Super Mutant Alien Assault Review
Super Mutant Alien Assault is a combination of a few genres of gaming; think roguelike meets 16-bit platformer. The story and characters are quirky, but there is a lot of fun to be had in this game. Join Erik from The Gamers Lounge as he reviews this game with an open mind to see why this game is so fun.
Super Mutant Alien Assault has gamers playing as security droids, tasked with clearing space freighters, in an attempt to prevent the aliens from obtaining the last human who has been frozen. One of the first things gamers will notice is that each level is randomly generated and pretty small. It took me a little bit to get use to the mechanics. Learning how to dodge and remembering to pick up new weapons from vending machines are essential if players want to survive more than one level. Players need to be able to think and move, while taking down enemies quickly due to if they are not killed fast enough, they mutate into a bigger version of themselves.
Players may find themselves obtaining some of the extra abilities in certain levels; one of these are the dash boots, which I thought were fantastic. These let players zip across the levels while jumping in order to avoid enemies. My weapon of choice was the shotgun. The pogo stick is another interesting weapon, which reminded me of Apogee’s Commander Keen from the early 1990s. Although players have health in the form of 5 hearts that can be replenished, this didn't really help me because I died a lot. Most of this came from killing myself with grenades or rockets and getting myself trapped in a corner against several other enemies.
The music is upbeat and fits the game perfectly. Graphically, the game reminds me of shmups from the 16-bit era; everything has a retro feel to it. The game is bright and colorful and isn't painful on the eyes. Gamers will notice there are plenty of unlockables which should keep them coming back for more. The level randomization made each time I played a different adventure. While I didn’t get a chance to try the co-op, I was very interested in seeing what this would do. Would the game become easier? Or would the friendly fire kill me faster than the Mutants?
Overall, this is a fun game. It is $9.99 on Steam for early access. It is also coming to PS4/Xbox One. Rumor is if you preorder before July 12th, gamers will get 20% off.
Final Score
4/5
Game was provided by the publisher for a review on the PS4.