Easy Trigger Games and Coffee Stain Studios bring a new 16-bit retro violence-laden 2D action game for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch.
Eighties cyberpunk is back in retro format with Huntdown, the new from Easy Trigger Games and Coffee Stain Studios for PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, a classic run and gun in the strictest sense of the word that takes advantage of everything What has been learned from the best titles in the genre to offer an old school arcade experience, typical of the arcade games of the late eighties and early nineties that no fan of side scrolling shooters should lose sight of. And it is that this new indie offers everything you can expect from a video game that seems taken out of the circuits of the 16-bit consoles of the time with a staging that is a real candy for the most veteran players. Let's discover more of everything Huntdown has to offer in our review.
Bounty hunter vs criminals
Huntdown offers an experience completely based on the classics of the genre such as Contra, Metal Slug and the like, side-scrolling action video games that combine platforms and shooting; and on this occasion, this amalgam works masterfully, combining all the elements as if it were a complex watchmaking mechanism and providing its own mechanics that only improve a concept that already works as a shot; and never better said. Although the first thing that catches the attention of Huntdown is its surprising pixelated visual bet along with a sound section that inevitably catches us from the first game.
Following the style of the genre, its history is simple and direct; although we do not need more to take action after a few brief indications from our mysterious "superior". Huntdown takes us to a dystopian future, a faithful representation of the futuristic action cinema of the eighties with topics everywhere that give the game a unique character. Criminal gangs dominate the different districts of the metropolis and the police are unable to enter its dark streets, where the gangsters roam freely. It is at this moment when the only solution is through the action of bounty hunters, individuals with nothing to lose and much to gain, masters of the most advanced combat techniques and any firearm at their fingertips.
From the beginning we have to choose between one of the three available bounty hunters, each with its predefined weapon although with very similar abilities. They are John Sawyer, a relentless half-man, half-machine cyborg, Anna Conda, a seasoned former special forces commander, and Mow Man, a non-puppet military droid with a head. While their appearances are completely different, each character equips a special weapon of their own that we can use whenever we want prior cool down.
The development of Huntdown is also very classic, with two-dimensional action using side scrolling through four large areas of the city, each controlled by a different criminal faction, such as the Hoodlum Dolls, the Misconducts, the Heatseekers and the Nº1 Suspects, each one with a strong personality, again, a complete tribute to eighties pop culture. In addition, each mafia district has up to five levels, adding up to a total of 20, each with its own final boss who, once defeated, will allow us to reach the main boss of each district, confrontations that will rise several times their difficulty and will represent a challenge.
All phases are completely linear, sometimes with various heights on even an alternative path, different scenarios full of enemies that we will have to dispatch with everything we have at our disposal, mainly different weapons that we will find in our path or that will drop the enemies. In this sense, we always equip our main weapon with infinite ammunition, while at the same time we can collect other weapons such as rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, grenade launchers, melee weapons and many more, all with limited ammunition, in addition to secondary weapons such as grenades. or molotov cocktails. According to our needs, we will be able to exchange the equipped weapon to save ammunition and to approach each situation in the best possible way.
Beyond the arsenal within our reach, the protagonist trio has great mobility in general lines, far superior to what other video games cut by the same pattern offer, which gives us several tools to overcome the different shootings. From a brief dash or slide on the ground (with the possibility of shooting at the same time) to the option of using covers such as small walls (which will yield to various bullet impacts or explosions) or fuel drums and cars (which can also explode ) or even spaces such as holes or doors at the back of the stages, interacting with all of them in a very intuitive way.
And it is that the continuous avalanche of enemies will be almost total, with different waves that will try to stop our advance, again and again, without rest. Luckily, we have several checkpoints distributed throughout each phase, which will give us the opportunity not to slow down when falling and continue to blast our way. In addition, we can also face the adventure through a great cooperative mode to two in local mode, which will give rise to a real frenzy of bullets and explosions with liters and liters of blood. Yes, because despite its pixelated appearance, Huntdown does not skimp on explicit violence, with bodies that fall apart, amputations and continuous reddish splashes.
The pace is devilish and there is hardly any time to take a breather, perhaps only after cleaning an area of enemies or before an upcoming confrontation against the shift boss. At the same time, a very careful aspect of the title is its great variety of enemies, since beyond the own designs of each faction, a great diversity of them will parade before us, with different abilities and weapons, short and long distance attacks. , different levels of protection and even riding motorcycles, aircrafts and more. Each group of enemies becomes a new challenge different from the previous one, something really positive in a title that does not suffer at all from repetition of situations and obstacles to overcome.
Although one of the most positive and surprising aspects of Huntdown is its very varied and numerous confrontations with the bosses, be they intermediate or final levels. So much so, that each one is completely different from the previous one, all with their own mechanics, weapons and attack patterns. And it goes without saying that as we move forward, the difficulty grows exponentially, posing truly complicated battles in its final stretch. It will be in those moments when we have to detect the weak points, memorize the attack patterns and trust in our ability with the command to overcome each and every one of the challenges that Huntdown proposes, which are not few, including various phases (using different mechanics ) for some of them.
Given his blatant arcade personality, different challenges are added for each phase to encourage the most skilled players and completists to achieve the best scores, such as collecting hidden briefcases across the stage, killing all enemies, or dying as little as possible. And it is that depending on the weapon or enemy that reaches us, our small health bar (of just 5 modules) will empty quickly; Luckily we can collect some complete kits and other individual ones that some enemies can drop. It will also be possible to change characters when they are eliminated.
On a technical level, it offers an impeccable finish with fantastically animated hand-drawn pixelated graphics and a love of detail that even surprises, not only for the elements in the foreground, but also for simply great backgrounds; so much so that we will witness frames to frame. At the performance level it offers 60 frames per second, further accelerating, if possible, the action. On the other hand, both the soundtrack (very eighties with electronic themes and catchy melodies) and the sound effects and voices in English are at a great level.
CONCLUSION
Huntdown arrives as one of the most solid indie proposals of this first half of the year, a surprise that will amaze the most veteran players with its strong retro personality and arcade gameplay as frantic as it is satisfying. Perhaps its 20 unique levels can be made a bit short on the lower difficulty levels, although if we dare with a high difficulty, the challenge is assured. Direct action, local cooperative for two, great retro-futuristic cyberpunk setting … A real old school experience in the mid 2020's.
THE BEST
- Great cyberpunk setting
- Very elaborate retro staging
- Hectic and satisfying gameplay
- Variety of enemies and final bosses
- Absolute fun in cooperative mode
WORST
- You can do something short
- Little difference between its protagonists
- No online multiplayer option
