Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Name: Flies: Attack on Earth
Item: Flies: Attack on Earth
Author: Retro Replay

Flies: Attack on Earth drops players into a tense, first-person adventure set in the year 2356, where the remnants of humanity’s last hope lie in a time travel mission back to a doomed planet. You step into the boots of an elite envoy dispatched from Mars to prevent an asteroid-borne plague of mutant insects from wiping out Earth’s civilization. From your first mission briefing, the game emphasizes methodical exploration, resource management, and puzzle-solving as you navigate ruined cityscapes and infested wastelands.

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The core gameplay loop revolves around gathering intelligence, crafting tools, and deploying unconventional weapons to outsmart swarms of hostile insects. You’ll learn to set traps, hack mutated fly colonies to turn creatures against each other, and wield prototype gadgets that range from energy-based repellents to time-distortion grenades. These varied mechanics keep encounters fresh and reward creative problem-solving more than brute force.

Stealth and survival are equally important. Ammo and healing supplies are scarce, so you must rely on environmental awareness and quick decision-making to avoid overwhelming odds. Optional side missions uncover hidden caches of technology and lore entries, encouraging thorough exploration of each derelict structure and abandoned lab. The pacing is deliberate, building tension before unleashing waves of insect adversaries in dramatic set-pieces.

Graphics

Visually, Flies: Attack on Earth delivers a hauntingly beautiful portrayal of a post-apocalyptic world. The game engine excels at rendering decaying urban ruins contrasted against the eerie bioluminescent glow of mutated insect colonies. Rain-slicked streets reflect flickering neon signs, while shadows stretch across crumbling facades, creating an atmosphere of constant unease.

Character and creature models are impressively detailed. The mutated flies exhibit unsettlingly realistic wing movements and compound eyes that glint with malevolent intelligence. Dynamic lighting effects heighten the suspense, with sudden flashes of flame or electrical arc lighting up abandoned factories in brief, strobing bursts that reveal lurking dangers.

Even on mid-range hardware, the game maintains a stable frame rate, though texture pop-in can occur when sprinting through open courtyards. The developers have included a robust suite of graphics settings, allowing players to fine-tune shadow resolution, ambient occlusion, and anti-aliasing to balance visual fidelity with performance.

Story

The narrative of Flies: Attack on Earth blends sci-fi thriller and environmental cautionary tale. After an insect-infested asteroid decimates Earth’s population, the story shifts to a small group of scientists based on Mars who hatch a daring plan: to send an operative back in time to alter history. As the protagonist, you piece together fragmented data logs, survivor journals, and intercepted transmissions to uncover the truth behind the asteroid’s infestation.

Dialogue is sparse but impactful, delivered through radio chatter and holographic messages from your Mars HQ. These communications ground the missions in a larger purpose while revealing personal stakes—some scientists on Mars express guilt, others desperation, and a few harbor secret agendas that emerge in later chapters. The branching narrative offers limited player agency, with certain choices influencing brief variations in mission outcomes and epilogues.

World-building is one of the game’s strongest points. Environmental storytelling abounds in the form of shredded lab reports, insect research diagrams, and remnants of Earth’s last defenses. Each new locale deepens your understanding of how humanity’s hubris and ecological negligence led to its demise, imparting a sobering undercurrent to every firefight and puzzle.

Overall Experience

Flies: Attack on Earth manages to deliver an engrossing blend of exploration, tension, and narrative intrigue. Its atmospheric presentation and inventive combat mechanics make for memorable encounters with the mutated insect hordes. The game strikes a satisfying balance between directing you through key objectives and encouraging organic discovery of hidden secrets.

Certain moments of exposition-heavy audio logs and occasional backtracking may slow the momentum, but well-placed set-pieces—such as fleeing through a collapsing biotech facility or navigating a flooded undercity surrounded by swarms—reignite the thrill. The craft-and-combine weapon system invites experimentation, often turning otherwise dire situations into clever triumphs.

For those seeking a moody, story-driven FPS with a unique sci-fi twist, Flies: Attack on Earth offers a compelling journey into a ravaged world and a race against time. Its blend of atmospheric storytelling, challenging gameplay, and rich world-building make it a standout title in the first-person adventure genre. Potential buyers should be prepared for moments of high tension and occasional resource scarcity, but for many, these same challenges will become the source of the game’s greatest rewards.