Game Review: Cybertrash STATYX

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox, PlayStation 4

Run and gun action games that have light RPG mechanics aren’t' exactly uncommon, but Cybertrash STATYX has a lot of elements that make it unique. A cyberpunk setting, retro inspired visuals, and even a slight anime aesthetic thrown in for good measure, it seems to have it all. What is Cybertrash STATYX, you ask? Well, it's a new game set to arrive soon on the Nintendo Switch, XBox One/Series X|S, and the PlayStation 4. We're going to be taking a look at the Switch version today, and see if it's a game worth picking up. Seeing as this is a rather straightforward game, let's ditch the intro and dive right in!

Ominous sky signs are ominous.

The default difficulty setting is rather hard.

Cybertrash STATYX places you in the role of Janet, a patient/prisoner that is being moved to a special testing facility that seems to be converting their unsuspecting subjects to battle-ready cyborgs. The dystopian world of Cybertrash is run by corporations, and these corporations use robots to control the population, and even turn some of them into cyborgs. Janet is tasked to fight a series of robot uprisings that serve as her tests. While there is the promise of freedom if she passes these tests, even Janet doesn't seem to be totally sure that the corporation will hold up their end of the bargain. In between missions Janet is haunted events from her past, events that she can barely recall due to losing most of her memory before arriving at the facility. This isn't unique to her, as others in similar situations to her also seem to be suffering from memory loss. Obviously escape is foremost on Janet's mind, but so is uncovering the secrets behind everything going on. I actually wish I could tell you more about the story, but the fact of the matter is that Cybertrash STATYX has one of the worst translations I've ever seen in a commercially released game. This is "All your base are belong to us." levels of bad, but times ten. Just about every line in the game has a grammatical error or two, and some of them are so bad that it's impossible to understand what is trying to be said. I'm not even totally sure what I mentioned above is correct, but I'm going off what I was able to interpret, while also trying to leave off some of the bigger reveals that happen later on in the game. The confusion of the game's text isn't helped by the fact that lines can be delivered by characters who on the opposite side of their own text window. It's all a confusing mess, but it's made the more upsetting by the fact that I think the bits of story I was able to interpret are actually really good. Normally I'd say that plot isn't important to action games like this, but I don't think that's the case here. I guess none of that can be helped, so we'll just leave that all as it is.

Sounds like virus deniers!

I really do like this game's run and gun action.

Gameplay in Cybertrash STATYX is your standard run and gun fare, but there's an extra layer of weapon management to deal with. By default you have a gun that has infinite ammo, but it's rather weak compared to the others you can pick up. This main gun can be switched out for various other "light" weapons, and you can also equip a secondary "heavy" Weapon too. You can only carry one of each at a time, and all other weapons but your main one have a limited amount of ammo. Light weapons can come in the form of a rapid fire laser gun, a more powerful handgun that shoots slower, and even a grenade launcher that can hurt you too if you fire it too close to your current location. The heavier weapons are pretty much all rifle and shotgun types, and essentially follow the same formula as the lighter weapons but are more powerful. Weapon pickups are found randomly throughout levels just lying around, but can also be found in boxes that need hacking to be opened. Hacking a box requires your hacking level to be equal or higher to whatever level the box is. These levels don't necessarily mean it contains a more powerful weapon, but you may still want to dump a few skill points into your hacking skill anyway. There's also another skill that makes your use of guns shoot faster and be more powerful, and this skill affects all weapons similarly. While I liked the idea of the weapon pick-up/switch mechanic, I did wish that there was a way to stockpile them and only use your regular gun if you wanted to save ammo. More often than not I'd simply waste whatever new weapon I found simply due to having to use SOMETHING to take out the current waves of enemies. Being able to keep a gun in reserve for bosses would've been a real game changer.

The only other actions you really have to worry about besides the running and gunning is the sliding and jumping. Those two actions work pretty much exactly as you'd expect, but combined they make a super jump that you have to use far more than you probably think you will. Just about every platform is just a little too high for you to reach with a normal jump, so super jump it is. This means you'll be doing a lot of pointless sliding to lead into a jump, and that often leaves you open for all sorts of enemy attacks. It's a very finicky system, and it seems to only work half the time. The super jump's trajectory also seems all over the place, with it sometimes sending you straight up into the ceiling, or other times barely moving you more than your non-powered jump. There's even several sections where you're forced to jump into a narrow hole in a platform above you, which can take several tries to get right. Also, Cybertrash STATYX most definitely has instant death drops if you're not careful, so you have that to worry about in some jumping sections too. Why the game couldn't have simply used a standard double jump is something I'll never understand, but the sliding super jump makes for the some very awkward platforming.

A boss encounter.

Some later level ups.

Cybertrash STATYX also has a rather strange health mechanic. You can take three hits before you die, and these hits are represented by three red orbs at the top of the screen. You also have a shield which can take three hits, with these being represented by three grey orbs underneath the red ones. This sounds like it takes six hits for you to die, and while that is technically true, it isn't always the case. You can actually have a full shield, but only one hit point left, or something similar. Each also have their own item pickups to replenish them, so you can sometimes have no shield, but full life, and only have health pickups everywhere. It may not be a very complicated system, but I think the game would've benefitted greatly from a standard life bar instead of this split six hit point nonsense.

