84/100
Players47 ratings

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Metacritic usersuser score: 72/100

Player reviews: 74% positive31,042 reviews
Steam Deck: Unsupported
Runs on: Windows
Price: Free

Where to get it

2023 · Gacha · Hero shooter

Strinova

Strinova is an anime-style third-person tactical competitive shooter developed by Day 1 Studio. Switch freely between three-dimensional and two-dimensional in this one-of-a-kind shooter experience with a unique tactical shooting system.

Released: 3 August 2023
Platforms: Android PlayStation 5 Windows Xbox Series X/S
Genres: Gacha Hero shooter Role-playing Science Shooter Tactical Tactical shooter Third-person shooter
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Modes: Multiplayer
Perspective: First person Third person
Themes: Action
Country: People's Republic of China
Age ratings: ESRB T PEGI 12
Languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Mexico)
Time to beat: 5hmain story140hcompletionist

About

Strinova (formerly CalabiYau) is a third-person tactical hero shooter developed and published by iDreamSky. It introduces "stringification", a mechanic which allows players to switch between a 3D and a paper-like 2D form of their character. The game started development in 2019 and was released in China on February 1, 2024. It was released globally on November 21, 2024.

›Story

Due to the disasters of the old world, humanity has chosen to migrate to a multidimensional space called Strinova, where Superstrings, adhering to different ideologies, fight for their beliefs. You will become a beacon, a pioneer to the future of humanity, and find your direction in Strinova...

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The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Strinova is an anime-themed hero shooter, having the players play as characters called "Superstrings". It introduces a unique mechanic called "stringification", where the player can switch between 2D and 3D forms of their character. While in the 2D form, the player becomes paper-like, can stick to walls, and can glide from higher places. This allows the player access to narrow pathways and avoid getting shot, even while reloading.

Each character has their own primary weapon and ability set, with configurable secondary weapons. Modes are divided into 3 categories: Challenge, Ranked, and Custom. There are 8 modes available in the Challenge mode: Team Arena, Demolition, Escort, Sword Clash, Outbreak, Gunslinger Showdown, Arcade Mode (a rotation of Conquest or Bobblehead Brawl), and Team Deathmatch. Only Demolition is available in Ranked.

Development

iDreamSky, Strinova's developer and publisher, is a video game publisher primarily known for Chinese releases of mobile games such as Subway Surfers. The company received investments from Sony and Tencent for the development of Strinova. The game is the company's first in-house game targeted for Western audiences. Strinova began development in 2019, with the goal of creating an anime-themed third-person shooter. Stringification and character skills were designed to take focus away from aim and gun control—aspects of shooting games which the developers saw as unpleasant for players.

A closed beta of the game was released in June 2024, with a second beta test in October 2024. Its second beta test coincided with the release of a demo for the Steam Next Fest. The game went on early access for Windows in China on August 3, 2023. It was released in China on February 1, 2024.

Reception

Strinova has received generally positive critical reviews during its beta tests, most of which praise the game's "stringification" mechanic. Jeremy Gan of Engadget called the mechanic "incredibly entertaining", while Shuan Cichacki of Vice called it "one of the wackiest gimmicks I've ever seen."

The game has been compared to other shooter games such as Valorant and Overwatch, owing to its similar gameplay mechanics. It has also been likened to Paper Mario, due to each superstring's ability to turn into paper.