Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer

A very loving sendup to an era that I have nostalgia for despite only getting snip bits of it in my childhood. The vibes of nu metal, punk attitude and teen edginess permeate every aspect of this game but in a way that left me completely charmed. Zane as a character was so fun to play as despite all of his attempts to be cool, you will see cracks in his character that reveals how caring and creative he is. The whole premise of this being a game he created really shines through with the settings and characters mirroring people and places in his life.

Regarding the gameplay it is pretty serviceable. It is not as fast paced or smooth controlling as some more modern boomer shooters but it still has a few tricks up its sleave. One of my favorite aspects of the game is how most levels attempt to replicate realistic locations or objects using the chunkiest models ever. These were always my favorite types of levels in older boomer shooters and its nice to that type of design still persisting to this day.

Overall I really enjoyed my time with this game and I hope the new episodes come out soon.

Slayers X is a parody of 1990's FPS, that in many ways feels and plays like one of those free FPS that came with cereal boxes. Its obnoxious 1990's edgyness through and through, from the main characters quips (that couldnt be more cringe), soundtrack that parodies Korn and the lo-fi CGI cutscenes. Its really an excellent game as a parody, and it got some genuine laughs out of me.

As an FPS its not so great. Weapon balance is all over the place, there are a lot of annoying enemy types in the game, and some of the levels are a bit too convoluted or have keys that are frustratingly hidden. There are also some secrets in the levels, but these only tend to offer lame jokes, so there is little incentive to search them out. Visually its lofi pixel look and low field of view makes it even a bit nauseating initially.

Its hard to evaluate a game like this since its purposely being bad or cringe as much as possible. The key element is its short lenght at about 3 hours, since anymore than that it would become a frustrating experience. As it stands, its definitly a unique experience for those that enjoy retro FPS.