As well as this the different cutscenes and story beats all felt on brand and enjoyable, I always knew what my objective was, and can’t recall any instances where the story began to feel stale. Progress was fast and the reward to effort ratio was fair. I began to find myself engrossed in the world and was genuinely sad when my play-through came to an end. I would have liked to have seen some more endgame content, or perhaps a new game plus, but this is more of a testament to how much I enjoyed the story, than a critique.
Unfortunately, after a few stages of each level, my weapon would no longer fire. Or it would fire and damage me. Or it would fire and not damage my enemy. This was present on both sides of the battle, either soft locking me in a stage where no damage can be dealt, or meaning I would take damage while my opposition wouldn’t. Ultimately, this made Critter Crossfire unplayable after a certain point and stopped my progression altogether. It’s a real shame because there is a lot of potential and a lot of fun to be had with this title.
Kick’n Hell may just have the most unique and interesting movement I’ve ever experienced. And it works amazingly. Using kicks to throw myself across the sprawling environments was one of the most fun and frustrating mechanics I’ve experienced this year. Having to think hard about my trajectory and where I wanted to go, both made me feel incredibly accomplished and enraged. Kick’n Hell doesn’t hold the player’s hand. Far from it. Countless times, I would find myself soaring through the air, only to fall right back down to a lower platform. Or a much lower platform. It was as infuriating as it was incredibly engaging.
Zombies Overloaded isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, but it is a welcome addition to the top-down shooter genre. The gameplay loop is enjoyable, working best in shorter stints as opposed to long sessions. The visuals are appealing despite their simple nature, and everything comes together neatly to create an appealing little twin stick shooter. It’s definitely recommendable, especially at its generous price point, for those fond of the genre.
The most enjoyable part of the story was revealing the relationships between the seven characters present. Each one had their motives and feelings towards my character, influencing gameplay. Again though, trying to pull the story out of these characters often felt like a chore. Oftentimes the dialogue would repeat itself, leading me to quickly skip through to the next part.
Although there is no deep story, your mission debriefs offer welcome insight into what is at stake, in this cyber war. At one point, the general will mention a city that used to be standing tall, now reduced to a battlefield, or a heavily fortified enemy base, with a tunnel underneath for you to traverse. Each location feels unique, the scenery changing with each battle. Although for the most part, these changes are purely cosmetic, they make the world in War Rats feel full and add to the atmosphere of each bloody battle. I really enjoyed how each battleground felt distinct from the last.
I enjoyed the bright cartoon aesthetic of the game. It leans into the comic explosions and bright trick text, which work really well. The visuals are a touch blurry at times but it never took away from the overall enjoyment. The fast pace of the movement meant it was barely noticeable for most of my time with it. I think the side-scrolling 2.5D style on offer was the right choice for the gameplay, it really added to the overall feel and poppy atmosphere of Seafrog.