We failed.
But the hive grows stronger in failure.
We will send another and another.
Or you know, I could just give up and go home. Is that an option?
No…
Fuck.
OVERWHELM is difficult. And this is coming from someone who thought Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was pretty easy. Unlike Sekiro though, OVERWHELM has an assist mode (thank-you to the developer) which made it possible for me to see everything the game has to offer without it taking me countless hours of practice and perseverance, invaluable as a reviewer with limited time and many games to cover. So let’s dive into the core of this gem and see what’s on offer for those willing to explore its murky depths.
OVERWHELM has its roots planted firmly in Metroidvania soil, is fertilised with horror elements and adds a dash of permadeath. I lost that metaphor somewhere. Much like I got lost in the twisting turns of this game (BOOM, segway). A game where every corner has an enemy just waiting to pounce. One where every boss is bigger and far scarier than you are. One where every death makes you that much more fearful and tense – unless you’re a scrub like me that put on infinite lives perhaps.
The game begins by explaining your one, very simple goal. Destroy the hive, which interestingly, is not randomly generated, but the same every time you play, making for one less obstacle to contend with every playthrough. The hive itself a complex network of tunnels and passageways leading to five separate boss encounters that can be taken on in any order you like. A victory against a boss will earn you one of five crystals; collect all five and return each to the central base and boom, you enter the final phase (which I won’t spoil here). It’s simple to understand and honestly, not the most inventive concept, but it serves its purpose as a driving force to play.
Now to traverse these tunnels and fight the monsters that will try to stop you, you have a range of weapons and abilities at your disposal. You can jump, wall-jump, uppercut for extra height, punch, and shoot. You never gain any upgrades or increase in strength throughout the game, so any improvement has to come from you learning the environments, dissecting the enemies and mastering the controls. I struggled to get to grips with having jump on a shoulder button at first but eventually got used to it, and man, I wish I owned a pro controller cause aiming with the joy-con feels incredibly imprecise. Granted, this could also be down to the fact that all of my joy-cons seem to have different faults with the sticks. Thankfully there are aim assist options available if the aiming feels too inaccurate for your liking.
Now you may be wondering, “if you get no upgrades, where does the “Metroidvania” come into this?” Glad you asked. Character upgrades are missing, but instead OVERWHELM puts a unique twist on the idea. You can pick off the bosses in any order you like, but defeating a boss will upgrade the enemies in a specific way. They may discover how to climb, or spit venom at you. New enemies will emerge too which take more hits or may be more aggressive towards you. Instead of you upgrading, the game upgrades. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s awesome.
I haven’t even covered the visuals and the audio yet, which are all around superb. The whole game is centred around making the player feel oppressed and anxious, on the edge of their seat. The camera is zoomed in so it’s hard to scope ahead. Deaths will result in a black border and a dreadful noise building up around you, making it even harder to see and hear. And on that third (and final) life before your run is abruptly cut short the words “LAST LIFE” are plastered on the screen as a massive reminder that your whole run is at stake. Heck, even the ammo counter in the bottom-right isn’t spared from the all-covering darkness when you’re on the verge of failure. It all makes for an engrossing and powerful experience whenever you play. And damn, I love the heavy music in the soundtrack.
While I’m sure OVERWHELM sounds like it may be impossible to beat, it really isn’t. You may go down in one hit, but most enemies will too. Your stock of three lives is replenished whenever you beat a boss or return a crystal to the centre of the map. And when you start a run you can begin at any previously defeated boss to save some initial trekking. It’s very doable. I imagine extremely doable if you’re fortunate enough to have a friend to take in with you, unlike myself. OVERWHELM offers two-player local co-op so you can fight through the darkness with a friend, and as previously mentioned, there is always assist mode which allows you to turn on infinite lives, infinite ammo, aim assist and more. Really, my only complaint is that you can tweak the game to your reaction speed, but there’s no in-game way to test your reaction speed. Seems like a tiny oversight to me.
OVERWHELM is not for the faint of heart. It states in the options screen that “OVERWHELM is never easy. It’s hard for some. Impossible for others.” But thanks to its assist mode I found it a delight to conquer and one that I’m more than happy to recommend. If you even remotely like platformers, want a challenge, or even just want to add another co-op game to your Switch library, OVERWHELM is worth picking up.
A digital copy of OVERWHELM for Switch was provided by the developer.
Check out OVERWHELM on Switch here:
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/overwhelm-switch/
