We regularly see interesting games pop up on consoles that started out elsewhere. With Dungeon Munchies, OmegaBot, Neon Souls and Headbangers in Holiday Hell, we’re looking at four of them today.
Dungeon Munchies review (PS4)
Despite a lukewarm critical reception on the Switch and PC when it launched last summer, Dungeon Munchies from maJAJa and publisher Chorus Worldwide was very well received by gamers on Steam. It’s now made the leap to PlayStation, as well as getting a physical release. We dove into the PlayStation 4 version.
Dungeon Munchies is one of those hybrid games that’s hard to pin down. It looks like an action RPG with hack ‘n slash influences, but you’ll also see RPG elements and even some cooking mechanics – hence the “munchies” part in the title. And even though you’re a zombie-like character, cooking up food gives you special skills. This is partly because you’ve been brought to life by a necromancer who happens to enjoy cooking – and you can imagine this is a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Ingredients are gathered by killing enemies, and complete dishes give you an ability – with the chance to equip seven at once. It’s certainly a novel concept, but crafting enthusiasts would have certainly liked to see more freedom to experiment and combine things here – you’re tied to a predefined cookbook instead, and you’ll run into a similar system for weapons. And speaking of weapons – we tended to gravitate heavily towards melee combat even though ranged weapons are also available. Ranged tends to feel imprecise, and hack and slash is just a lot more fun to play around with as a result.
And while Dungeon Munchies perhaps doesn’t make the most of its more unique mechanics, it’s a fun game to play and we can see why it’s sitting at an ‘overwhelmingly positive’ rating on Steam. Its console port might not rock the genre, but a fun story and a few interesting ‘meal combinations’ make this an entertaining mashup despite some unrealized potential.
OmegaBot review (PS4)
Previously released on PC but now available on consoles thanks to Red Art Games, Simon Carny’s OmegaBot is a retro-inspired action platformer set in a world in which a virus has turned humans into machines. You’re the titular main character in this story, hoping to set things right in an adventure that Mega Man fans will find familiar – both in terms of graphics and in terms of gameplay.
The core gameplay has you jumping and firing a fairly basic gun, but progressing past enemies and bosses will also unlock additional weapons and abilities. This keeps things interesting, as later levels require you to double jump and/or dash in mid-air to reach platformers and enemies can be tackled with a larger variety of weapons, including a flamethrower for enemies where you’re able to get in a bit closer.
Because your arsenal of moves and weapons changes, you’ll also notice that levels make use of this by offering different types of challenges, both in terms of platforming and in terms of enemies. There’s a good range of enemy types here, and you’ll also notice a decent amount of variety in backdrops and visual styles – something that gets backed up with level-specific music as well. OmegaBot might look a bit generic in screenshots, but a lot of care has gone into crafting a diverse and engaging experience.
Diverse and engaging doesn’t mean that OmegaBot has a lot of unique elements to it though – it’s just a nicely crafted homage to a popular genre done well by a small developer. The story’s forgettable and the gameplay isn’t too novel, but we had fun with this one.
Neon Souls review (PS4)
Developed by Pickles Entertainment and ported over to consoles by Ratalaika, Neon Souls came out on PC in 2021. We never tried out their previous game (Color Souls), so for us the core gameplay hook in Neon Souls was an interesting one – you can’t see the level you’re supposed to traverse, and the only way to illuminate anything is by jumping, which generated an aura of light around you.
As you’d expect, this presents players with interesting platforming challenges, but the game even contains four boss fights in its 50 level campaign. The level of difficulty quickly ramps up after you complete about a dozen of them – with a good amount of challenge in the later levels. You won’t need to strain yourself for the platinum trophy though – that one will pop before you’re even halfway. Some trophies are tied to dying, but since that’s also more or less an integral part of the game (making a leap of faith to see where to go next) you won’t have any trouble.
You’re not completely flying blind either – enemies and a few moving platforms will also show up in the dark, giving you a rough idea of where things are. Boss fights are especially interesting here, because the darkness mechanic gives them a unique feel in addition to looking cool – the color splashes and glowing effects, as minimalist as the graphics are, are nice touches. This is a fun little low budget platformer, and trophy hunters in particular will appreciate the fact that the PS4 and PS5 versions are bundled.
Headbangers in Holiday Hell review (PS4)
The second Ratalaika game we’re checking out has an interesting title. Headbangers in Holiday Hell was developed by Vikerlane and instantly feels like a high concept kind of game – we played it on a PS4 to see if there’s more to it than that.
Essentially a hybrid of Christmas, heavy metal and twin stick shooting, this is a bit of a weird one. Santa apparently hates metal music, and so he stuns a bunch of metal fans with an exploding presents and has them taken away by a bunch of elves. Doesn’t sound very Santa-like, right? Well, the bizarre nature of the plot continues when you realize you’re playing as the headbanger who got away, trying to get revenge – armed with a water gun. Which, for whatever reason, is able to take out the elves.
The gun if woefully imprecise, so you’ll often find yourself moving in for melee attacks – with DOOM-like glory kills and overdrive states all part of the package. Guns and characters can be upgrades as well, though this can feel like a bit of a grind – and not for the right reasons. Guns are imprecise, leading to wasted ammo, and the collision detection is off in places, as enemies can just fire through walls to hit you.
Headbangers in Holiday Hell feels a bit like a high level concept that a team of developers just had fun with. Audio/voice samples include gems like “I’ll jingle your bells”, there’s a unique visual feel to this hybrid of holiday cheer and metal madness, and there are even a few environmental attacks available to you. It’s just that the gameplay feels a tad unpolished, so expect to have fun if you don’t take things too seriously but don’t expect too much.
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