I’ll by no means tire of screen-hogging bosses, chunky bullets and invulnerable dashes, so I could have fallen a little bit in love with Nowhere Patrol at first sight. Released final evening by solo developer Slugsoft, it’s a run-and-gun boss rush arcade shooter within the vein of Cuphead, however with the model of an early 90s Mega Drive game, possibly with a little bit little bit of Treasure spark. It’s low cost, cheerful (in a cartoon Halloween kinda approach) and onerous as nails. I performed some final evening, and it seems like a simple choose for anybody whose eyes gentle up on the point out of ‘bullet grazing’. A brief and candy trailer under.
While just like Cuphead, Nowhere Patrol feels quicker and extra aggressive. Its cute and cuddly trio of protagonists (two at first, a 3rd unlockable later) are extraordinarily responsive, with a quick double-jump and an air-dash that renders you briefly invulnerable. Your enemies are a collection of big bosses which require step by step whittling down till they provide up the ghost. The first one isn’t too tough, however every part from the second battle onwards requires a mix of memorisation, precision and correct use of your character’s defensive and offensive smart-bomb strikes.
It’s much less compromising however quicker paced than Cuphead, too. Death comes rapidly, however you’ll be again at first of the battle once more in only a second. As intense because the bullet sprays look, your character isn’t as susceptible as they first seem, with a hitbox seemingly positioned on their nostril – as long as you possibly can defend your snoot, you’re okay. Almost all bullets will be dashed by way of, however blue knives must be averted correctly. It’s not a posh game, however there’s some subtleties, and once you’re dodging a whole bunch of bullets per battle, you most likely don’t need ‘complex’ anyway.
While robust usually (I’m nonetheless not even midway by way of the common set, although I’ve not had too lengthy to play thus far), there’s a intelligent additional problem for skilled gamers. Clear all of the common phases of a boss with out taking a success (a feat I’ve solely managed as soon as thus far), and it’ll evolve into a brand new, much more harmful type. Dying throughout this bonus part nonetheless counts as a win, nevertheless it’s enjoyable to see simply how lengthy I can final towards the sudden, explosive barrage of bullets. Beating one among these turbo-charged bosses unlocks characters and weapons, too – a objective I’m capturing for later tonight.
Nowhere Patrol is out now on Steam for £3.39/€3.39/$4.24.
