Headlander is an Action/Metroidvania game made by Double Fine Productions and published by Adult Swim Games. It absolutely drips that 70’s SciFi vibe too. As in, if he didn’t die earlier this year, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see David Bowie pop up in some way. That’s how 70’s it is.
It starts with a trippy premise; you’re a disembodied head stuck in a rocket propelled helmet. Your character (you have a choice of three, I went with the one with the biggesd mutton chop sideburns, natch) can’t talk, but the voice of someone introduced as Earl leads you through the tutorial, as well as acts as a companion/mission control throughout the game. For some reason, an AI named Methuselah really wants your head (hah), and you have to escape your ship, only to crash on a station controlled by said AI. And if you can follow all of that, it only gets weirder. In the best way, of course.
Gameplay revolves around which body you’re in at the moment. Since almost all of humanity uploaded their consciousness into robot bodies called Imposters after an apocalyptic war, you have your choice of citizen bodies to rip the heads off of and choose from. The game does give you absolution for this; any time you do that, the citizen gets uploaded into a new body. The problem is that, compared to the completely robotic Shepherd bodies, citizen grade stuff sucks; outside of an upgrade, they can’t attack, and they can only enter gray doors. You’ll spend most of your time in Shepherd bodies, since they are both armed and color coded for strength and clearance, red being the lowest clearance and attack power and violet the highest. And since different bodies have different properties, you have to switch almost constantly, so there’s no chance you’re getting through the game in one body.
Frequently, you’ll be forced to simply fly around as a head. It’s when you’re at your most vulnerable; taking too much damage as just a head is one of the few ways to game over and get sent back to your most recent checkpoint. You are given an array of abilities to make this less of a downgrade. Your vacuum sees the most use; not only is it necessary for opening maintenance hatches, it’s your primary means of removing enemy heads, and also occasionally the most expedient choice for dealing with otherwise difficult enemies. The shield not only allows you through security lasers, but also lets you reflect enemy fire, making obtaining a new body less perilous.
There’s an upgrade system, as well. The game practically throws energy for it; rarely will you be forced to go too long without having enough points for an upgrade, so long as you explore and find the various energy stations. Since they branch off from the primary upgrades unlocked for your helmet, you are sometimes forced to take something that isn’t necessarily your top priority to get to something more valuable. For example, the roll attack. As described in game, you might ignore it, especially as it seems less impressive than other upgrades of the same price. But as it’s essentially a one hit kill that requires nothing more than proximity, it literally lets you roll through the rest of the game. It literally makes the chess stage so many people seem to complain about completely trivial.
Graphically the game is slathered in that afore mentioned 70’s SciFi style. It provides for a delightfully retro-futuristic romp. The fact that dying is less of an irritating thing thanks to the fact that it is accompanied by a psychedelic color show just manages to be one of those small touches that Double Fine seems to specialize in. I will say, however, that the game did occasionally chug on some screens, even on the lowest possible settings; though I can’t seem to put my finger on whether that’s the game’s fault, my graphics card’s, or the fact that Windows 10 seems to hate games for no apparent reason at random. Either way, it only happened on large, active screens.
The sound design follows that same aesthetic. It runs the gamut of 70’s era influences. I wasn’t joking when I mentioned Bowie earlier; some of the pieces feel like they evoke that Space Oddity sound. The 70’s goodness even reaches into the sound effects.
Ultimately, Headlander manages to be a pretty damn good game while setting itself apart from the pack. While I’m sure the crazy premise might turn some off, I recommend giving it a chance. After all, Double Fine does have a pedigree when it comes to making games with a cult following.
Pros:
+Utilizes a fairly untapped aesthetic
+Quite a bit of thought was put into the sound design
+Keeps a constant feeling of progress
Cons:
-The game is fairly linear
-The early parts are also trippy, which might throw some off
*We were provided a copy of this game for review*
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