HIGH The soundtrack is genuinely excellent.

LOW Poorly designed levels. 

WTF Commiting to the bit makes it a difficult game to review!

One of the strongest (and most surprising) games I’ve reviewed for GameCritics has been Hypnospace Outlaw, which was set in a parody version of 1999’s early internet. It resonated with me in a big way due to its setting, but the developers were also commenting on the toxicity of contemporary social media — which, if anything, has gotten worse since its release. When I saw there was a recent spinoff, I had to see what they’d do with it next.

Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer is a ’90s style first-person shooter developed by Tendershoot and published by No More Robots.            

 In Slayers X, Zane, the incredibly obnoxious 15-year-old troll from Hypnospace Outlaw, is now a grown man in his mid-thirties. He’s decided to continue working on a half-done videogame he stopped making in his teen years, and “Slayers X” is that game. This game-within-a-game stars Zane, who is part of a superhero group called the Slayers. His fictional persona is seeking revenge for the murder of his mentor and mother by a rival group headed by Zane’s stepfather. 

This story hints at what one might expect from the mind of an obnoxious teenager, and in this respect, Slayer X commits to the bit. This thin plot is just a setup for a power fantasy that invokes Doom and Duke Nukem. The story is ridiculous and replete with awful one-liners where Zane mocks enemies by saying things like “I slept with your mom!” Complete with poor CG between levels, the overall quality of the experience is surely a series of deliberate choices by the developers to remain consistent with the premise.

Additionally, gameplay has a familiar smoothness and speed typical of shooters from that era, complete with exaggerated head bob. The shooting is exactly what one would expect, offering simple shooting in levels filled with enemies. The guns feel common, though the Glass Blaster shotgun packs a punch and is the exception, due to its ability to use broken windows as ammo refills.

However, Slayers X is also seemingly filtered through the prism of someone lacking in the talent department when it comes to game design. The areas lack flow — I often found myself lost among many seemingly pointless areas and diversions lacking tangible rewards for exploration, aside from some predictably poor and immature visual gags. This resulted in a stop-start feeling not helped by the prevalence of monster closets and waves of spawning enemies.

Speaking of enemies, they lack interesting designs and are repeated ad nauseam. When the difficulty needs to ramp up in the final levels, the classic design mistake is made — the enemy count skyrockets and stronger enemies become too plentiful.

To make matters worse, ammo was inconsistently and haphazardly placed. I sometimes found myself with an overabundance, but at other times — especially when it was needed the most — it was hard to come across.

Again, while this was not a pleasant experience per se, I want to reiterate the admiration I had for the developers’ commitment to their concept. It is through this authenticity that Slayer X shines — it’s not really a ‘bad’ FPS, but instead a character piece reflecting the mind of a juvenile edgelord and his views of the world. This meta-concept is where Slayer X finds its humor, in exposing his illusions of grandeur and not in Zane’s terrible zingers.

While the concept behind Slayers X might spark debate, there’s no argument around the soundtrack, where the parody band “Seepage” returns from Hypnospace Outlaws. Clearly inspired by late ’90s bands like Linkin Park, tastes may vary here (and I’m exposing my own nostalgia) but I genuinely found the songs not just pitch-perfect throwbacks, but enjoyable in their own right.

Considering its premise, it would be betraying the concept to make a ‘good’ game. It’s certainly interesting, but does that lead to an enjoyable experience? Well, it’s worth playing for those who enjoyed Hypnospace Outlaw and are interested in another snapshot from that period, and it’s brief enough so that it doesn’t outstay its welcome. However, people who aren’t Hypnospace fans or those who aren’t interested in the meta-concept would probably do well to look elsewhere if they’re craving a standard FPS fix.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by Tendershoot and published by No More Robots. It is currently available on XBO, XBX/S, PS4/5, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch. Approximately 3.5 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M and contains Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Drug Reference, and Language. Whilst the graphics are deliberately primitive, the game is very violent with exploding limbs and lots of blood, although the prevalence of blood depends on whether the violence level is set to normal or extreme in the settings. There are references to suicide, drugs and crude humour such as sexual innuendo, for example, the player character saying he has slept with someone’s mom.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available. 

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers:  This game offers subtitles. The subtitles cannot be altered and/or resized.  I found it to be quite playable without sound, however there were a couple of issues. Subtitles did not appear when Zach made comments about why doors were inaccessible (there are color coded locks.) A bigger issue is the lack of visual cues when enemies approach from the back and the sides, and I did not see visual cues detailing where damage was coming from. As a result it is not fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.

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HIGH A colorful, hilarious roguelike parody of startup culture.

LOW  The framerate can be rough, especially in later dungeons.

