It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve played a good ol’ straightforward first-person shooter. The last one I reviewed is certainly a distant memory: that honour goes to Mothergunship in 2019, which was forgettable then and definitely hasn’t improved with time. It’s strange too, because shooters in general are a genre I tend to enjoy; I spent uncountable hours playing various Halo games in single and multiplayer as a teenager, moved on to Warframe in university, and have more modern releases like Robocop: Rogue City and Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun sitting in my Steam backlog. Maybe it’s just that recently I’ve been more invested in narrative-centric (see: the several visual novels I’ve covered in the last year) and cozy games (Mika and the Witch’s Mountain and Tiny Garden both jump to mind) over the traditionally “shoot first, ask questions later” experiences of many shooters. Then again, perhaps that expectation has been clouding my judgement all this time, because while Shooty Shooty Robot Invasion is thoroughly a game about shooting stuff (I think it’s illegal to put “shoot” in your title twice and not be), it surprised me with how much of a story it actually wanted to tell.
Tag: Shooter
Cave Story+ Review
Booting up Cave Story+ was a truly nostalgia-infused experience. Seeing the opening cutscene and hearing the catchy menu music immediately hooked me back in after dabbling in the original release around a decade ago. This time around, I was determined to see the game through to the end, and I’m happy to report that I did just that! Doing so wasn’t without its difficulties, though, and it’s left me with some complicated feelings to parse out. Does this indie gem from years ago still hold up? For the most part, I’d say, “Yes”.
Hitman: Absolution Review
For quite some time, I’ve found myself attracted to the black sheep of franchises. Dark Souls II’s controversial experimentation with the Souls formula caught my attention before I’d even played the first game. DmC: Devil May Cry’s attempted reinvention ended up being my introductory point to the series. Now, Hitman: Absolution is the latest game I’ve looked at that has garnered a lot of attention – both positive and negative – for being different from what came before and after. In Absolution’s case, this differentiating factor is a greater emphasis on storytelling and linear design than is typically synonymous with the Hitman series. But how well did this change work for me, and was it enough to make me a Hitman convert? The answer, as always, is complicated.
Mothergunship Review
Prior to writing this review, I spent a decent chunk of time playing Mothergunship; nine hours, to be exact. Yet I feel like I spent twice that time contemplating one simple question: why doesn’t this game work for me? I’ve played and loved fast-paced first-person shooters like High Hell. Roguelite FPSs such as Immortal Redneck have brought me countless hours of bliss. So, the mystery of Mothergunship’s mediocrity has plagued me, to the point where I had to go back and replay some Immortal Redneck to attempt to glean some fresh insight.
Assault Gunners: HD Edition Review
On paper, Assault Gunners HD seems like the perfect game for me. Featuring a deep customisation system, fast-paced mech combat, and the Dynasty Warriors-esque satisfaction of mowing through hordes of opponents at the drop of a hat, it’s pretty much my personal power fantasy come to life.
Here comes the “but”.
Killzone Shadow Fall – Well, It’s a Launch Title
Believe it or not, the PlayStation 4 celebrated its 4th birthday last year, which meant Killzone Shadow Fall – a launch title for the console – did as well. The hype has come and gone. Guerrilla Games went on to create Horizon: Zero Dawn: a game that is not only widely considered better than Shadow Fall, but was hailed as one of the best titles of 2017. Yet here I am, writing about this practically ancient game as though anyone still cares what some pundit thinks about Shadow Fall at this point. Then again, there are still people playing its multiplayer, so obviously there’s some interest in the title. Plus, I just got a PS4, and this was one of the titles I traded my pack-in copy of Star Wars Battlefront II for. Sue me for having an urge to talk about it.
Tower 57 Review
I’ll be up front about this: Tower 57 is one of those games that I just didn’t quite get. Now, don’t get me wrong: I enjoy twin-stick shooters. I also quite liked the dieselpunk aesthetic of the whole thing; it’s a style that you don’t see too often, and it was a nice change of pace. Plus, the pixel art was so intricately detailed that it made me want to kiss my fingers like a chef. And yet, the game was just…there. The story seemed like it wanted to be darkly humorous, but was largely bland and generic, with characters coming and going too fast to break out of a single personality dimension. The gameplay was straightforward and made perfect sense…until it didn’t. It’s a game which I continually felt like I should enjoy, but I was never able to truly cross the threshold into legitimately finding enjoyment in it. As a result, this is going to be one of those reviews that I write as much for myself as anyone else; I just need to get my thoughts in order to see what went wrong in Tower 57.
High Hell Review – Holy Hell (and Hot Dogs)
Okay, stop me if you’ve heard this one. You’re a battery-powered assassin equipped with a laser, setting out to take down a gang of miscreants whose unifying feature seems to be that they all wear devil ski masks and are led by Satan. Satan himself is the head of some corporation that apparently deals in ritual animal sacrifice, mind control, and hot dog manufacturing. With this in mind, your goal is to sabotage their bases of operations, all while rescuing monkeys and virgin goats, collecting dolls, and sprinting around like it’s a game of Unreal Tournament.
EVERSPACE Review
Rogue-lite mechanics have been one of the most popular features in indie games for years now, second only to pixel graphics, it seems. I get the appeal: given the comparatively small budget that many independent games have compared to their AAA counterparts, being able to artificially extend an experience with a near-endless supply of randomly-generated content is an appealing proposition. However, its prevalence has started to wear on me over the years, to the point where “rogue-lite” or “rogue-like” as buzzwords often tarnish my interest in a game. Thankfully, while this did somewhat colour my experience with Everspace, there were enough good ideas under the surface that it was worth a more thorough look.
Immortal Redneck Review (GameSpew)
Move over, Indiana Jones. You too, Lara Croft. There’s a new tomb raider in town, and they’ve got one hell of a mouth on them.
That mouth certainly gets put to good use in Immortal Redneck, an Egyptian themed, rogue-lite first-person shooter. The titular redneck spouts countless quips as he traverses one of three pyramids, spewing everything from random expletives to Back to the Future references. Ordinarily, this would seem out of place, considering the myriad of mystical monsters in his way that would have most folks running in terror. Then again, most folks probably aren’t equipped with enough firepower to make Michael Bay shed a tear.
Olive's Game Garden 