Both a “parody” game of the boomer-shooter genre and an earnest spin-off/sequel to Hypnospace Outlaw (a game which I adore), it’s miraculous how it’s funny, genuinely enjoyable and inventive, as well as successful in translating the themes of Hynospace.

I think what made Hypnospace so special was how so much detail was put into each and every one of the characters. Humanity is woven deep into practically every user in Hypnospace, who, on the surface, could be an old guy who likes bikes and is bad at Facebook, or an all-encompassing stereotype of every “edgy” 14 year old (now 15, his username hasn’t updated yet) that adores an in-universe cheesy emo rock band. Zane is (or was) an asshole: infamously recognised across teentopia as a tryhard cyberbully who’s loathed so much people create gifs of his avatar getting punched in the face. Although in Slayers X (and partially in Hypnospace) you can get the idea that beneath the surface he laments his upbringing to a degree, and has a genuine connection to his mother (who for the most part was presumably the only constant relationship he had throughout his life). A detail that stuck out to me was the area modelled after Zane’s childhood apartment, where his mother sleeps on a pull-out sofa so Zane can have his own bed. Even in the narration of the bonus levels you can generally ascertain that he had a turbulent upbringing, (such as when you visiting the Idaho Housing Association, Zane makes a remark about going there frequently) but also positively reflects on the more pleasant experiences in his life (fun childhood memories making videogame levels shaped like his favourite band member or visiting his uncle’s house). The game is a hilariously pathetic, self-aggrandising ego trip for a 16 year old who doesn’t have much else going on in life, but still manages to be somewhat pitiful because of the finer details Zane subconsciously creates and seemingly glosses over. Slayers X at times feels like evaluative piece about a nonexistent human’s psyche, but it always feels believable. It captures the brilliant duality of the hypnospace characters magnificently.

It helps that this game is actually well designed too. Levels are expansive without being confusing to navigate. They’re both hilarious and unique each time (An “Idaho potato festival”, a trailer park, a “snobby rich people” place etc). Moment-to-moment gameplay is fun (although I’m not a huge fan of how the dual pistols handle, and I think the wolf enemies take a bit too much damage before going down), with the particular highlights being the Rocket launcher and Glass shotgun, which feel punchy and are always my go to for a lot of encounters. The Glass shotgun is a surprisingly innovative idea which happens to be very fun in practice, and acts as an incentive to be mindful of the immediate area in each level. I love all of the intentionally-unintentional deadpan voicelines, the crude enemy designs and item names (glass shard being renamed to “glass shart”), smaller side gags like the friendly psykos in the first level or one that has been crushed by a door in the aforementioned trailer park level. I think wayyy to many devs think that because a game is trying to be “funny” or “a parody” it can afford to be bad “for the lols” when in reality you can have a game that’s both funny and is fun to play (I do wonder what “funny” bad crass modern shooter about sludge and goop I could possibly be referring to right now!)

To close this off, I think Hypnospace Oulaw is one of the best indies of the last 5 years that I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing, and Slayers X is an excellent companion piece as well as a fun game on its own. I’m eagerly anticipating dreamsettlers and anything else Jay Tholen and the team create. Slayers X is a very sincere experience (even with all the literal shit) that loves its genre, loves its source material, and loves you too.

SIX ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ STAR GAME

6/5❗️

wasn’t expecting this at all.

I use game controllers like I use paintbrushes: loose and vibey. Precision platforming has never been my thing. But this bish rite here??!?!

going into this, I knew EVEN THE OCEAN had been criticized as being “preachy,” but not much else. I didn’t know it was going to make me “feel” like I’m capable of clearing megaman levels.

The art: the sidescrolling background illustrations, the platforming level design. Larry David voice Pretttty good. The visuals have an autumnal, unfussy cuteness. However, the people in the game don’t look cute—they look real.

The depictions of our natural world are the most adorable looking parts of this game. The world is magical place, and the depictions of how we treat our world, and each other, are the ugliest parts of this game.

Our protagonist is a technician starting her first day working for the city’s power plants. The 2D platforming occurs while she is on the job. Our hero is a young woman of color risking her life to save her hometown, Whiteforge, from odd occurrences that seem related to the energy these power plants are generating.

And that is why this game is not very popular. It seems that much of the same Games Media that praised Anodyne 1, was not tryna fuck with a real game talking bout real shit. This is the reason why, for years, Capcom was not tryna release those Ace Attorney games, here in the west, that depicted the normalized racism of British people in the 1900s—it’s not prudent to impugn the status quo. “Go woke go broke” they say.

If I recall correctly, in this game, all the main characters (antagonists notwithstanding) are brown, and both relationships given screen time are homo. That resembles my daily life, and perhaps that’s why this game is literally $3 on steam at the time of this writing (i paid the $20 for it on switch, and was a lil saddened that my new favorite game is available at 80% off, and may be relegated to ‘hidden gem’ status, like so many works of art I adore).

Another reason this game will make you uncomfortable is its spirituality. Instead of enemies to kill, your health bar is your ongoing challenge, which begins half light/half dark. Bulbs of light or dark energy shift the balance and you die when you are 100% light or dark. People hate games symbolically about aspiring to find balance within self & within community. Maybe a game about the next mass shooting is more to their liking?

Yeah. So this is New Age Megaman Ferngully, featuring a heavily lgbt cast. 🤯 To make a game with all these ideas figuring prominently sounds unwieldy. That’s why it such a triumph. Analgesic Productions got their chakras aligned all the fucking way down and pulled it off.

I want more bravery from my games, in a world where every big game studio’s toxic culture is being brought to light, I commend those who not only aren’t on that fuck shit, but are making art to inspire kids (FYI this game is still a PG-rated experience) to do better than we have done. That’s love!

P.S. the gameplay is fun af! Figuring out how to navigate certain parts didn’t take more than 3 or 4 attempts. Now I’m over here wondering what other puzzle platformers I might vibe with. But I ain’t gon lie, by the last fourth of the game I did adjust the settings to make it less impenetrable for me. The accessibility options in this game are brazy: if you don’t have time for platform hopping, you can make our hero float through the platforming…or choose story mode and skip them all together. The devs already knew that this was a story worth telling, with or without the gameplay. 🕊

Portraying the complexity of the human condition through a most inclusive lens: 5/5

Speaking truth to power: 5/5

Being written more like a good book/play/film, rather than a video game: 4.5/5

Menu design sometimes being lowkey frustrating: yes

Nuanced sense of humor: very yes