Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Game 5 - Mr. Shifty - Week 3 - Jan 20



r. Shifty is a game that interested me for two reasons. One - it was made in my critter and mutant infested land, Australia. Two - it appeared to essentially be Hotline Miami with teleporting, and I'm all for that. 

Three characters. The protagonist, mute Aiden Pearce ala Mr Shifty. Nyx your 2-cent Oracle, with intel (i.e. tips) delivered just as much as wise cracks. And Chairman Stone your misanthropic nemesis whose lines humourously follow the pattern of... "I bet you can't get past my trap this time!" followed by "Wha..what! How!?" Yes, the story is more or less an episode of Road Runner. But the flow of combat momement to moment is good that the story doesn't need to be more than a few chuckles. It doesn't quite reach the heights of its kin (nor does the sound design/track) but shifting behind a goon only to grab a broom and clean out the trash is always fun. My personal favourite tool was the Aspis shield pulled from various statues around Olympus Tower. Throwing this through multiple enemies or getting the rebound only to shift back to it and repeat was intensely satisfying. The puzzles are great without any reuse across levels, keeping you on your toes and making good use of your abilites and wit. Often weaponised, such as activating lasers and teleporting out the room leaving the slow grunts to their death, or grabbing a proximity mine sticking it to a fool and shifting the hell away. All in all, the experience was short but shifty.




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