenal throughout the game. Players can earn Botcoins by defeating enemies, destroying environmental objects, and completing objectives. These coins can then be spent in in-game shops to unlock new weapons, mod existing ones, and acquire unique abilities. The game offers a wide range of weapons, from high-powered blasters and laser rifles to more exotic tools like energy swords and explosive devices, allowing players to customize their loadout to suit their playstyle.

The diverse arsenal isn’t just for show—each weapon has its strengths and can be optimized for different combat scenarios. For example, some guns might be better suited for dealing with swarms of smaller enemies, while others excel at taking down heavily armoured foes. The game encourages players to experiment with different combinations of weapons and abilities, adding a layer of strategy to the otherwise fast-paced combat.

Spaceship Combat and Driving:

Akimbot isn’t limited to ground-based action; the game also features intense spaceship combat and driving sequences that add variety to the gameplay. Players will have the opportunity to pilot various spacecraft, engage in dogfights with enemy ships, and navigate treacherous space environments. These segments are seamlessly integrated into the overall experience, offering a change of pace from the on-foot action while maintaining the game’s high-energy feel.

The spaceship combat sequences are particularly thrilling, with players needing to manage their ship’s weapons, shields, and maneuverability to survive. These fast-paced battles require quick reflexes as enemy ships swarm from all directions. On the other hand, the driving sequences challenge players to navigate hazardous terrain at high speeds, using Exe’s turbo-charged propulsion system to jump over obstacles and evade pursuing enemies.

Customization and Progression:

Customization plays a significant role in Akimbot, with players able to tailor Exe’s abilities and appearance to their liking. The game’s progression system is designed to reward exploration and combat, with players earning experience points and Botcoins as they progress. These can unlock new abilities, upgrade existing ones, and purchase cosmetic items to personalize Exe’s look.

In addition to upgrading weapons, players can enhance Exe’s core abilities, such as improving his speed, jump height, or health. These upgrades are crucial for tackling the game’s more challenging levels and enemies, and they allow players to adapt their playstyle as they advance through the game.

The variety of customization options ensures that no two Akimbot playthroughs will be identical. Players can experiment with different builds, weapons, and strategies, making each adventure unique. The game’s replayability is further enhanced by hidden collectibles, secret areas, and optional challenges that encourage players to revisit levels and perfect their skills.

In summary, Akimbot offers a robust and varied gameplay experience that combines platforming, combat, and customization elements. The game’s mechanics are designed to be both accessible and deep, providing players with plenty of opportunities to experiment, explore, and engage in explosive robot mayhem. Whether you’re blasting enemies, navigating tricky platforms, or piloting spaceships, Akimbot keeps the action fresh and exciting from start to finish.

Multiplayer and Replayability

While Akimbot primarily shines as a single-player action-adventure platformer, it also incorporates elements that significantly enhance its replayability and provide avenues for extended engagement. Although the game doesn’t focus on traditional multiplayer modes, the features it does include ensure that players have plenty of reasons to revisit the game long after completing the main story.

Replayability Through Exploration and Customization:

One of the core strengths of Akimbot lies in its richly detailed environments and the abundance of hidden secrets scattered throughout its levels. Each planet and space station you explore is packed with collectibles, hidden paths, and secret areas that encourage players to revisit levels multiple times. These hidden elements provide additional lore and context for the game’s story and offer tangible rewards like Botcoins, weapon upgrades, and new abilities.

The game’s progression system further incentivizes replayability. As players unlock new abilities and weapons, they may want to return to earlier levels to explore previously inaccessible areas or tackle challenges with their newly acquired gear. This loop of unlocking, upgrading, and revisiting keeps the game fresh and rewarding, even after completing the primary campaign.

Customizable Playthroughs:

Customizing Exe’s abilities and arsenal allows for varied playthroughs, ensuring that no two runs of Akimbot are the same. Players can experiment with different weapon combinations, modding their gear to suit their preferred playstyle. Whether you focus on high-powered ranged attacks, close-quarters combat, or a balanced approach, the game’s customization options allow a personalized experience tailored to how you want to play.

This flexibility in gameplay means that players can challenge themselves by trying out different builds, optimizing their loadout for speed runs, or simply experimenting with all the game’s available weapons and abilities. The diverse options encourage multiple playthroughs, offering new exploration strategies and possibilities.

Potential for Co-op or Competitive Modes:

While Akimbot does not include traditional multiplayer modes at launch, the game’s mechanics and world design suggest a potential for co-op or competitive multiplayer in future updates or expansions. The concept of teaming up with another player to tackle levels, overcome challenging boss fights, or engage in spaceship combat would add an exciting new dimension to the game.

Alternatively, competitive modes, such as time trials, score challenges, or even PvP arenas, could be integrated to allow players to test their skills against one another. These features would enhance replayability and foster a community of players sharing strategies and competing for high scores or fastest completion times.

Weekly Challenges and Updates:

To extend the game’s lifespan further, Akimbot could introduce weekly challenges or time-limited events that offer exclusive rewards or unique gameplay scenarios. These challenges could range from defeating a certain number of enemies within a time limit to navigating a challenging platforming section without taking damage. By offering rotating challenges, the game would provide ongoing content for players to engage with, ensuring a steady stream of new experiences and incentives to keep playing.

Expanding the Universe:

Given the expansive nature of the Akimbot universe, the game is ripe for future expansions or downloadable content (DLC) that could introduce new planets, enemies, weapons, and storylines. These expansions could continue the story of Exe and Shipset, introducing new characters, environments, and challenges that build on the game’s foundation. Regular post-launch content updates would keep the game fresh and give players more reasons to return to the universe.

