A load of first person shooters are judged, and a survival horror game joins the party too.
We try to cover every Switch game we’re sent a code for here at Gamezebo. Sometimes we find ourselves with a bit of a backlog though – like right now for instance.
So here are some shorter reviews of games released or updated on the Switch over the last few months – that we might not have gotten round to covering otherwise. This instalment is a little special as we’re focusing largely on first person shooters. With a zombie apocalypse thrown in.
Fashion Police Squad is that most unusual of things – a genuinely amusing parody of first person shooters. And we don’t say that lightly.
It revolves around you exploring a world where your job as an officer is to right fashion disasters. To do this you use a range of weaponry to achieve this. Whether it’s firing needles to fix saggy pants to calming down eye-bleeding neon clothing.
The twist is that you do this while people are still wearing the clothes, and they all have a range of various ways of stopping you from correcting their get ups.
There’s an impressive number of enemies to face, and it’s all wrapped up in hugely endearing pixel art presentation. Even the writing is sharp.
Where we do have a minor issue is that every type of enemy requires a specific weapon to take down, which does remove some of the immediacy to the action.
Ultimately though Fashion Police Squad is a well priced and superbly presented shooter that offers something very different to its peers.
Score: 4/5
Boltgun received a lot of hype once released, largely due to Warhammer fans being starved of good videogame tie-ins for the beloved miniature wargame.
It can’t quite live up to that hype, but is a hugely satisfying shooter at times. What it really isn’t is a ‘boomer shooter’ – something the game’s marketing team have been all too keen to claim.
Instead it’s more in the vein of Doom 2016, with largely linear levels that funnel you into arenas where you have to defeat waves upon waves of varied foes.
And although it’s no complex masterpiece it offers some incredibly satisfying combat. The titular Boltgun mows through enemies, and there’s a melee attack that tears through foes – quite literally.
The visuals are intentionally pixelated, and do look quite stylish. Sadly they make playing the game handheld quite difficult, especially when you’re leaping around the larger areas.
There isn’t a huge amount to Boltgun, but what’s there largely satisfies – just don’t go into expecting it to be the throwback shooter many have suggested it is.
Score: 3.5/5
Chasm: The Rift
A largely forgotten shooter from 1997 developed by Ukranian studio Action Forms, Chasm: The Rift has so many impressive elements – which are only matched by its many flaws.
Technically a 2D title but designed in a way to appear 3D, it’s a marvel of design – for the mid-nineties anyway.
Modern day players are more likely to notice how shonky certain elements are however, such as navigation being unnecessarily difficult because of hard to see switches or doors. There’s a boss early on that requires quite a lot of trial and error to figure out too.
The combat can be hugely entertaining though, especially as foes can have certain parts of their anatomy blown away while you shoot away at them.
Levels are a varied bunch too, with a time traveling element in the storyline meaning you’re taken to ancient Egypt and, er, various military bases.
If you’re a fan of first person shooter history Chasm: The Rift is worth checking out when it’s on sale – otherwise you may struggle to overlook many of its creakier elements.
Score: 3/5
We’re personally a little tired of roguelite first person shooters that claim to be replicating past classic shooters.
The appeal of games like Quake and Doom was the combination of combat and tight level design. By removing the second factor – like Nightmare Reaper does with its randomly generated stages – you’re left with something that can’t even claim to be a pale imitation of the titles it claims to follow.
There are some enjoyable elements here all the same, such as a varied enemy set and some personal touches – including a hospital room which acts as a main hub.
The number of weapons and upgrades is also dizzying, and the presentation is generally excellent. Including a thumping Doom 2016 style score.
Sadly the lack of concrete level designs and high price tag means Nightmare Reaper should only be looked into by the most dedicated FPS roguelite fans.
Score: 2.5/5
Originally released on mobile earlier this year, Raging Bytes is a slight but rather charming entry in the zombie survival genre.
Boasting basic but charming pixelart visuals, it’s based in 1978 where you – Ben, a police officer – have to survive a zombie apocalypse.
You team up with various characters, and there’s a range of weapons. But what’s interesting here is the slower paced turn based combat that you’re forced into when you take on a horde of the undead. It adds an interesting layer of strategy to a game that could have easily ended up feeling very simple and one note.
Raging Bytes can’t quite justify its high asking price, but certainly offers something a little different in the survival horror genre.
Score: 3.5/5
