We have been pretty lucky Summer, with not one but TWO Housemarque games!
How did they manage that?
Well, I don't know, they must have hired in some elves of something.
Anyway, once again Matterfall is a twin stick shooter- something that Housemarque is known
for.
And once again it provides exciting, skill based gameplay that's a feast for the eyes.
Looking into the background, I always noticed something cool going on.
And enemies don't just die- they explode into a million pieces.
Wow- look at all that matter... fall.
However Matterfall wasn't exactly how I expected it to be.
For one, its a lot shorter than what I thought it would be, with you being able to quote
unquote complete it in only a couple of hours.
In that respect, it's very similar to Nex Machina, where the whole point of it is to
master it.
To get high scores, to get faster, better, stronger- just like the old arcade games that
it was based on.
And Matterfall is pretty much the same idea, with only three worlds, split into three chapters
and each ending up with a boss fight- so the game doesn't exactly boast a lengthy campaign.
It may look a bit like it, but don't expect the next Metroid here.
Avalon Darrow is sent to a futuristic world, to cleanse it of this infection that's spreading
called Smart Matter.
And it's spreading fast.
It's kind of a mix of part alien, part machine.
Thankfully though Avalon is well equipped to handle the situation, with a nice variety
of different moves to help her complete a level.
In fact learning to play this game, at first kind of felt like learning to touch type again.
Jumping is done with one of the trigger buttons, which is unusual, because usually they're
for shooting, but obviously, being a twin stick shooter, firing and aiming is done with
right analogue stick.
Then there's a secondary weapon, a jetpack booster, which combined with the double jump
allows her to get some pretty serious height.
Plus it destroys enemy bullets and and stuns them for a brief period, so it's pretty important
defensively.
And finally there's the mattergun which is used to create platforms which you can pass
through, but the enemies can't.
So it's kind of like it makes shields.
Plus it blows up matterbombs, that are sometimes left behind you kill an enemy.
Actually, I loved these things.
Just when I think I'm surrounded and doomed- I spot one of these things floating in the
air, and before I know it, boom- no more enemies.
So yeah, there's quite a lot going on with the controller that all has to be done fast
and done accurately in order to survive.
But when I concentrate and start to get a rhythm going, there's kind of a nice flow
to the gameplay, pulling off all of these impressive combinations of attacking, dodging,
moving... oh and there's also an overcharge mechanism, which basically lets me kill everything
on the screen in slow motion.
It's kind of like a get out of jail free card.
The game comes with a nice range of different difficulties, as well as a super difficult
mode unlocked when completing the game.
And this is where things get really interesting, because here it is a case of- one mistake and
you've had it.
There's also the opportunity to unlock some new side weapons and additional perks, like
the rail gun.
A stronger main weapon.
The ability to damage the enemy while dashing them.
And my personal favourite, which kind of became a godsend at times, the homing bullets.
These made some of the trickier parts of the game a little easier, seeing as one, I didn't
need to aim and two I didn't even have to have a clear line of sight so I could just
pop them off from behind the safety of cover.
These new moves and what have you are unlocked by rescuing civilians.
There's usually a handful of these on each chapter and to be honest, they're quite hard
to miss.
This little icon at the top of the screen starts to shake when you're nearby one of
them, so I pretty much found all of them on my first playthorugh, which meant I unlocked
every perk in a disappointingly short amount of time.
Matterfall is definitely a game I look forward to putting more time into.
It may not have been exactly what I expected, but that master difficulty is going to keep
drawing me back in, for what I imagine is going to be quite some time.
It may not be Housemarque's best and it can get a little repetitive.
Still, I look forward to whatever they create next.
Anyway, those are my thoughts.
Let me know what you think in the comments below and until next time, thanks for watching!