Leaderboards and Community Engagement:

While Akimbot doesn’t focus on traditional multiplayer competition, integrating online leaderboards for challenges, speed runs, or high scores would create a sense of community engagement. Players could compete for the top spots, share their best strategies, and challenge each other to beat their times or scores. This competitive edge would add another layer of replayability as players strive to perfect their runs and climb the leaderboards.

In conclusion, Akimbot offers a rich single-player experience with a high degree of replayability thanks to its detailed environments, deep customization options, and the potential for future content. Whether you’re revisiting levels to uncover hidden secrets, experimenting with different builds, or tackling new challenges, Akimbot provides plenty of reasons to keep playing and exploring its robot-filled universe.

Graphics and Sound

Akimbot excels in creating a visually vibrant and audibly engaging experience that draws players into its colourful and chaotic universe. The game’s graphics and sound design work together to bring the world of Akimbot to life, enhancing the action, exploration, and overall immersion.

Graphics:

Visually, Akimbot is a feast for the eyes, with a bold and colourful art style that perfectly matches its energetic and playful tone. The game’s environments are richly detailed, offering various settings ranging from lush alien jungles to high-tech space stations and everything in between. Each planet and location is distinct, with its own unique atmosphere, colour palette, and design elements that make exploring the galaxy a visually rewarding experience.

The character design of the robots is particularly noteworthy. Exe, the protagonist, his sidekick Shipset, and the various enemies and NPCs are all crafted with a high level of detail and personality. The robots feature sleek, futuristic designs with a touch of whimsy, reflecting the game’s mix of high-stakes action and lighthearted adventure. The smooth and dynamic animations make combat and platforming feel fluid and responsive.

Lighting and particle effects add depth and excitement to the game’s visuals. Explosions are bright and impactful, energy beams and projectiles light up the screen, and the environments are filled with dynamic elements that react to the player’s actions. Whether the sparks flying from a defeated enemy or the glow of a weapon charge, the visual effects enhance the sense of chaos and intensity that permeates Akimbot’s gameplay.

Sound:

The sound design in Akimbot is just as impressive as its visuals, creating an immersive audio landscape that complements the game’s fast-paced action and vibrant world. The soundtrack is filled with energetic, sci-fi-inspired tracks that drive the gameplay forward, matching the rhythm of combat and exploration with upbeat, futuristic beats. The music changes dynamically to suit the different environments and situations, whether you’re in the middle of an intense battle or exploring a new planet.

Sound effects are crucial in making the game’s action feel impactful and satisfying. Each weapon has a distinct sound, from the sharp crack of a laser rifle to the booming explosion of a grenade. The robots’ movements, jumps, and attacks are all accompanied by fitting mechanical sounds, adding to the sense that you’re navigating a world entirely inhabited by machines.

Voice acting is used effectively throughout the game to bring the characters and story to life. Exe and Shipset, as well as the various NPCs and enemies, are voiced with personality and humour, adding to the game’s charm. The dialogue is often light-hearted and witty, reflecting the game’s adventurous spirit and helping to build a connection between the player and the characters.

Environmental and Ambient Sounds:

The environments in Akimbot are brought to life through their visual design and the ambient sounds that fill each location. Whether it’s the hum of machinery in a space station, the chirping of alien creatures in a jungle, or the distant rumble of space battles, the ambient sound design helps to create a sense of place and immersion. These sounds provide subtle cues that enhance the atmosphere, making each environment feel more alive and reactive to the player’s presence.

Audio-Visual Synergy:

One of Akimbot’s strengths is how well the graphics and sound work together to create a cohesive and immersive experience. The visual effects are complemented by matching audio cues, ensuring that every action is accompanied by satisfying feedback. For example, when a powerful weapon is fired, the visual spectacle of the blast is matched by a resonant sound that emphasizes its impact. This synergy between sight and sound keeps players engaged and heightens the intensity of the gameplay.

Performance and Technical Polish:

From a technical standpoint, Akimbot runs smoothly, with stable frame rates and quick load times that keep the action flowing without interruption. The game’s graphics are optimized to deliver high-quality visuals without sacrificing performance, even during the most chaotic moments. The sound design is crisp and clear, with audio levels balanced to ensure that players can hear important cues without being overwhelmed by the background noise.

In conclusion, Akimbot offers a visually and audibly stunning experience that draws players into its robot-filled universe with vibrant graphics and immersive sound design. The game’s art direction, character design, and dynamic audio work together to create an adventure that is as enjoyable to watch and listen to as it is to play. Whether you’re exploring a new planet, engaging in combat, or simply enjoying the sights and sounds of the galaxy, Akimbot delivers an experience that is both polished and full of personality.

Final Thoughts

Akimbot is a standout 3D action-adventure platformer that combines thrilling combat, challenging platforming, and deep customization to create an engaging and dynamic gameplay experience. The game’s vibrant graphics, immersive sound design, and rich world-building draw players into a universe filled with robot mayhem and explosive action.

The story of Exe and Shipset’s journey across the galaxy is both entertaining and compelling, with plenty of humour, heart, and high-stakes adventure to keep players invested. The game’s diverse environments, variety of enemies, and customization options ensure that each playthrough is unique, offering plenty of replayability and opportunities for exploration.

Whether you’re a fan of classic platformers, action-packed shooters, or immersive sci-fi adventures, Akimbot has something to offer. It’s a game that doesn’t just invite you to play—it invites you to dive in, explore, and enjoy the ride. Prepare to blast off into a universe of robot-fueled chaos and save the galaxy one explosion at a time.

We prepared this review with a digital copy of Akimbot for the PS5 version provided by PLAION.