Dex

Czech astonishing dubbing performance, amazing story, hard yet great mechanics and fighting system, unforgettable characters, simply brilliant, an easy 10/10. I hope the creators will make something awesome as this is in the future.

Dex is a great, if short, cyberpunk beat-em-up RPG. I think I paid $2.99 and got 20-ish hours out of it for 100%. I'm slow so I tried to do everything and go everywhere. I expect a typical person would complete it in 15 hours or less.

✅Controls are easy to learn.
✅Melee combat is mostly about timing blocks and dodges, so pretty forgiving.
✅Cyberpunk setting and atmosphere are great.
✅A lot of voice acting for a small game. Character quality varies but all feel unique.
😐No way to respec your attribute points. I had 40 points by the end of the my run, but still....would be nice.
😐Typical cyberpunk story. Big corps are bad, you're the special/chosen-one, nothing new here.
😐Guns are in the game, but I never felt the need to use them.
😐There are two (pretty short; maybe 60-90 seconds) endings and it basically comes down to a binary choice at the end, so most of your actions during the game don't matter.
😐This game is really more about the story. I didn't find the combat all that difficult. I didn't mind, but some folks might be put off by ease of combat and abundance of healing items.
😐Enemies don't respawn, so once you clear an area it stays clear.
❌You keep climbing past the top of the ladder...for all ladders. Not a game breaker, but strange.
❌It's short; Not much in the way of replay value.

Overall, I think I got out of Dex exactly what was on the tin and I wasn't disappointed. Big thumbs-up for cyberpunk fans.

An engaging fusion of metroidvania and beat-em-up with some ninja/assassin stuff and arcade hacking sequences combined with good story, character advancement and exploration elements. The controls take 15 minutes to get used to. It's pure joy to play and accessible to anyone with decent motoric skills, not just platformer fanatics.

Now the IMPORTANT part: SAVE YOUR GAME just about before finishing hack on the Eclipse level to avoid the very bad taste and uncalled for gotcha! moment. Otherwise you might have your experience and keyboard ruined just like I did.

A fantastic little example of eurojank greatness, DEX feels stiff, both it's combat system and RPG mechanics are incredibly basic and prone to exploits, enemies are dumb as bricks and just as tough and the cyberspace segments are honestly a pain in the butt. BUT, it is also an immensly rewarding experience with above average writing and FULL voice acting of a quality that no big budget game would be ashamed of (love you Speedy). It starts falling off a bit during end-game, but overall DEX is well worth a playthrough, especially if you grab it during a sale.

Let me start by saying I’m a huge fan of the cyberpunk genre, so when I stumbled upon Dex, I was instantly interested. After completing 100% of the game, I can confidently say it’s a solid experience, though it isn't groundbreaking. That said, I’d still recommend it to fans of the genre looking for a fun, shorter adventure.
Let’s jack in and expand a bit upon some points of the game:
1. The Gameplay
Dex gives you a few ways to tackle situations, but none of them feel particularly deep. Combat boils down to three main approaches: brawling (which is mostly button mashing), ranged combat (which lacks weapon variety), and hacking (which stuns enemies or is used for interacting with the environment). While all of these are viable, they don’t evolve much over the course of the game and by the end, you’ll feel overpowered no matter which path you choose, and enemies stop being a real challenge.
There’s also a stealth option, but it feels even less developed compared to the other systems. You don’t get many tools to enhance stealth beyond a single implant and after a point, it gets pointless to sneak about.
I wish the game had leaned more into specialization, letting you build a character that feels cool and actually evolves as the game goes on. Instead, the skill upgrades are pretty basic and don’t significantly change how you approach the game.
2. Story
The premise is classic cyberpunk: you’re up against a powerful, evil megacorporation, but this time, you’re the “chosen one” with a special role to play. While it sounds generic, the story is actually decent but it just moves too fast. There are a lot of characters the game tries to make you care about, but you don’t spend enough time with them to form a real connection. Events unfold at a rapid pace, and while there’s potential here, it feels like the story could have used more room to unfold itself.
 
To give you an idea of how fast things move, I 100% the game, including all side quests, secrets, and achievements, in about 10 hours. You start as a nobody and end up as someone capable of taking down a megacorp, but the progression feels rushed. I think the game could have benefited from an extra 3-4 hours to flesh out character relationships and make the story’s pacing feel more natural.
3. Visuals
The game nails the cyberpunk atmosphere, from the gritty slums to the sleek, high-rise skyscrapers of the rich. Each area has its own distinct personality and theme, and they’re all well-designed. The visuals do a great job of immersing you in the world.
That said, the final sections of the game feel a bit rushed and uninspired compared to the rest. Some areas are reused, and it feels like the developers were running out of time or ideas. Still, overall, Dex delivers a visually appealing and atmospheric experience.
TLDR:
Dex is a good game for anyone looking for a short, straightforward cyberpunk adventure. It does a lot of things decently, but there’s plenty of room for improvement. If you’re a fan of the genre and don’t mind a simpler, more compact experience, it’s worth checking out.

Interesting mechanics and nice enough story even if a bit clunky of a game.

Deus Ex meets 2D Brawler (& Twin Stick Shooter)
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DEX is a fantastic cyberpunk 2D action RPG that does not overstay its welcome. I finished the game in 12 hours and was fully satisfied.

Anyone who played Deus Ex, Dishonored, Prey will understand the template that DEX was built on. It's just that the game is in 2D, with emphasis on melee combat. There is an option to use firearm but I am not sure if this can totally replace the hand-to-hand combat.

The best aspect of the game is the story, and the it starts with a banger with assassins crashing to your apartment without you knowing why. A hacker named Raycast urges you to escape. This is one of the most reliable beginnings because it works.

Once you escape the assassination, the world opens up with a lot of side quests available in the city. The game does suffer from the Fallout syndrome where it overloads you with too many side quests. I felt the game could benefit from expanding the main story line, which is only about 20% of the total runtime, with a couple of beats of the main story line in the midst of the side quests to break things up.

The hand-drawn graphics are great with so much personality - however, at times, it was difficult to tell the platform from the background & foreground objects. I died many times trying to make a jump to a platform that it wasn't. Some sort of highlighted marking would have been helpful, especially in the sewer stage (Don't we all love this? NOT) However, the game's auto save is quite forgiving at least.

Upgrades are great and you feel like you really made some progress. With upgrading the melee skills, it really played on my power fantasy. I would give kudos also to the voice acting which was a pleasant surprise for an indi-game, Music was great, however the sound effects were a bit of a letdown that in some cases, it lessens the impact of certain scenes.

There is a mini-hacking game which worked like a twin-stick shooter, but the game pushes this a bit too far, making this a chore at times. It provides variety but the mini-game does not know when to end, Making them shorter but not necessarily less challenging would be welcome.

Overall, I loved my time playing DEX, and I hope for a sequel with some minor improvements.