Goliath

Day 1 Review ~ 4h of gameplay
tldr;
While in need of some polish, a well concerted effort from a small, indie dev who are clearly trying to shoot for the moon.
The long review:
Where the game falls short: audio.
Mechs don't sound heavy. Not enough thunks, and booms. The rest of the audio is a bit more than atmospheric, and while not terrible, doesn't add much either.
Where the game succeeds: Core mechanic.
A fun crafting system that doesn't feel like work. A nice balance of action and exploration where mechs are a tool and not a means for unending material grind.
Combat system could use a little work in terms of creating "impact" which you hit an enemy... but this also isn't a fighting game. It plays a lot more like an isometric ARPG, which isn't a bad thing.
Finally, the dev team is EXTREMELY responsive on the forums. They are currently answering every single question and concern that pops up, which shows a lot of promise for future development. I have confidence that Whalebox will continue to shape this game into a well polished gem.
All in all, it's hard not to recommend this title, despite its flaws. It has so much ambition and heart, I can forgive its first day fuzzies. If you like the concept of this game at all, I'd say it's worth showing your support.

Goliath is a crafting action rpg game that has lots of potential that hasnt been used by the dev. Despite all of its flaws, this game is still fun regardless. You are newbie pilot who are going for a test fly(drive) of your newly built plane, something goes wrong, your plane crash and you wake up on a remote strange place. Its your job to find a way to go back to Earth. You can create giant robots which called Goliath to do 90% of your things. Without the Goliath, you're going to die in less than 5 seconds against an enemy or two, cause they can kill you in 2-3 hits, some can one hit you.
Pros:
- Crafting system, is similar like crafting anywhere, but you get quite lots of things to craft, from weapons, healing items, materials, buildings and goliaths.
- Every shards (thats what the world in Goliath called) has its own biome and creatures in it, there are 4 biomes, wood/forest, swamp, desert and snow/ice.
- Goliath, your best friend and your armor. You can ride them or switch them to auto pilot, but riding them is the best option, cause the AI is not the best. If you encounter enemies while auto piloting, your goliath will got rekt pretty quick. Just ride them. There are 4 types of goliath, wood, iron, stone and crystal. Each has its own skill sets, atributes and effects. And to add complexity, each type of Goliath has its own variants (think of it as armor), example, wood goliath has coal armor, snipe armor, pirate armor, etc. And each of them has its own effects, pretty nice. You can equip melee and range weapons for each of your goliath. You can store them if you are not using them or deconstruct them to get some materials. To unlock a certain goliath variants, you have to complete the experiments associated with it on the Experiment tab.
- Factions, there are 3 factions in Goliath, Fox, Forgers and the Robots (sorry I dont remember the third one). By improving your faction points in certain faction, you can trade with them and help them solve quests. Sadly, there is nothing more than this.
- Crystals, this is one the important resources, you use this to teleport to another shards and to upgrade your equipments later in the game when you have recruited certain NPC
- As I mentioned above, you can recruit 5 NPC to work with you in the game, they have a purpose, such as a material trader and a beastmaster (to see monsters you have killed), weapon trader, heal your goliath, upgrade your equipments, bringing you random materials in a certain period of time.
- Combat is ok, each goliath can only equip weapons made from the materials associated with them, example, wood goliath can only equip wooden weapons, stone goliath with stone weapons, etc. And the main character you ask? Nah, the main character Gromov is like a pudding, soft, weak and tasty, he cant equip or even upgrade his initial revolver. Stick to your goliath.
Cons:
- Story is meh.
- Lack of enemies variation
- The worlds are pretty much copy paste
- Why I cant upgrade or equip Gromov with equip?? Its frustrating when my goliath got destroyed and I am out of warp stone in the middle of the map, and has to travel far to get back to my base, the revolver can suck bull's cock, it takes 7-9 hit to kill the chicken enemy (or dodo, i dont care). Gromov only has 1 active skill, invisibility. This is a potential you can use.
- Combat is lack of guard button, its funny that a goliath so big cant block.
- Lack of storage, I had tons of weapons on my storage which is unused because of lack of inventory slots, and I can only bring 6 weapons at a time. And I only has 3 chests to store my things, I thought I could craft more chests, oh boy I was wrong.
- Add Sprint button for the goliath. The goliath walks a little bit slowUse the crystal goliath to travel around, the crystal one can warp, before you get the crystal one, the iron one is okay.
Pick this whenever you like sale or no sale, imo, its worth the price.

