1. The Hong Kong Massacre
2. Volgarr the Viking
3. Astro Bot Rescue Mission
4. The Messenger
Super Daryl Deluxe - PS4 (Also on PC and Switch)
SDD is a very weird game, with a quirky sense of humor, an odd, yet appealing art style, a compelling story and just a very surreal vibe. It kind of feels to me like an old Sega game that could have been at home on a Genesis or Saturn. Though I've heard it compared to an Adult Swim cartoon as well.
Its creators call it an RPGvania...whatever that means. I feel like nobody really knows what to call games with Metroid elements in them anymore. We've gone from metroidvania...whatever that means, to RPGvania...whatever that means LOL. I don't know why we can't just say Metroid, without all of these vanias attached to it. Castlevania played no part in the creation of this style of gameplay, they just kind of stole it, but whatever. Honestly, the game doesn't have
that much Metroid influence in it anyway, but I'll get to that.
The game is basically about a mute kid (this becomes a running gag) trying to get popular in a high school, though this all takes place in a strange sort of post apocalyptic world where the school has all kinds of bizarre things happening in it. It's hard to explain the game's story, but it is compelling, weird and consistently amusing. The writing in this game is fantastic, with my only gripe being that it can be a bit too verbose for some people. There's a LOT of dialog in this game, so when you start talking to someone be prepared for quite a few dialog boxes.
The art style is very unique. Right off the bat you'll be struck by the main character's appearance. He looks like Napolean Dynamite and when he moves around he swings his unusually stretchy limbs about like he's Plastic Man or Mr. Fantastic
The game kind of looks like an animated TV show.
The game has a rather unusual and eclectic soundtrack to match its weird story. And adding to the weird vibe of the game, some of the tracks have vocals in them basically repeating Daryl's name over and over again. They really don't let you forget that he's the hero of this story as even the soundtrack has to occasionally remind you LOL. The game has some solid voice work that you'll hear during the game's cut scenes and some of the boss fights. It's actually cool to have cut scenes in a little, kickstarter backed indie game. The voice acting can be a little over the top, but since the game doesn't take itself too seriously it works.
In terms of gameplay, it's part beat 'em up, part RPG and just a tiny bit Metroid. You'll wander around the school talking to NPCs, doing side quests, and advancing the story. Where things get interesting is when you actually enter a classroom. Class rooms are where the game takes on a slightly Metroid feel, as each classroom is actually a themed world with multiple interconnected areas you'll explore while fighting enemies. There's some bizarre space/time stuff going on in this game, so classrooms are like doorways into these weird worlds. Each one is themed around that particular class rooms educational theme. So you'll have areas based on history, works of literature, or a crazy Science class world with walking beakers and mathematical equations randomly floating around.
You'll spend your time looking for items for side quests and story advancement. There are also textbooks to help you purchase and upgrade moves, treasure chests with equipment you can wear or loot, and some other interesting stuff like number combinations to let you open up people lockers in the school halls. Some of this stuff is well hidden so it pays to really explore. Now, where I take issue with the Metroid comparisons is that advancement through these worlds is usually based around puzzle solving, killing enemies, or completing certain tasks. The game doesn't have that classic Metroid formula of getting a new ability and then using it to access new areas. The only real ability you ever acquire is a double jump and even then it's not like you suddenly gain access to a bunch of new areas. Typically, you open up new areas as the story progresses. So things are mostly gated by narrative, not your abilities. In that sense, the game isn't really Metroid
The game's combat system is very interesting. Your move set can be customized, with you applying moves to any button on your controller. You have to purchase moves with text books. Skill points, which you acquire along with experiences points, let you upgrade them. Moves have cool down periods, so the challenge of the game is knowing what order to strategically string together your attacks in order to create combos. If you try to do a combo and you get to the third hit, but that attack is still in cool down from the last time you used it, your combo ends right there. Not only do you need to think about how best to incorporate each of your attacks into a combo, but attacks each have varying strengths and attributes for you to think about. For example, some attacks stun enemies. Some attacks do big damage, but come out slowly leaving you open to attack, some attacks set enemies on fire, etc. As you gain access to more moves, you also have to decide if you want to spend your points continuing to upgrade the attacks you already have and continue using them, or purchasing higher tier moves with the drawback of them not being upgraded at all. Oh, and the attacks you have are just crazy, ridiculous and hilarious. One of them has you surfing on top of a great white shark, another has you smashing enemies with a hammer with a rhino on top of it, while others having you using Thor's hammer or firing a laser cannon. Attacks will look different as you upgrade them too, getting crazier and crazier the more powerful they get.
You also level up as you play through the game, and you also get popularity points from doing side quests, increasing your social status and granting you passive perks. You'll pick up tons of equipment which can affect your stats as well as provide various other bonuses, or handicaps. A lot of this fits in with the game's sense of humor. There is an eye patch that will boost your stats, but if you equip it half of your screen will always be blacked out
I actually thought my game had a bug of some sort until I figured out the joke.
The game overall isn't too hard, especially if you grind and get yourself over leveled for certain parts of the game. However, playing around with new moves is always fun, the game is always throwing new environments and new enemies as you, and the surreal nature of the game as well as the constant humor keeps the game engaging. While some jokes fall flat, overall this is one of the funniest games I've ever played. The writing is really on point. And when I say the game is surreal and weird, imagine a game where Ebenezer Scrooge joins a parody of the Ghostbusters and swears to eliminate all ghosts in the world after his traumatic Christmas experience, or a game where a blind, gun toting, alien killing, IRS agent gets into a mortal feud with a troll creature who hasn't paid his taxes? Or how about Beethoven feuding with a dub step loving kid while Sherlock Holmes and Watson are hanging out with Julius Caeser and Death in Hell? Honestly, the game is worth it just to see all the crazy stuff that happens. And how can you not want to play the game after listening to its kickass theme?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCwUGEPAqS0Here's some screenshots to show off the art style, humor, and weirdness of this game. Spoiler tagged so you don't have a bunch of images bog down your browser