It’s the future. Corporations have enslaved humanity, and becoming a robot is this season’s latest fashion. All the while, dodgy-looking conspirators in shades are kidnapping scientists to do their evil bidding.
No, it’s not Deus Ex: Pocket Edition – it’s INC, a retro-fitted run ‘n’ gun platformer from Stardash creator OrangePixel. The developer has gone cyberpunk with its latest outing, looking far into the future even while its heart is stuck squarely in the past.
Colouring Agent
And when we say “squarely”, we mean it literally. INC’s visuals are stereotypically retro, with the main character and most of his enemies being mere monochrome boxes with tiny unextended arms.
For contrast, the background and foreground of each new area is stylishly drenched in a single colour scheme. The industrial zones are a crude grey, the wastelands blood crimson, and the woods an oppressive night-sky blue.
Of course, looks aren’t everything. What really matters is the handling.
Corporate control
And the handling is fine. The trial in each of the game’s 40 levels is to activate three beacons and make it to the end goal, all while shooting enemies, dodging traps, taking on the occasional boss, and exercising those old platforming thumbs.
It really is exercise, too. While jumping is a matter of pressing X, the shoot function has been oddly mapped to Triangle, making it a little awkward to jump and shoot simultaneously. We’re a bit confused about why this is the case, given that the Xperia Play has two shoulder buttons. Using those would have allowed you to run, jump, and fire all at the same time.
It may just be a completely deliberate design decision intended to make it harder for you to storm through a level in one life. INC is an Orange Pixel game, after all – you quickly realise it was never meant to be a walk in the park. Beacon sandwich
At the same time, INC does lean toward the horrifically frustrating side of the difficulty spectrum more often than its predecessors, and not just only because of the controls.
Every so often beacons are hidden in the landscape and you have to shoot the suspect area until it raises out of the ground. On most levels this is a good, brief test of observation. On other levels it becomes annoying when you're forced to replay a level over and over again just to find one irritatingly elusive beacon.
It might seem like we’re complaining a lot about INC. But that’s only because it’s an otherwise great game. It plays smoothly as a platformer and apart from a few cheap shots and those pesky beacon-hunting levels it’s really very satisfying. Ultimately, if you’re a fan of Meganoid or Stardash this is still definitely worth buying.