NUCLEAR THRONE

I remember when the testing period for software went like this: developer programs alpha, developer moves to beta, developer releases beta to group of testers, developer addresses bugs, developer releases product, customers purchase completed product. This is how it used to be. But these days Early Access is all the rage. Looking through the front page of Steam today, I came across half a dozen Early Access titles. These are games still in the early to late alpha stage. All of these games carried a price tag above ten dollars. Some of them, like Wasteland 2, are priced in the range of AAA console titles. This strikes me as a bit odd. I get the pricing. Most of these titles were funded on the backs of Kickstarter campaigns. The pricing for these titles represents the minimum or average donation price. What I don’t get is paying premium for a title that is far from finished. More to the point, aren’t you paying these people in hopes that they finish their game?

Thanks to a friend, I gained access to a game called Nuclear Throne. Published by Vlambeer, the masterminds behind the insidiously addictive Super Crate Box, Nuclear Throne is a twin stick shooter all gussied up in 16 bit visuals. It’s a corker of a game, even in this early state, and one that shows great promise. Though I don’t think I would have plunked down the 13 dollars without playing it first (I have no idea why demos, a staple of my early PC gaming experience, have suddenly become a thing of the past), I can confidently say that you should not hesitate to. Like BROFORCE, another game in early stages of development, it contains enough of a good thing to justify multiple play throughs and enough of a challenge to keep you coming back for more. 

Yes, the game has issues. There are only a few enemy types, only a couple bosses to fight, a musical score that repeats far too often, different characters that only change the gameplay in minor ways, a low weapon count… but all those faults are overlooked once you get into the swing of playing. Like Hotline Miami or The Binding of Isaac, Nuclear Throne borrows its control scheme from Robotron. You move using the WASD keys while shooting with the mouse. I would have liked to see a more traditional control scheme (moving with WASD and shooting with the arrow keys) but keyboard/mouse works perfectly fine here. Anyone familiar with Hotline Miami will be right at home. The game is part bullet hell shooter. It isn’t enough to have good marksmanship. You have to be able to maneuver in a matter of seconds. The first stages of the game are deceptively easy. Once you leave the sewers and step foot into the second main stage, the game becomes downright ridiculous. Learning to master the art of moving one way while shooting in the other is a necessity. There is no time limit for the levels. It is simply a case of "kill 'em all". Earn enough experience (here represented as little bars of green uranium) and you'll be able to choose a mutation at the end of the level. This is the games version of "leveling up". The mutations are all useful, allowing you to increase your health count, change the speed of enemy projectiles or increase the number of item drops. It's a simple mechanic but one that can have a major impact on your run.

Depending on your skill level, Nuclear Throne either offers just enough gameplay or not enough gameplay. I can usually make it through the game quickly. But I also somehow managed to breeze through Hotline Miami without any trouble. But like that game, Nuclear Throne is just too damn enjoyable to not play through over and over. Without specific programmer-set challenges (think the boss rush or time trial modes in Super House of Dead Ninjas), you are kind of on your own to find reasons to play through the game again. I enjoy challenging myself to play through the game without picking up a second item (you are limited to two weapons at any one time) or without picking up any health. Until proper achievements are added to the game, this is as close as you’ll be getting to special incentives/goals for your play throughs.

Again, this is an unfinished game. Whether or not it will up to its full potential is a great, big unknown. Whether or not it will evolve into something different is a great, big unknown. But the base game here is great fun. Maybe still a little expensive at 13 bucks but a good investment for fans of bullet hell shooters and action roguelikes.

Interested? Follow the link: NUCLEAR THRONE