WTF I really need a job.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself increasingly anxious over the thought of finding a job in games media. Those anxieties have not gone away, as I tirelessly toil with the fear of not “making it” in an industry that doesn’t seem to want me. As silly as it sounds, I used to think that no one understood what the hell I was going through. Thankfully Going Under, an isometric third-person roguelike from Aggro Crab, managed to perfectly capture these feelings in their work.

Players control Jackie Fiasco, a bright-eyed and eager unpaid intern starting her very first day at Fizzle Beverages. This parody of modern start-ups that makes and distributes strange soda flavors. The Fizzle offices act as a hub that players navigate before going into one of three main dungeons where Jackie will be killing hordes of monsters. Each dungeon is themed around different apps. For example, Joblin is a parody of something like Indeed or LinkedIn run by over-caffeinated goblins.

Gameplay is a combination of beat-’em-up and a roguelike dungeon crawler. On a basic level, will players traverse randomly generated levels and try to get to the boss at the end, picking up different weapons and skills along the way. If they die, they’re kicked out and have to try the run again.

When in a dungeon, Jackie can carry three items and switch between them at will. Almost any item — from staplers to pencils, laptops to swords — can be picked up and used as a weapon, and most of the environments are destructible, so I learned how to make the most of anything I was given. I enjoyed seeing how well I could improvise in any situation, whether it was using a t-shirt cannon to take down brutish enemies or throwing office furniture at creatures flying around me.

Jackie also has skills that are unlocked in the hub and found in the dungeons, and like most good roguelikes, their effects stack as she collects more of them on a run. Effects range from having a slight chance of healing after defeating an enemy, or enlarging weapons to a ridiculous size. Once Jackie uses a skill enough, she’s able to equip one in the hub, prior to a run.

Aside from these skills, Jackie can also choose a “mentor”. Mentors are members of the Fizzle office, and they’ll lend Jackie certain effects after she’s completed sidequests for them. For example, Kara is a tech wizard who develops apps. Once I did some tasks for her (electrocute 5 enemies, kill 5 enemies with laptops, etc.) she enhanced Jackie’s abilities and an app store started showing up in dungeons.

In terms of difficulty, Going Under is hard but never truly frustrating. As someone who’s new to roguelikes, the idea of being forced to start a game over used to intimidate me. In Going Under, there have been plenty of times where I lost half an hour’s worth of progress and it was a little annoying, but I also used these as learning moments — sure, I got my ass handed to me, but I improved on every subsequent run.

While the gameplay is good, what makes Going Under special is the quality of the writing and characters. The story of an unpaid intern, hopeful in their chances to make it is both funny and something that hits close to home. Seeing Jackie deal with bullshit from higher-ups for the sake of possibly securing a job she might never get is all too relatable, and I can’t believe more games haven’t attempted to tackle these issues.

jackie’s coworkers are also delightful, with my favorite being Tappi, an accountant for Fizzle. Hearing her complain about her ex-girlfriend or give (awful) advice on saving money had me laughing out loud. The writing is exceptional and never gets too dark, but I appreciated how real it all felt.

Now, I know this is a game review but I need to get real for a second. Like I mentioned earlier, my anxieties surrounding finding work have been through the roof during the past few months. However, as I spent time at this fictional startup slaying monsters as Jackie, I saw myself working through hordes of my own fears. I saw someone else who was trying to succeed as they drowned in a sea of “just put out some more effort” and “someday you’ll make it” and I didn’t feel so alone.

Going Under  is one of the most important games I’ve played in 2020 and one I’ll keep playing for months on end, thanks to the meaningful writing and enjoyable dungeon crawling. For those looking for an accessible starting point in roguelikes, or those who just need some delightful takedowns of late-stage capitalism, this is it.

Disclosures: This game is published by Team17 and developed by AggroCrab. It is available on PS4, PC, Switch and XBO. This copy was obtained via publisher and was reviewed on PS4. Approximately 18 hours were spent in singleplayer and the game was not completed (still playing, dying and playing again). There is no multiplayer.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T for Sexual Themes and Violence. The game is very stylized, using simplistic and bright colors that make the violence safe for younger children. I will say that the themes of unpaid labor, unfulfilled love and how awful capitalism is will go through most kids’ heads. I feel like older teens and adults will get more out of this game.

Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are not present in the options menu.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Gamers: All dialogue is subtitled and told through text bubbles. text cannot be resized. There are no audio cues necessary for play. The game is fully accessible. (See examples above.)

Remappable Controls: No, the controls are not remappable. The y-axis cannot be changed. There are also plenty of assist options to make the game easier for newcomers.

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HIGH The Final Ending.

LOW Only 100 endings? That’s just not enough!

WTF There’s an item that lets players hug almost anything.

