Hardcore Droid
  • Home
  • Spotlight
  • Reviews
    • Action
    • Strategy
    • RPGs
  • Most Hardcore
    • Devices
    • Gifts
    • Gadgets
  • About Us
  • Knightcore Sword of Kingdom Official Promotional Artwork
    Strategy RPG Knightcore: Sword of Kingdom Opens for Global Pre-Registration
  • mobile-live-casinos
    How To Find Mobile Live Casino Sites With The Best Bonuses
  • mobile-esports
    Mobile Esports Ascend: Unpacking What It Means, Its Impact and Challenges
  • gaming-the-future
    Is Gaming the Future of Education?
  • smartphone-hacks
    Best Hidden Smartphone Hacks That Every Android Phone User Should Know
  • Little Nightmares Official Cover Artwork
    Little Nightmares Mobile Opens for Pre-Registration Ahead of Release
  • Super Cat Tales: PAWS load screen
    Super Cat Tales: PAWS Review
  • great-mmos
    Seven Features that All Great MMOs Have
  • Dungeon Hunter Cover
    Dungeon Hunter 6: Interview with GOAT Games’ Machine Ma
  • Heroes of Middle Earth Title Picture
    The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth Review
  • Language-Learning-Apps
    Tech Tools for Learning Italian: The Best Language Learning Apps and Websites
  • Tropico Tropican Dream Title
    The Tropican Dream DLC Comes To Tropico
  • Tarisland MMORPG Promotional Artwork
    Tarisland Developers Announce Second Closed Beta Test
  • My Cat Club Featured Image
    My Cat Club Now Available Globally For Android and iOS
  • CABAL: Return of Action Keyart
    CABAL: Return of Action Launches on Mobile
Hardcore Droid
Hardcore Droid
  • Home
  • News
    • News
    • Spotlight
    • Interviews
    • Consoles
  • Reviews
    • Action
    • Adventure
    • Strategy
    • RPG
    • MMOs
    • Racing
    • Indie
    • Hardware
  • Best Of
    • Top 10 Games
    • Best RPGs
    • Best Action
    • Best Puzzlers
    • Best Strategy
    • Best Indie Strat
    • Best Indie RPGs
    • Most Hardcore
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Game Jobs
    • Archives
    • Attributions
    • Opportunities
  • Reviews
  • Strategy

Nova: Iron Galaxy Review

  • May 25, 2022
  • Stormie McNeal
Spread the love

Science Fiction Strategy

STONE3’s Nova: Iron Galaxy a casual science fiction strategy title that grants players their own space station to upgrade and defend. The booming voice-over in the introductory cutscene emphasizes the importance of your role in the galaxy, while leading you into a game featuring beautiful graphics that unfortunately never takes the time to explain detrimental game mechanics.

After the miniature movie, the game introduces you to a small cast of characters. Now you can start building your first fleet. These fleets take down intergalactic threats and collect materials to upgrade and build ships, as well as earn the currency needed to upgrade your space station.

There is also a narrative slowly unfolding in the game. You discover that in the past you lost some of your memories during a battle. There is a small group of characters, mainly intergalactic generals and people of similar stature over the character. They mainly serve as exposition and have no impact on the gameplay whatsoever.

Repetitive Gameplay

Most of the game plays out as a repetitive cycle. Send out your fleet to battle, and use the spoils to upgrade everything. Then it’s time for you to repeat. And repeat again. And again. As I moved up in the ranks during the story, I didn’t notice much difference between my first battle and my thirtieth and beyond. They all looked the same as the last battle and had the same results as each other. The repetitiveness is especially egregious since you cannot do anything in the battle other than watch it happen autonomously.

Speaking of battle; simple mechanics like zooming in are not explained. The more important features that you need for progression are not explained nor are they shown to the player. Nearly half of the accessible menu is not explained even twenty levels into the game; this is by far enough time for the game to explain important game mechanics like alliances.

