When I opened Ape Out for the first time, I was hoping for the next game to surge onto my "actually good games of the year" list rather than my "ten games I finished this year" list. Unfortunately, we have yet another case of a middling indie game where the style has drowned out the substance like PETA drowning a potato sack full of unadopted puppies.

In Ape Out, you are an ape and you get out. You run around and murder anything that moves. In a world apparently taken over by extreme pro-2nd amendment supporters, an army of men carrying pistols, rifles, machine guns, shotguns, flamethrowers, RPGs and fucking snipers attempt to stop you from pushing them into a wall so hard they turn into Jackson Pollock art.

Ape Out's selling point and best feature is its sound design. The game is percussion-oriented jazz and every action causes a dynamic change in the music. Killing dudes and getting hurt rackets up the music. Cymbals crash and drums smash and dudes with guns get made into mash. The chaos of the gameplay is complimented by the chaos of the music and vice versa. The visuals are all minimalist and understandable. The colors flicker and are always moving in some way, keeping up the chaos. Feels like an artist wanted to show off their unique audio talent.

My issue, however, is that everything else is kinda shit. Ape Out gives off the vibe of a guy going: "Here's why you should have me an audio designer for your game."
Instead of: "Here's why I should be a game designer."

The levels are maze-like and procedurally generated. These are fancy terms for: "level design was too hard and boring so I let the game design itself so I could continue throwing drums into walls." Enemies are spawned in no meaningful areas, the push attack's hitbox is spontaneous, and the carry mechanic is woefully underutilized.

The only things you can pick up are:
-Enemies to fire off one round from their gun
-Severed limbs that stun people
-Metal doors

Not being able to interact with the environments via throwing barrels or knocking over tables for cover makes the game less dynamic and more simple. You can hurl the things you hold at 100 mph, but good luck hitting your mark. Half the time I'd hit the guy, half the time I'd miss despite my right stick being pointed at his face. Same thing with using enemies as guns. Flamethrower and RPG guys in particular can go fuck off. Flamethrowers make approaching impossible and RPGs kill you in one shot because who cares about things like "chances to win?" Since the goal of every level is get from A to B, combat is something that is best avoided. I got through several levels from running in a straight line.

Ape Out was a disappointment. Another indie game too focused on presentation causing their gameplay to lack. While the actions are satisfying when pulled off, the repetition and short length (two hours) left me bitter. At least Sayonara Wild Hearts had standard-quality gameplay. For $15, I can't recommend Ape Out. I got it on sale for $7 and while that was fair, I also got way more frustration out of the game than I did audiovisual splendor. I yearn for when most indie games can actually balance gameplay and presentation regularly.

Control an Ape attempting to escape from a variety of settings including a lab, ship, jungle, and office building while smashing enemies against walls or each other. Jazz drumming and expressive colors follow your destruction as you make your way out of each level. Enemies explode in bright blood and body party, fires start from enemy flamethrowers and barrels exploding, the power dies and flashlights and flames help to guide your paths and your enemy's view. It's a loud and intense game separated by four albums that act as 8-10 stages each with their own area focus, each album can be played on a more difficult setting for greater challenge.

Rooms can change with each level reset causing the need for improvisation matching both the state of the ape and style of music, this can cause extremely easy or extremely difficult set ups where you can pretty much easily walk through the level or where you will be suddenly killed if you have the slightest hesitation in performing a nearly perfect improvised plan to get by.

Screenshots: https://twitter.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1145063511829045248

Short little game but have some top notch art design. All the colors are clean and simple. Each set of levels has the design of a 70s album which is awesome. The way the colors change during the crescendo is perfect. Alongside this, the music is jazzy and so fun while really syncing up with your actions. Sadly, while the gameplay is fun it never manages to really elevate. Later levels could be slightly frustrating and while it is satisfying to get a perfect run, nothing kept me coming back. But this game is so so stylish.