Who knew Jason Vorhees could be this buff? Splatterhouse is a 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up game influenced by H.P. Lovecraft and horror movie series such as Friday the 13th and Evil Dead. You play as Rick Turney as he's fused with the "Terror Mask" trudging and rampaging his way through seven stages as he punches, kicks, and slashes through hordes of monsters as he explores the mansion finding his girlfriend Jennifer.
The game's main appeal is its visual presentation. It's filled with graphic imagery and gore that helps convey its creepy atmosphere, same goes for its music. Seeing all of those varied locations that were inspired by classic horror films and seeing all of those grotesque monsters walking toward you getting dismembered is visually astonishing and impressive for 1988, and that's what made the game stand out at the time.
As a beat 'em up though, it's pretty simple gameplay-wise. Rick can jump, punch, kick, and crouch; you can pick up weapons by simply pressing the attack button or crouching when it's lying on the floor, and they can range from a machete to a shotgun. The weapons feel satisfying to use as you utilize them at the correct time, but they are limited in certain areas as you enter the following room, the weapon is gone, so most of the time you rely on your punches and kicks. He can also perform the hard-to-pull-off slide kick by jumping diagonally left or right and then doing the crouch kick when he lands on the ground, and it feels satisfying to do it. I think the stages themselves are decent, if not for some trial-and-error; you just gotta memorize when the enemies will strike and when is the right time to perform the attacks or jumps. I think Stages 5 and 6 are the worst in my opinion; they're either overly long or just have obnoxious enemy placements, but once you've learned the stages themselves, they ain't too bad.
Overall, I had a good time with Splatterhouse. While I think the combat is pretty basic with some annoying stage design, the visual horror the game is trying to emulate from popular horror films at the time makes this one stand out.
Played the arcade version via Namco Museum (Switch).
The game's main appeal is its visual presentation. It's filled with graphic imagery and gore that helps convey its creepy atmosphere, same goes for its music. Seeing all of those varied locations that were inspired by classic horror films and seeing all of those grotesque monsters walking toward you getting dismembered is visually astonishing and impressive for 1988, and that's what made the game stand out at the time.
As a beat 'em up though, it's pretty simple gameplay-wise. Rick can jump, punch, kick, and crouch; you can pick up weapons by simply pressing the attack button or crouching when it's lying on the floor, and they can range from a machete to a shotgun. The weapons feel satisfying to use as you utilize them at the correct time, but they are limited in certain areas as you enter the following room, the weapon is gone, so most of the time you rely on your punches and kicks. He can also perform the hard-to-pull-off slide kick by jumping diagonally left or right and then doing the crouch kick when he lands on the ground, and it feels satisfying to do it. I think the stages themselves are decent, if not for some trial-and-error; you just gotta memorize when the enemies will strike and when is the right time to perform the attacks or jumps. I think Stages 5 and 6 are the worst in my opinion; they're either overly long or just have obnoxious enemy placements, but once you've learned the stages themselves, they ain't too bad.
Overall, I had a good time with Splatterhouse. While I think the combat is pretty basic with some annoying stage design, the visual horror the game is trying to emulate from popular horror films at the time makes this one stand out.
Played the arcade version via Namco Museum (Switch).