Developer: Relic Entertainment
Steam Deck Compatibility?: Playable
Rrp: £27.99 (Gog.com) – Base Version
£31.99 (Steam) and £39.99 (Humble) – Anniversary Edition
Please note that the version of the game I played was not the Anniversary Edition and did not come with multiplayer or the DLC’s relating to that. However, the version I have does come with all the other extra bonuses that Anniversary Edition includes such as the soundtrack etc.
Since the sequel has recently come out I thought I’d check out the previous one and I have to say I wasn’t disappointed at all. Being that this game is quite a bit older (having come out in 2011) it doesn’t have the more crisp looking graphics of its sequel and brown is definitely the more predominantly used colour for most of the game. That being said, the level and overall architectural design really do wonders to capture the feel of the universe in which this game is set.
What’s quite interesting about this game is that initially it looks like it’s supposed to play like something like Gears of War, where you’re going from cover to cover trying to shoot the enemy and that melee combat is to be avoided for the most part. That isn’t the case here, sure your guns are powerful but this game wants you to be in the thick of melee, there are no chest high walls for you to cower behind. The ranged weapons you have are mostly there to thin the herd, not eliminate them entirely. This is reinforced by the fact that the only way you can regain health is by stunning enemies and executing them in melee, similar to the glory kill system in Doom 2016.
I had a real blast playing this game and I highly recommend giving it a go. Also what’s quite interesting is the fact that this game is actually a prequel to Boltgun and is set on the same planet.
