Rise:30 Minutes to Extinction

30 Minutes to Extinction is a promising third-person shooter involving hordes of aliens as you attempt to disarm a bomb and survive.

TL;DR at bottom. The game has been renamed to “Rise:30 Minutes to Extinction” since the writing of this review.

Gameplay:

30 Minutes to Extinction is a survival shooter where, as the name clearly states, you have 30 minutes to kill three commanders, collect their keys, and disarm the bomb that threatens your extinction. After disarming the bomb, you are left to kill as many aliens as possible and rack up all the points you can to reach the top of the leaderboards (which are currently sparse). You are dropped into the singular map (at the moment) and you are left to fend for yourself, using strategy tactics to try and survive the onslaught of aliens.

There are two enemy alien types, a fast melee alien and a slower, ranged alien. Both have about the same health, but the ranged aliens can dish out a great deal of damage quickly which makes them challenging. The last enemy type is the general, which is larger and stronger than both of the common aliens. The aliens really aren’t that powerful by themselves, especially if you use a grenade (if you manage to not kill yourself with it) as it can kill anything, even the generals. They are pretty powerful, but you can easily kill yourself if you throw it too close, so there is a risk to using it.

There isn’t a intense penalty for death, only a 5000 point reduction from your overall score. You get placed right back into the action so you can try again. There are teleporters on the map to help you get around quicker, as it is actually somewhat expansive if not barren, however. It is pretty easy to play once you get a handle on the controls, and it is very possible to get relatively skilled at it and place high on the leaderboards. The controls are effective and simple, and the gunplay is actually surprisingly satisfying and fun. Not many gripes with the overall gameplay.

8/10

Graphics:

The graphics in 30 Minutes to Extinction are less impressive. The main menu in particular does not present the player with very high expectations for the graphics. They really aren’t too horrible once you get in and start playing. They definitely aren’t the best graphics around, but it still looks decent and works fine for the game that it is. The graphics settings are pretty nice too, allowing for lots of tweaking and even a custom resolution if you have a funky monitor but still want to play at your native resolution.

The UI is okay, it doesn’t look pretty or like anything special, but it displays the information you need and it is clear, which is good. When first loading the game, there was a significant decrease in performance as it loaded in textures, objects, grass, and other assorted things. After giving it a couple seconds, it ran pretty well. This was a bit off-putting, being the first thing I saw when I got into the game, but I understood it pretty quickly and it was fine. Overall, the graphics are decent and playable.

6/10

Music/Audio:

The audio is a bit unbalanced in the case of mixing, but it still sounds pretty good. The guns are a bit loud, as well as the sound of the aliens’ heads exploding. The biggest annoyance I had with the sound design was the melee chasing you as you ran away, with their footsteps incessantly pattering behind you as you fled. Those sounds should probably be lessened a little bit, but it wasn’t too awful.

The music in the game is very fast paced and hectic, even when basically nothing is happening while you play. If you’re just trekking up a mountain, you better be ready for the heavy metal band to be climbing up with you. The music is good, and it certainly fits while you are in the midst of intense combat, but it never really lets up during your play time.

7/10

Conclusion:

30 Minutes to Extinction is a rough-around-the-edges survival game that has promise, in my opinion. I had genuine fun while I played it, even though I made it a bit more difficult for myself by not reading the instructions before playing. The gunplay was really satisfying, and I could see myself trying to survive longer and longer if the game was improved and updated more. The content is a bit lackluster at the moment, and the graphics aren’t so pretty, but it is still a good game. The developer seems to be friendly and active, which I always appreciate. I think this may be a game you should check out some time.

Update March 18th, 2019:

After revisiting the game 6 months later, I am pleased to see that is still being worked on and content is being added. The complete overhaul of the main menu is extremely welcome, and the addition of a new map and game mode is great for play-ability. The game was still just as enjoyable, but it felt less tedious to travel around the map with the improvements to the environment as well as the new enemy models. The variety is well improved, and the original game mode is revamped and much more enjoyable to attempt. The new bomb game mode is interesting, but seems too easy. However, it seems to be broken.

30 Minutes to Extinction has a lot of potential and I am glad to see that the developer is still working on the game. However, there are many bugs that I encountered during my most recent playthrough, several of which completely hindered progress and/or completion. The game is improving but it needs to improve more and these bugs need to be fixed before it reaches its full potential.

Overall: 7.5/10 – Recommended (Updated from a 7/10)

TL;DR

Pros:

+Fun gunplay

+Endless survival

+Leaderboards

Cons:

-Sub-par visuals

-Only one mostly empty map

-Slightly buggy

Check out my gameplay of 30 Minutes to Extinction below to get a better idea of the game.

Game has been provided by the developer, review has been written without bias.