UltraGirl: Alters

Following on from Ultragirl: Alters spotlight, I’ve had the chance to play the game more thoroughly. It’s been interesting to re-read those first impressions and comparing them to the game proper, as the game clearly had a great deal of potential that, ultimately, hasn’t quite come together in the way we might have hoped.

By way of a reintroduction, you play the neophyte manager of a group of idols who sing by day and battle virtual-reality monsters at night. The girls themselves all fill the usual tropes - airhead, overly-blunt hacker, ice queen and so forth - all of which you’ll need to keep happy by spending time with them, doing your best to address their issues )cyber-bullying, scandals and the usual idol pitfalls) and try to make them a cohesive unit as a group and as fighters.

Where things unravel is that none of these things really gel very well. The visual novel elements where you’ll choose how to respond to the girls in conversation might fix a problem in the real world, but it doesn’t translate to the combat - it feels very much detached and inconsequential. 

The battle system, something I was enjoying initially, never develops to the point that you need to do anything other than spam attacks to win. Yes, placing the girls and trying to keep them out of harms way before moving in to attack is a feature, but again from start to finish, my tactics never had to actually change in order to win. The fact that these battles are livestreamed and supposed to elicit a response from the online audience also backfires, as what’s happening in the battles isn’t reflected in the reaction. Win without taking a hit? Get booed. Get beaten to within an inch of defeat? Cheers. It’s clear that the responses are random, but so poorly programmed that they aren’t linked to anything that’s actually happening, so it’s just noise. This could have been an emotional beating-heart of the game - who doesn’t love a boxing match where the crowd are on the edge of their seat and start cheering you to victory? But it only works if they’re with you in the fight and they certainly aren’t here.

When you’re not fighting, you need to raise your relationship levels with each of your team, but again this is poorly implemented as there’s no real heart to it, just generic chatter that lacks much heart. You really needed some smart writing, some genuinely shocking truths to reveal or a bit of edge, instead it all comes off as minimum effort. The girls never evolve beyond their base characteristics, so you don’t really get to “know” them very well. They seem as virtual as their online avatars.

Presentation and technical aspects also feel rushed. There are technical issues with explanations disappearing before I could read them, the fonts are all over the place and the frame-rate is similarly up and down. I’m not sure if the problems were related to time or budget, but it needed more of both to add some polish. 

There’s a hell of a game to come out of this idea - a virtual idol x Gridman experience should be awesome - great music, strategic battles and interesting characters could make this formula an absolute beast, but it all falls flat in Ultragirl: Alters. What this needs is a sequel with a seasoned producer who can iron out the disconnection, a writer with something to say and a visual director with a flair for drama. We need dramatic costume transitions, more vibrant battle animation and some insane finishers to get the crowd going. Hell, bring in a real idol group so you have access to some top-tier music and this would be an unstoppable epic. 

I did enjoy elements of the game - occasionally it gets some dialogue to feel genuine and heartfelt, at other times you feel a sense of urgency, but it’s so poorly drawn overall that the game never reaches that almost limitless potential. I love the character designs, the upgrade system is fun and the structure is there. I was almost willing the game to improve, but after a while it was clear that it wouldn’t - a frustrating and genuinely disappointing realisation that was almost depressing.

So while I can’t recommend this game with a clear conscience, here’s what I will say - I want the developers to go back to the drawing board and try again. There’s so much incredible potential here that the idea deserves a second shot. Increase the complexity of the battles, get the crowd to react to what’s actually going on, make the fights a visual feast, get them singing as they fight to bring that fist-pumping atmosphere of a concert to the fore (you’ve seen Kpop Demon Hunters right?) and for God’s sake give the girls some real depth.

I’m in your corner for a round two, you just have to bring it.