Barely disguised (and honestly pretty terrible) fetish be damned my boy can cook a non-traditional boomer FPS!
Hot on the heels of the retro FPS revival comes a pretty interesting take on the mind fuckery and cooky gunfeel from both Outlaws and Marathon (something the devs fully admit), combining the esoteric ramblings of Bungie's and the gameplay style of Lucasart's foray into first person action. In a pretty succesfull way, I might add. From the reload of the "meta-magnum" (Jodorowsky eat your heart out) to the fairly big selection of optional types of ammo and fire capacity the game gives you. The enemy positioning and space on the levels can create some really fun and tense situations, where you actually need to take into account reloading and ammo capacity.
It's origin from the faraway lands of Zipango adds, in my opinion, some interesting differences from the usual formula of western rooty tooty point and shooty, like the platforming being an integral part of the level structure and a pretty effective (I'm looking at you, Fi Da Puti Samurai) anime aesthetic.
Sadly the game has some pretty noticeable holes in it's presentation, like the almost absent plot besides the most wireframe justification for you to go from point A and B, given to you in the first 30 seconds of play. But first and foremost, my main gripe is the design of its enemies and even the protagonist itself. The fact the enemies explode into a shower of viscera and oddly sexual appendages is honestly a choice(tm) that I wish they kept on their personal drives and MAYBE ghost release it as a mod if they really wanted for the world to see it. And don't get me started on the actual designs of some characters, I dread for the devs if they ever do a Q&A and get asked their opinion on the age of consent worldwide.
All in all, a pretty good inclusion into the modern FPS landscape, never overstaying it's welcome. Don't check the devs' twitter.
Hot on the heels of the retro FPS revival comes a pretty interesting take on the mind fuckery and cooky gunfeel from both Outlaws and Marathon (something the devs fully admit), combining the esoteric ramblings of Bungie's and the gameplay style of Lucasart's foray into first person action. In a pretty succesfull way, I might add. From the reload of the "meta-magnum" (Jodorowsky eat your heart out) to the fairly big selection of optional types of ammo and fire capacity the game gives you. The enemy positioning and space on the levels can create some really fun and tense situations, where you actually need to take into account reloading and ammo capacity.
It's origin from the faraway lands of Zipango adds, in my opinion, some interesting differences from the usual formula of western rooty tooty point and shooty, like the platforming being an integral part of the level structure and a pretty effective (I'm looking at you, Fi Da Puti Samurai) anime aesthetic.
Sadly the game has some pretty noticeable holes in it's presentation, like the almost absent plot besides the most wireframe justification for you to go from point A and B, given to you in the first 30 seconds of play. But first and foremost, my main gripe is the design of its enemies and even the protagonist itself. The fact the enemies explode into a shower of viscera and oddly sexual appendages is honestly a choice(tm) that I wish they kept on their personal drives and MAYBE ghost release it as a mod if they really wanted for the world to see it. And don't get me started on the actual designs of some characters, I dread for the devs if they ever do a Q&A and get asked their opinion on the age of consent worldwide.
All in all, a pretty good inclusion into the modern FPS landscape, never overstaying it's welcome. Don't check the devs' twitter.
Reviewed on Apr 22, 2023