Goliath is a fantastic RPG that focuses on building and customizing your own Goliaths for combat whilst you navigate a world you find yourself crash landed on.
Story
In Goliath you’ll find yourself playing a young pilot who crashes on a mysterious island. With limited survival gear and a radio to contact your now lost co-pilot you’ll get to explore the lands meeting new factions, enemies and most importantly you’ll get to craft some of the awesome Goliaths in the game. With limited information fed to you from your co-pilot you’ll need to find out where you are and just how to get back home
General Gameplay
At first Goliath seems pretty similar to many survival games as you’ll quickly find yourself gathering some wood and other resources around you to survive your first night in this strange land. But you’ll very soon find yourself embroiled in much deeper affairs. Once completing a few quick starter quests you’ll find yourself ready with your own base which you can upgrade and most likely enough materials to craft your first Goliath. Goliaths are essentially large robots you can control directly as though they are a suit of armour, or order to follow you around as slaves/pets. Goliaths are big and very strong and will be the only protection you have in this world, but fear not, there are many types of Goliaths and each has it’s own perks. Though you only start with one Goliath you can craft, as you continue on you’ll be able to learn how to make new types, often stronger in some form than the last. Goliaths can also be upgraded and equipped with one of the many weapons you’re able to craft at your base and each can have both a ranged and melee weapon at the same time. Not only do Goliaths have different ability types they also react differently with your environment which can turn the tide of battle in your favour if you utilize this properly. For example stone Goliaths are faster in hot environments whereas wooden ones can heal in water.
There are main quests for you to follow as well as some side quests but mostly the story is linear and it’s not easy to get lost or fall off your chosen path which is appreciated because many RPGs have far too much filler now just to bulk the gameplay hours. Most of the quests you receive will be from the various factions you encounter BUT you may only do quests for factions you are on good terms with so you may want to think twice about who you attack and who you befriend.
Graphics and Audio
The graphics are nice and run smoothly most of the time but sometimes I feel like there is a little hiccup/stutter when i’m moving on occasion. The soundtrack that plays in the background is very awesome and adds a little something extra, especially to combat as it seems to fit the mood perfectly. Something about smashing mobs in with my giant fists just feels better with great background music.
Cons
Though I am loving Goliath I do have to mention some of the things that bother me, the first being a lack of explanation. Maybe I missed something but I’m learning everything from the tips when I teleport without finding too much information anywhere else. Things like how to have your Goliaths follow you and where to find the objectives for upgrading your Goliaths should be clearly explained to you as I don’t tend to pay attention to the loading screens. There are also things you are told to find and not given any indication at all of where to find them or even what they look like. This is freaking annoying on your first timed quest and just had me running around like a maniac killing everything. Another small issue is objects floating off of the ground slightly and enemy mobs getting caught in them but this is a superficial one and didn’t really affect my gameplay, it was just very noticeable. Lastly I find things can be a tad ‘grindy’ because some of the enemies are just so damn hard to kill that I find myself needing to level first. I don’t see any difficulty settings either so it seems it's grind or nothing.
Summary
Overall Goliath is a fantastic light RPG with a story i’m enjoying and many hours of gameplay. The addition of a great story and chuckleworthy dialogue makes for a brilliant combination and is well worth the price tag. For those of you on the fence, check out some YouTube gameplay videos, I don’t think the store page does this game justice at all.

Edit: Only a day after I posted this a lot of the issues have already been fixed. Music no longer stops suddenly and polish on just general mechanics have already gone out
The game as a whole isn't bad. I'm enjoying the different types of Goliaths and they feel different to fit different situations. You won't be simply abandoning one goliath just because the next one unlocks.
The game, however, still needs a lot of polish. The music abruptly stops when combat ends, and some interactions are very picky and simply won't work unless you shuffle around trying to adjust where you stand, despite the prompt showing up. I've also just simply died with no way of really knowing what just happened. (I literally blew up when picking up my stuff from a previous death, no reason for it at all, just... boom. Done. The only thing I can think of is the mines in my pocket activated when they dropped.)
I would still recommend the game because you're looking at a pretty fun, and rather extensive, game for the price. The release of the game still needs work and bugs are all over the place, but if you can overlook it, or if it's updated and fixed, it's fun to play, action rewards reflexes and adjusting to your surroundings, and the elements play well in this game.

