Although there are not as many games of the style as we would like, twin stick shooters have a legion of loyal fans. A group of users who can now get their hands on the new production from Drakkar Dev and Blowfish Studios, a worthy title in certain respects but that sees how it loses grace as the hours of play go by. Blackwind analysis.
The fans of the twin stick shooter we have to settle for the little that is seen throughout each season. Games like Blackwind are not exactly flooding the list of releases of each of the formats, being a category that, like it or not, is much less popular than other genres. That is why I was quite saddened to discover how irregular this Drakkar Dev production is for PC and PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch consoles, both in its technical and playable aspects. And that, at first, the title shows good manners.
After being prey to a ferocious attack, the ship in which both James Hawkins (the protagonist) and his father are found is shot down. But just before this happens, James’s father manages to save his son’s life, sending him to a mining planet called Medusa 42. How does he survive such a circumstance? Well, thanks to the latest invention of this engineering genius: a state-of-the-art mecha. Dubbed Battle Frames, these armored “shells” provide their wielders with superlative offensive and defensive power. Machines capable of dealing with all kinds of situations, including constant annihilation of aliens. A trip that is anything but relaxed in which, accompanying James, we must make our way through hundreds of waves of bugs of all kinds to try to get out alive and, incidentally, find the whereabouts of his father. An argument older than fire but functional.
Vibrant but imperfect combat
As it is a twin stick shooter, you already know what is going to be the main recipe that is going to make up the playable base. The confrontations are the absolute protagonists of Blackwind, being necessary wage countless battles against the detestable Raknos (the alien race that we must fight) throughout the approximately 8-9 hours that the title lasts. And the truth is that, that first, these contests are quite convincing, vibrant and intense.
Our armored character has a very remarkable destructive capacity. On the one hand, it is capable of damaging and pulverizing hordes of rivals from a safe distance using both its blaster and its guided missile launcher. And for short distances, its sharp blades are capable of shredding even the toughest metal. The handling is quite simple and intuitive, and it is possible to witness authentic butcher shops… to which we can put the icing on the cake by performing executions in the purest style seen in the Mortal Kombat saga.
The combats are quite striking and exciting, what happens is that they quickly become repetitive and, in addition, during them there are drops in fps.
This premise works quite well… but only at first. And it is that contrary to what happens with the great exponents of the genre (Hotline Miami, Nex Machina, etc.), as we advance and face new combats, these are increasingly “heavy”. Fortunately, they never completely lose their interest, but they certainly end up being too routine. And to this problem of a playable type is added another of an equally important technical nature: frame drops. It is true that it does not happen in all the confrontations, but when the fights become very intense and many things happen on the screen, the graphics engine suffers.
Fights can take place in two different types of locations. On the one hand, there are the conventional outdoor settings, areas that are quite small in size… but not as small as the one that monopolizes the facilities that we have to visit. Some scenarios that act as “dungeons” and that present a quite labyrinthine design, being necessary to be aware of the minimap that appears on the screen to guide us while we go from one place to another. These areas have an unattractive layout in general, and force us to go from one point to another of the set in a somewhat “forced” way to activate the classic switches, to get hold of digital keys, etc.
The platform sections are too simple and don’t add much to the overall development.
The highlight is the possibility of improving and expanding our Battle FrameWhat else does this production offer us beyond the contests? Well, the highlight is the possibility of improving and expanding the capabilities of our Battle Frame: increase the melee damage, expand the basic shot, etc. It is also necessary face platform areas, although this element has been implemented in a somewhat clumsy way, almost as if it were a “padding”, contributing little to the development itself.
For all this, the gameplay that Blackwind offers us clearly goes from more to less. And it is that although at first the battles transmit good sensations within their little originality in their global approach, as we advance and the hours go by, these combats end up being too routine. The doubles cooperative mode (local only) in which the second player controls a support drone improves the picture somewhat, but it is not the best we have ever tried in a title of this playable layout.
The facilities have a labyrinthine design, so the minimap is good for orientation.
The playable approach that houses this title is irregularFor all this, the playable approach that this title houses is irregular, an adjective that can also be used to describe its technical section. During the brawls it is possible to witness eye-catching special effects, the aspect that the aliens show is not bad and the animations that the protagonist wears are remarkable. But, on the contrary, to the aforementioned performance problems are added scenes lacking in detail and little elaborated and simply passable textures. The sound section performs at a higher level, highlighting both the dubbing (in English with Spanish subtitles) and the various sound effects.