As typically when it comes to demos, I stumbled over Abathor by pure chance, and once again, I’m glad that I did. Abathor is a cooperative action side-scroller, where you must slaughter strange foes in the masses. It has the typical tropes of these kinds of games that they are expected to contain, and overall, executes them well. Everything from the combat, finding secrets, big bosses, to the platforming.
Killing is our thing
I don’t have much of a story to go on here, except that Atlantis must be saved. Yet, that is good enough for me. As soon as the ship crashes into the beach, it’s time to destroy things. I selected the Conan barbarian type of character, because it felt like the natural pick for me. However, there are three more you can choose from, all with their unique stats and special attacks. And from here on, killing is on the menu.
You have a normal and a special attack. The special attack seems to do the double damage, as things scream and fall quickly with the overhand swing. It’s a risky move since the animation spin-up is longer, and your character takes a step forward when executing the move. It makes the move dangerous, but oh so satisfying when it hits. Otherwise, you can jump, and duck under for example projectiles. What I really liked was the roll button. With the roll, you can roll past enemies and stab them in the back. Cool and very tactical. The combat felt awesome and pleasing, and surprisingly, not too hard, yet, at least. I even made it to the final demo boss without too much cursing.
Other than that, you have secrets to find, and gems and gold to collect, because Atlantean loot is here for the pickings. For this gold, you can buy upgrades for your character, like more sword damage and more health. There are also special items to collect on the map, to make the combat even more involved. The throwing axes sure were helpful, when I managed to find them and not miss with my poorly aimed attacks. I should also mention that I played Abathor with a 360 controller, and when I started the game, Steam warned me that a controller was preferred. I have no idea how it plays with keyboard & mouse, but I assume not as well.
Coop
What I’m looking forward to most is playing this cooperatively with a friend. I have already talked one pal into buying it – to go through the campaign together. Beyond the fun gameplay, and the coop-mode, the graphics are excellent, providing smooth retro pixel visuals with superb animations. The sound and music are also good, but the music stopped at certain points. Not sure if intentional or not. Abathor felt a little too quiet when this happened, though.
The best part with this demo is how soon it comes out. July 25th is the set date for release, so take the demo for a spin, and prepare for a day of slaughtering!
Thanks for reading.
/Thomas
Tom's Gaming Vault 