As Reventure opened, I found my green-clad hero standing in his humble cottage on the outskirts of the castle from which a princess had recently be kidnapped. On a whim, I tapped the action button in front of the bed, expecting to get some kind of descriptive text. Instead, the hero hopped back into bed and I was treated to an ending — hero simply took the day off, an everything went fine for everyone.

I immediately jumped back in and resolved to get to the castle this time. On the way there, the hero tripped over a stone and smashed his head open, unlocking another ending. At that moment, I understood that I was in for something completely different.

A puzzle game wearing the skin of an action-adventure with some roguelite elements mixed in, Reventure plops the player down into a generic fantasy world, complete with Dark Lord, Captive Princess, and Legendary Sword, and lets them do whatever they want. There’s no pressure to accomplish anything in particular, and the only requirement is that the player keep an open mind and be willing to try ridiculous things in order to to find the game’s hundred endings.

Reventure uses the trappings of pixel-art action-adventure to sell its comedy and embraces the kind of free-form screwing around that people want to do in open-world games as a central design mechanic. For example, in a nod to Zelda, there’s a legendary sword in a cave near the start, complete with old man warning the player that it’s dangerous to go alone. However, players are free to use the sword on the old man, and they’ll be treated to a comical ending showing the aftermath of their decision if they do. In fact, just about anyone can be stabbed to unlock a new ending, as the devs lean into the expectation that players will be psyched to start immediately screwing around in the most violent ways imaginable.

A key to Reventure‘s brilliance is its limited inventory system. Players start out as a spry hero that can leap almost three squares high, but each time they pick up an item, be it a sword for stabbing, a shovel for digging, or a chicken to slow their fall, some of the jumping ability is shaved away until they can barely clamber over a single block. Through this logical gameplay limitation, the developers let players know that they’re not supposed to worry about collecting and hoarding – they just need to focus on figuring out new and interesting ways to use the items they come across, and no matter what idea they come up with, there’s always an ending waiting for them.

The developers have built a small (but dense) world, ranging from ocean to desert, lava caves to high peaks. At first it can seem confusing and too intricate to keep track of, but the developers have thought of that, and they use one of the cleverest takes on roguelite design I’ve seen to keep things flowing smoothly.

While the hero always starts the game completely fresh after each ending, the world changes as they see more and more of them. Each ending canonically happens as Reventure covers over a hundred years of a kingdom’s history, so as the player dies or rescues the princess, there’s always a new development that resets the plot to zero while leaving a clear impact on the world that simplifies subsequent playthroughs — kill enough characters, and the sword becomes a family heirloom that spawns in the hero’s home instead of the mystic cave. Rescue the princess and a shortcut leads from her room right to the Dark Castle. Perform a human sacrifice and prosperity returns to the kingdom.

There are dozens of little ways like these where Reventure‘s world adjusts itself as the player grows more experienced, ensuring that once they’ve accomplished a particularly trying ending they won’t have to duplicate the intermediate steps over and over again. Further, with each restart, hints appear in the world – if player is absolutely stumped, just walking around the map for a few minutes will always reward them with a lead.

Reventure offers a startling amount of content for being such a seemingly-simple effort. Beyond the hundred endings, there are dozens of costumes to unlock. Since many, many, many of the endings wrap up with the hero dead, there’s always a new hero with a new name and look ready to pick up the torch — and if the endings weren’t hilarious enough on their own, the new heroes that pop up are guaranteed to provoke a laugh. There’s even a decent amount of post-game content. Not only are there secret doors that can only be opened after the game has been completed, players can even unlock an early prototype of Reventure and marvel at just how far things have come.

Reventure is a masterpiece of design. With its sharp satirical humour, its tight controls, and its endless inventiveness, Reventure actively invites players to engage with it again and again and again. This isn’t just a love letter to adventure games, it’s a great adventure in its own right, transcending the expectations of the genre to offer a fantastic, multi-faceted experience that satisfies in every regard.

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Pixelatto. It is currently available on PC, although a secret room in the game suggests a Switch version is coming soon. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PC. Approximately 25 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed multiple times. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: The game was not reviewed by the ESRB, but it contains Violence, Blood and Gore, Suggestive Content, and Pixel Nudity. It’s roughly a T rating. You shouldn’t be too worried about even younger teens playing this game. Yes, it’s violent, but in an over-the-top cartoonish way that shouldn’t prove too troubling.

Colorblind Modes: There are multiple viewing modes available in the game, from normal to gameboy to outline. They must be unlocked by finding characters, though.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: I played most of the game without sound, and encountered no trouble at all. This title is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable. The joystick controls movement, with one button for jumping and another for interaction. It’s the most basic control scheme imaginable.

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