Completed Objectives Behind A Paywall

By far, the most negative feature is the game’s push to purchase premium currency. Game developers deserve to make money off of their products; however, I kept receiving notifications within the game for completed objectives. These completed objectives cannot be seen without purchasing premium currency. You also don’t need these objectives to complete the storyline. However, it was rather irritating that I was receiving in-game notifications about completed objectives and rewards I cannot access.

In the end, Nova: Iron Galaxy is a beautiful game. However, that is the most I can say about it. The gameplay isn’t gameplay but instead boils down to you idly watching the same actions play out over and over again. The constant notifications for objectives are misleading and many game mechanics are never explained. There are better science-fiction strategy games out there, but if you are in the market for science fiction visuals and nothing else grab it at Google Play or follow development news here on their Facebook.

Is It Hardcore?
1.5

No

The repetitive gameplay and unexplained mechanics overshadow the world-building and grandiose graphics. Pushing loot-box mechanics that hide completed objectives until purchased is also not Hardcore.

Related Topics
  • Android
  • Android Strategy Games
Stormie McNeal

Stormie spends her free time gaming or studying Japanese, and occasionally hiking with her husband and toddler. She will play games of any genre, but her favorites are open-world RPGs and life simulators.

Previous Article
popular-online-games
  • Most Hardcore

Popular Online Games For Casual Gaming Break

  • May 25, 2022
  • Ajax Moroni
View Post
Next Article
  • News

Kingdom Hearts: Missing-Link Trailer Released

  • May 25, 2022
  • James Bell
View Post
You May Also Like
Little Nightmares Official Cover Artwork
View Post
  • News
  • Puzzle

Little Nightmares Mobile Opens for Pre-Registration Ahead of Release

  • James Bell
  • September 17, 2023
Super Cat Tales: PAWS load screen
View Post
  • Indie
  • Platformer
  • Reviews

Super Cat Tales: PAWS Review

  • Mayra Reynoso
  • September 16, 2023
Dungeon Hunter Cover
View Post
  • Action
  • Interviews
  • RPG

Dungeon Hunter 6: Interview with GOAT Games’ Machine Ma

  • Divine Ekong
  • September 14, 2023
Heroes of Middle Earth Title Picture
View Post
  • Reviews
  • RPG

The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth Review

  • Trevor Wells
  • September 13, 2023
Tarisland MMORPG Promotional Artwork
View Post
  • Hardware
  • MMOs
  • News
  • RPG

Tarisland Developers Announce Second Closed Beta Test

  • James Bell
  • September 12, 2023
My Cat Club Featured Image
View Post
  • News
  • Simulation

My Cat Club Now Available Globally For Android and iOS

  • Caleb Jackson
  • September 11, 2023
CABAL: Return of Action Keyart
View Post
  • MMOs
  • News
  • RPG

CABAL: Return of Action Launches on Mobile

  • Mayra Reynoso
  • September 9, 2023
Brown Dust 2 Title
View Post
  • Reviews
  • RPG

Brown Dust 2 Review

  • Michael Licon
  • September 6, 2023
The Latest
  • Strategy RPG Knightcore: Sword of Kingdom Opens for Global Pre-Registration
  • How To Find Mobile Live Casino Sites With The Best Bonuses
  • Mobile Esports Ascend: Unpacking What It Means, Its Impact and Challenges
  • Is Gaming the Future of Education?
  • Best Hidden Smartphone Hacks That Every Android Phone User Should Know
  • Little Nightmares Mobile Opens for Pre-Registration Ahead of Release
  • Super Cat Tales: PAWS Review
  • Seven Features that All Great MMOs Have
  • Dungeon Hunter 6: Interview with GOAT Games’ Machine Ma
  • The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth Review
Meta
  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
Hardcore Droid
  • Reviews
  • Spotlight
  • Hardcore
Core Gaming on the Android OS

Input your search keywords and press Enter.