I was surprised to learn that there are light RPG mechanics in Cybertrash STATYX, but they were a welcome addition. This is by no means an action RPG, but there is a money system (in the form of "credits") and a level up system. You can get credits from defeating certain enemies and smashing/hacking certain boxes, and you can increase the amount you get by increasing your mining skill. Credits can be used to purchase life or shield power-ups, or to buy more weapon ammo. Both of the machines that sell these are placed randomly throughout a level, so they're not really all that convenient to use. The ammo one feels especially odd as there's a good chance you won't even have one to buy ammo for in the first place. There's also a way to buy additional levels, and this is what I spent most of my credits on during my time with the game. I'm actually not sure how you level up outside of purchasing the levels, but I assume there's an invisible experience system that comes with defeating the enemies in any given level. Each level you get gains you a skill point that you can use to boost your shooting, agility, luck, mining, and hacking. Each level requires the number of skill points equal to the level you want to raise it to. For example it takes one point for a skill to hit level one, two for level two, and so on. While I can't reliably say that every stat within this system truly works for improving your character, it did add a layer of customization that I appreciated.

Literally running and gunning.

Unfortunately a lot of the levels look the same.

While I enjoyed much of my time with Cybertrash STATYX, I need to talk a bit about my biggest issue with the game. While I did find the default difficulty setting a bit too hard, my issue actually has to do with the way the game autosaves. Obviously I don't care that the game has a save system, auto or not, though I do dislike that you reload your last save whenever you die. This might sound like an obvious thing, but it means that there's no way to refill your life outside of healing items found in-game. In case you still don't get it, the lack of a proper game over/restart mechanic means that you can find yourself locked into an autosave where you only have a single hit before you die. This instantly turns the game into Hardcore Mode, and it can be near impossible to get yourself out of this situation if you somehow find yourself in it. I managed to lock up the game twice like this, and was forced to restart from the very beginning both times. I honestly can't believe that something this big was never caught in development, but it was an issue that nearly forced me to quit the game entirely. Thankfully the game is rather fast moving once you know what needs to be done, so I didn't have to spend a lot of time getting back to where I had gotten stuck. If I wasn't having such a good time with the game I'm sure that this would be a review of just a bit over an hour of gameplay. That said, I will admit that I took the time to lower the difficulty after my third try because I was starting to get worn down. While some may find this to be something of a challenge, I can't imagine casual players being as forgiving as I was.

While I'm not sure calling your game "Cybertrash" is the best idea on the planet, there's a lot here that I like presentation-wise. First off, I really dug the game's soundtrack. It's energetic, lively, and it has the right blend of futuristic vibes that go along with the cyberpunk themes of the game. The soundtrack is pretty dynamic too, as it also sounds moody and mysterious during the game's many flashback sequences. I guess I would've liked to hear a wider variety of tracks, but what we get here is really good. While I really like the music, I have to say that things are even better visually. Cybertrash STATYX features pixel graphics that have an 8/16-bit aesthetic to them. There's also a certain "anime-ness" to everything that I really enjoyed. The anime vibes come through in the character and enemy designs, and they're probably the reason why Janet has an impressive set of... assets. The entire cast looks great, and though the variety of enemies is rather limited, the game can be said regarding them as well. I will say that there's a "sameness" to most of the levels, but the action moves so fast that you probably won't be standing still long enough to notice. I have very little to else to say regarding the graphics, but that also means I pretty much have no real negatives to point out either. Oh, and is it just me or does the car you take to go to missions look like it's perpetually drifting?

I hated this no weapon area.

Get used to this screen.

While I didn't have a ton of issues with Cybertrash STATYX, the ones I had were rather big. Having to restart the game several times due to the autosave working the way it did was not my idea of fun, but then again I enjoyed the game enough that I only now feel upset knowing that I could've saved an hour or two if only I'd known to be wary about leaving rooms with low health. All that said, the game comes with a low $9.99 price tag, and I definitely feel it's worth that amount. Part of me still loves the game, and that's apparent by the fact that I didn't just give up when I realized I'd all but ruined my initial game save. It's a great action game that I recommend getting if you can look beyond the badly translated story, and the wonkiness with some of the gameplay mechanics. On the other hand, casual players are probably better served grabbing something with more polish. If you do give this one a try though, let me know how that went, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story in particular. I think I'm about to give the game another go after all just to see if I can get a better grasp on it!

Check Out Cybertrash STATYX on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/cybertrash-statyx-switch/

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Story: B- (Would probably have been an A if not for the translation issues.)
Gameplay: B
Graphics: A-
Music/Sound: B+
Value: A

Overall: B

Pros:
+ A fun run-and-gun action game that has cool retro aesthetics.
+ Though marred by bad translation, the story is actually far better than I was expecting.
+ The characters, enemy robots, bosses, and even the environments themselves, all look great.
+ Weapon variety, upgradable skills, and the credits system make for a lot of gameplay variety.
+ Features a great soundtrack that keeps the action moving.
+ Gives off 80s anime vibes, especially shows like Bubblegum Crisis.

Cons:
- There's seems to be at least one grammatical error in each and every line.
- Performing the super jump, which is crucial to playing the game, feels very finicky. A normal double jump would've worked better.
- Though the game looks cool and runs smoothly, there isn't a lot of variety to the levels themselves.
- Thanks to the way this game autosaves, you can sometimes get yourself stuck in a near infinite death loop.
- Can be very difficult on the default settings.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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This game is anything but boring.

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