TL;DR: Goliath is a buggy, ambitious release that is great fun, and looks to improve quickly.
The biggest strike against Goliath is that it has a lot of bugs in this first week after release. The developers have freely acknowledged the problems, respond to bug reports as they're made, and have already released some fixes / small feature requests three days after release. Folks who want a thoroughly tested game should wait a month or so to skip the teething pains.
In spite of the problems, I'm still recommending Goliath for those who are less bothered by bugs, or who appreciate responsive developers. The music, art, and character styles are well developed, making me feel like I'm in an steampunk / Old West movie with attitude as soon as I launch it. The game looks like it will be huge (especially if you're an exploring type): lots of worlds/areas each with their own loot layout, multiple special attacks for each elemental robot (and specialized subtypes of those robots, too), several NPC factions, and even a dungeon sprinkled here and there. And if you like gathering until your bags burst and crafting specialized gear, you'll find everything you need.
They're not kidding about "punching monsters in the face", either. Though really, you throw boulders, do whirlwind and charge attacks, freeze or set the monsters alight, and just cause general mayhem, leveling trees and rocks as you pass. The monsters remind me a bit of of Torchlight and early Diablo: I get swarmed by fast-moving spiders, or knocked to the ground by bulls, damaged by acid or fire breath, or chased by little creatures with shaman masks throwing darts. And my robots smash them all!

Quick tip: Hold A to collect mats, it will vacuum all of the mats around you up.
The Plus(+) Sides:
+Interesting and varied Goliath design
+Great NPC designs
+Simplified collect and combine survivor style game mechanics
+Perfect price point for content
+Great sense of progression without being grindy
+Clean easy to read UI
+Easy to understand and use crafting system
+Each Goliath has a unique feel and stregnth to it
+Each Goliath interacts with the enviornment in different ways (i.e heal when in water etc.)
+Enemies are actually tough.
+You won't get by using just your basic attack over and over, you'll need to mix it up with dodges and special moves.
+Small + but the main menu art is just gorgeous
An exciting collect em, build em, smash em up arpg adventure that had me putting off going to sleep to play a bit more (rinse repeat for 3 hours). A simple fun collection system paired with a long list of exciting and unique mechs / weapons / and armor to create provide a fresh action rpg experience.
This game is full of plus sides.
You'll probably like this game if you enjoy:
Survival games
Torchlight
Robots and mech combat
See more "Plus Side" reviews at my curator page:

