One of the most iconic arcade games of all time was Rampage. A game that saw players take control of monsters and smash up a city and take out inhabitants, it was great for fans of classic monster movies and was a hit in its day. The game made a return in the late 1990s with multiple new games from Midway before fading away again. The series did get a movie adaptation that led to a new game, albeit a modern arcade game, but for the most part, the series has been dormant.
With the lack of new Rampage games though, comes a fandom that is ready to fill in the void and this is where Terror of Hemasaurus comes into play. The game is a throwback to the classic series and attempts to have a story that is okay for what it is, but does the game work? Or is the formula a bit too dated for the modern day?
Terror of Hemasaurus has a story about global warming and environmentalism that touches on themes of Neo-Malthusianism, all put together in a humorous way, that sees you take control of the Hemasaurus and set out to set things right climate-wise. The way to do this is by destroying most of the cities and taking out the population much in the way the classic Rampage games worked. Like with Rampage, there are a few different characters to choose from, but the differences do not really feel worth mentioning due to what is actually implemented.
Terror of Hemasaurus tries to keep things fresh by adding in multiple objectives for you to accomplish alongside just destroying things, and the story is funny for how over the top it is, with even supposed saviours being hilarious sadists. The problem is the main part of the game just is not that fun here for some reason. It should not be hard to pull off a Rampage clone, especially one that has changeups in the gameplay, but it just does not feel right.
There is something that Indie Gamer Chick calls the Oomph factor in brawlers, that feeling of impact when you land a blow and that is something Terror of Hemasaurus is lacking. The game doesn’t feel like there is much weight behind the movements and the result is a smash ’em up that just feels repetitive. Granted, Rampage as a whole is a very repetitive game, and the limited nature of the gameplay is probably why the revivals by Midway saw increasingly diminishing returns, but this feels worse somehow.
Terror of Hemasaurus was fun in the beginning stages, but as the gameplay continues, I became increasingly bored and struggled to finish it. The game went from feeling like a great spiritual successor to a classic game to a game trying way too hard to be that classic. I wanted to like the game, I really did, and the opening stages were good, and the story was funny, but the allure was gone quickly and I think a problem was the developers trying both to be true to Rampage and trying to do things differently at the same time.
In the end, Terror of Hemasaurus was an interesting idea, I just feel it was not executed to perfection. I have heard that the game may have some issues on Nintendo Switch, which may have impacted my enjoyment, but I do not think that was the main cause. Still, this is a game I can see myself trying out every few months, but not for long play sessions.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided