SUPERMEGALONFAN
This review contains spoilers
Man, this game. It's the very definition of an underappreciated gem. Everything blends in together to form an experience that, while very clearly inspired by Hotline Miami, completely stands on its own two feet.
The soundtrack by Chris Christodoulou is probably his best work on a game so far, which says a lot since he is such a phenomenal composer. Tracks like Now I Am Become Death can be beautifully relaxing while others like Hemolysis REALLY pump you up. It's perfect for the game's atmosphere; this gritty, bizarre place filled with drugged zombies and heartbroken vampires, who all want the same thing; to feel alive again.
The gameplay is pretty spot on too. It is similar to Hotline Miami in the way that you're supposed to go through many rooms filled with enemies, and you die in one hit. However, it does many other different things from it too. The most obvious would be the sidescroller perspective instead of top down, but there are a lot of intricate mechanics like headshots, loadouts, and vents that really give you the freedom to tackle missions in your own way. You could choose to not use vents, play more aggressively, or you could stay in the shadows, catching undeads by surprise through the use of the vents. You could start with a silenced pistol, or a SMG. Due to this, the game is very replayable, with you experimenting with many possible routes. That, on top of the addition of custom levels and a hard mode, make it so that you can sink in a good amount of hours into this game, even despite its short length.
The story is a little more on the background, but it is fascinating nonetheless. The highlight of it all is easily Ibzan and his relationship with The God of Life, the flames. Long story short, Ibzan was a former reaper, just like the protagonist of this game, who wasn't treated very well by the flames. This eventually led to Ibzan taking his own life, turning the former reaper into an undead skeleton. Being a skeleton, Ibzan wakes up with an overwhelming cold, and when he realized the flames that gave him warmth abandoned him, feels an intense amount of regret, and starts planning to travel to the flames' realm using a portal made of flesh, gathering many undead gangs to do so, with the promise of making them feel alive and warm. The flames, while completely abandoning Ibzan in disgust, tries to learn from the past reaper, giving our protagonist things Ibzan did not have during his time as the reaper, like companionship and entertainment in his home. In the end, the reaper has to kill Ibzan, with the flames giving him a well deserved rest. So uh, yeah pretty dope story.
Some VERY small complaints I have with the game is that it can be a little unstable at times, especially with custom maps. Some bugs here and there too, but it's not too bad. Overall, I highly recommend this game to anyone, it has a special place in my heart.
The soundtrack by Chris Christodoulou is probably his best work on a game so far, which says a lot since he is such a phenomenal composer. Tracks like Now I Am Become Death can be beautifully relaxing while others like Hemolysis REALLY pump you up. It's perfect for the game's atmosphere; this gritty, bizarre place filled with drugged zombies and heartbroken vampires, who all want the same thing; to feel alive again.
The gameplay is pretty spot on too. It is similar to Hotline Miami in the way that you're supposed to go through many rooms filled with enemies, and you die in one hit. However, it does many other different things from it too. The most obvious would be the sidescroller perspective instead of top down, but there are a lot of intricate mechanics like headshots, loadouts, and vents that really give you the freedom to tackle missions in your own way. You could choose to not use vents, play more aggressively, or you could stay in the shadows, catching undeads by surprise through the use of the vents. You could start with a silenced pistol, or a SMG. Due to this, the game is very replayable, with you experimenting with many possible routes. That, on top of the addition of custom levels and a hard mode, make it so that you can sink in a good amount of hours into this game, even despite its short length.
The story is a little more on the background, but it is fascinating nonetheless. The highlight of it all is easily Ibzan and his relationship with The God of Life, the flames. Long story short, Ibzan was a former reaper, just like the protagonist of this game, who wasn't treated very well by the flames. This eventually led to Ibzan taking his own life, turning the former reaper into an undead skeleton. Being a skeleton, Ibzan wakes up with an overwhelming cold, and when he realized the flames that gave him warmth abandoned him, feels an intense amount of regret, and starts planning to travel to the flames' realm using a portal made of flesh, gathering many undead gangs to do so, with the promise of making them feel alive and warm. The flames, while completely abandoning Ibzan in disgust, tries to learn from the past reaper, giving our protagonist things Ibzan did not have during his time as the reaper, like companionship and entertainment in his home. In the end, the reaper has to kill Ibzan, with the flames giving him a well deserved rest. So uh, yeah pretty dope story.
Some VERY small complaints I have with the game is that it can be a little unstable at times, especially with custom maps. Some bugs here and there too, but it's not too bad. Overall, I highly recommend this game to anyone, it has a special place in my heart.