Introduction
Goliath is a traditional Action Adventure Survival game much like any other. You collect wood, stone and various other things lying around in order to survive. Unlike others, rather than building yourself a nice customized base of operations, you build yourself giant robots in order to survive!
Gameplay Impressions
After a mysterious plane crash, you awaken to find yourself in a strange land. A brief attempt to explore your surroundings quickly results in your running for your life back to the safety of your burning wreckage. A giant beast has tried to attack you. You realize that in order to survive for any length of time in this strange place, you are going to have to become Iron Man. You speedily turn the wood you have collected into your very first suit, the Wood Goliath. The Wood Goliath is great, it is strong, it can heal in water… and it can really help you see where you are going at night when it catches fire and burns to ash. This burning aspect is something that is actually quite interesting. Not only do you need to avoid fire, you also need to worry about how hot the area you are occupying is. If you find yourself at high noon in a desert in a wooden Goliath, you will quickly find yourself in a useless burned to ashes Goliath. Luckily, the Stone Goliath thrives when it is hot. There are at least four main types of Goliaths you can build, each one having variants you can craft after completing the required experiments. Each of the main styles of Goliath have their advantages and disadvantages so you need to weigh your options when selecting which one you want to use. If you need a hand, you can actually craft and deploy additional Goliaths to help you in a tough fight.
Crafting isn’t limited just to building the Goliaths though; you can craft and equip various weapons on the Goliaths. Some of them even have elemental effects that can really come in handy if used properly. In addition to weapons, you can also craft items. Some items allow you to craft new things and base upgrades, others will help you or your Goliath heal in battle, and there are those used as offensive weapons by strategically placing them on the ground.
You can actually play the game without using a Goliath. It really ramps up the difficulty in combat, but in general, it allows you to move around the map without drawing as much attention to yourself. Armed with only a pistol and cloaking device, you can creep around the map looting treasures guarded by hostile creatures. If you were to thump on up in a Goliath, you would easily incur their wrath, but on foot, you might just get out of there without them even knowing you were there!
The game itself involves multiple fragment worlds, each one consisting of its own biome. Each one is procedurally generated so if you replay the game, everything will look different. You move between these worlds using the teleporter in your base. As you quest for the various factions, you will be sent back and forth between multiple world fragments in order to complete their request. There are also dungeons to explore.
Graphically, the game looks great. There is enough variety that each area does feel different from the last, even if it is based on the same basic biome theme. There are some graphical glitches that are common to procedurally generated games where you will encounter floating shrubs and trees, but this is not overly common. Enemies sometimes also get trapped inside of objects. One thing that I think was a really nice touch is that when you are thumping around in your giant Goliath, you smash small shrubs beneath your feet while on foot you do not. Also trees get pushed out of the way, causing them to bend to one side and then spring back into place once your Goliath (or any large creature) passes by it. The sounds in the game can be a bit understated and sometimes glitch off at times but it rarely is an issue. The music does help you get into the spirt of things though, and while I have read others mentioning that the Goliaths should sound heavier with more stated thuds as they walk, I feel that would get annoying fast, so I am glad they are understated.
I do have a few complaints that I can’t go without saying. I generally have no issues with looking past minor graphical and sound issues to the point where I sometimes don’t even bother to mention them. One thing that can really get under my skin though is the camera. The default camera in this game, in my option, is bad. It doesn’t really offer you much in the way of control for it and really restricts your forward view. You get a nice ring around you and you can see all of that really nicely but you often run head first into a concentrated enemy area without even realizing it until it is too late. After struggling with the camera, I ended up editing the INI to change the camera angle myself. Once I did that, the view in this game was fantastic and no longer worthy of complaint. It felt so much better seeing much further forward with minimal rear view. Rather than a high floating camera that is placed slightly behind the character, I now have a much lower, more shoulder mounted view of the game. This is even more noticeable when on foot in comparison to being in a Goliath. For example, knowing there is a lake nearby I could spin in circles and never see it with the default camera, but could easily spot it with my modified one. Luckily I read the Developer is looking into the camera and plans to implement changes for it, so hopefully soon the editing of the INI file will no longer be necessary for me to enjoy playing it.
Another complaint I have is the fact that while the Developer knows what they are talking about or referring to, I often have no idea. To unlock new variants of a Goliath, you have to perform experiments. These experiments are basically performing a certain action to a certain unit often in a certain biome with a certain Goliath type. As an example, it has you killing 15 spitting (shooting) spiders with the Stone Goliath using only heavy blows. That one is pretty easy to figure out. I know what a spider is, and I can figure out if they are shooting stuff at me, that it is probably the right one. But most of the time, I have no idea what the creature looks like, or where I can find it in order to complete the experiment. This leads me to try randomly doing the required action on everything I encounter and then checking my progress for that experiment. That sounds simple enough, but the creature could be on any of the world fragments, it could be in multiple, might only be in one. I might not even have unlocked the area it is in yet! Some kind of tracker that points you in the right direction, or name labels or something would really help you figure out what you are doing. The Developers also stated they are looking into that as well. Lastly, other than the basic explanation at the start, you either have to learn everything by trial and error or by paying attention to the load screens.
Some things only seem to work when using a game pad (or else I could never find the right key combination on the keyboard) while other things only seem to work when using the keyboard. You can’t use both at the same time as using one deactivates the other. For example, I can call up the map when playing with keyboard and mouse but can’t find it with the gamepad, and I can’t figure out how to put my Goliaths on auto-pilot other than with my gamepad. So I have to make a choice, map or assistance in battles. Either way, it would be nice if there was some indicator what the gamepad buttons stated on the loading screen translated to if using only the keyboard and mouse (much easier to aim with) or what the map button is when using a gamepad.
In conclusion, Goliath is a wonderful action adventure survival game with the unique twist of giant robots. If you are fan of survival games, you should definitely check out Goliath!