Reviews View More
combat queen is a disorderly stew of the greatest forms of art known to man:
- on-rails shooter
- live action fmvs
- tank control survival horror
- digital cinematography
- cute girls with energy rifles slaying hordes of insects
taitos patchwork approach to design makes sense - this is clearly a low budget affair and most of its features are indicative of that. a bit of this and that for a scuzzy exploitation medley. hard to dislike, aside from overly long unskippable cutscenes.
core to the experience is a dichotomy between health and ammunition. at the pause menu you can siphon away health to store ammunition, or vice-versa, which is the kind of player-centered decision that can help in a pinch. naturally this limitation of resources has implications for the rest of its level design - on-rails levels arent based around enemy prioritization and a quick trigger-finger but instead more closely resemble cardboard cutout shooting galleries. not every bug will attack you and most arent visually distinct in type or movement pattern, so the game revolves around scrupulously racking up the score while aiming for a high enough quota of slain bugs to replenish health and ammunition by the end of the stage, which is rendered somewhat difficult by bug hitboxes. this mechanic also means you can save into an unwinnable position - there's one bottleneck stage in particular that reflects an Absence of Design and that you'll most likely want to trek into fully stocked-up if youre aiming for the 1cc. likewise, the tank control stages are simple pacebreakers with occasionally fun gimmicks. the expectation isn't to be an adroit dodger ala resident evil, but instead to calmly and efficiently carve your way through as many overgrown fauna as you can.
this certainly can make the experience one-note in execution and its very much capable of being reduced to nothing but a mere trinket or novelty but i'll be damned if it isnt replete with an abundance of charm. this is the kind of frantic, unpredictable energy modern indie devs should be aiming for, not some marketing guru endorsed wholesome sludge. i wanna ride with my gals in a pink jeep fending off all manners of insects in metropolitan/rural japan. more lurid and raunchy less catering to twitter/IMDB users ala Going Under (2020) Developed By Aggro Crab and Published by Team17 or Twelve Minutes (2021) Developed By Luis António and Published by Annapurna Interactive
- on-rails shooter
- live action fmvs
- tank control survival horror
- digital cinematography
- cute girls with energy rifles slaying hordes of insects
taitos patchwork approach to design makes sense - this is clearly a low budget affair and most of its features are indicative of that. a bit of this and that for a scuzzy exploitation medley. hard to dislike, aside from overly long unskippable cutscenes.
core to the experience is a dichotomy between health and ammunition. at the pause menu you can siphon away health to store ammunition, or vice-versa, which is the kind of player-centered decision that can help in a pinch. naturally this limitation of resources has implications for the rest of its level design - on-rails levels arent based around enemy prioritization and a quick trigger-finger but instead more closely resemble cardboard cutout shooting galleries. not every bug will attack you and most arent visually distinct in type or movement pattern, so the game revolves around scrupulously racking up the score while aiming for a high enough quota of slain bugs to replenish health and ammunition by the end of the stage, which is rendered somewhat difficult by bug hitboxes. this mechanic also means you can save into an unwinnable position - there's one bottleneck stage in particular that reflects an Absence of Design and that you'll most likely want to trek into fully stocked-up if youre aiming for the 1cc. likewise, the tank control stages are simple pacebreakers with occasionally fun gimmicks. the expectation isn't to be an adroit dodger ala resident evil, but instead to calmly and efficiently carve your way through as many overgrown fauna as you can.
this certainly can make the experience one-note in execution and its very much capable of being reduced to nothing but a mere trinket or novelty but i'll be damned if it isnt replete with an abundance of charm. this is the kind of frantic, unpredictable energy modern indie devs should be aiming for, not some marketing guru endorsed wholesome sludge. i wanna ride with my gals in a pink jeep fending off all manners of insects in metropolitan/rural japan. more lurid and raunchy less catering to twitter/IMDB users ala Going Under (2020) Developed By Aggro Crab and Published by Team17 or Twelve Minutes (2021) Developed By Luis António and Published by Annapurna Interactive