Developer: Bumblebee
Publisher: Daedalic Entertainment
Platforms: PC
Tested on: PC
Oh My Gore! – Review
When playing tower defence games you generally get the role as the good guys, protecting the realm from a devastating wipe-out and saving mankind while doing so. Bashing undead skulls and building towers to crush the evil forces is surely something you’ll encounter a lot. What would happen if the tables are turned and you’re standing atop of the evilest army you can think of? Well, you’ll be able to get this experience when tackling Oh My Gore!. As the title exclaims, be ready to see some bloody mess. Are you ready to join the dark side?
Story
Our gory story starts with an archaeologist called Letchett. He was leading an excavation near an old mine, which seemed to go quite ok. Although he’s haunted at night by a strange, female voice. She tells him that a powerful deity rests deep within the mine and it needs his help. One night, he finally goes into the lair and starts his search for the burial chamber. On opening this tomb, a dark entity escaped and immediately begins a stream of havoc. It seems our good friend Letchett has released Raelius, an old and evil god of war. As a token of his appreciation, he performed some tricks which led to the demise of the town.
When you’re destroying those wretched elven-towns and stinking human residents, you get more and more info regarding the lives and memories of the ‘captains’ of the army. For instance, you can talk to everyone and get to know them while also discovering some of your own lost memories. Although the game revolves around the tower defence, there are more than enough story parts before and after that will keep you going back to kill some more humans.
Graphics
Oh My Gore! takes us back to a more pixelated era but with quite some details. For instance, both armies have their own particular units and towers, each with their own characteristics, but the fun starts when you’re actually fighting them. The title won’t be any good if there wasn’t some blood involved but my oh my, you’ll be treated by some violent and horrifying images. Don’t expect to get nauseous from what the game provides, but it certainly isn’t the most pretty sight either. Puddles of blood, ripped open angels and so many other corpses will color the ground red which is certainly enough to get your wretched heart beating faster.
The environments might be a bit more bare, there are some fun additions here and there. For instance, you’ll have to find someone in a forest, or rather a small labyrinth, where there are some fun decorations like spider webs, remains of people and quite some unfriendly spiders waiting for you. Although the overall details aren’t that profound, it is more important to keep your different routes into mind instead of admiring the scenery. In the end, you’ll be turning it all into a bloody wasteland, so no time to waste.
Sound
Taking over the world and finding your true identity surely is something that requires some more drama-classical tunes. What else is going to give you that lovely urge to kill humans and let your powers roam free? Even more, the sound effects surely help you on your killing spree, as the fighting of the units will fuel your drive while the cries and moans from wretched living creatures might actually give you a guilty pleasure.
Oh My Gore! certainly has a retro feeling and the voiceovers help with that. You’ll hear nothing more than some grumpy sounds now and then or some weird laughter that tries to emphasize the sentiment of the conversation. These get repeated quite fast, so be ready to hear some creepily weird laughing or some sad sighing at times. Although voice acting wasn’t really available in the retro-age, it would have been better to just make everything mute or really gave everyone the voices they deserved.
Gameplay
This game certainly is a tower defence and offence game where you’ll be playing as the bad guy. It is your task to lead your groups to victory or to defend your garrison from enemies. This all when you’re just trying to find what happened so many years ago and while also trying to conquer the world of course. To find the truth, you’ll need to get your strategic cap on and smash everyone who stands in your way.
When you start a new mission, you have an amount of resources you can use. Creating units cost chickens while you’ll be charged money to build towers. You’ll get new quantities of food and money added to your available funds. Each unit has its own cost, which means you will need to think beforehand how you will tackle the waves of enemies or your attack on a town and whom would be the most suitable. When you’ve chosen your troops, you can change the route by letting the troll redirect them. This gives you the possibility to attack on certain roads, while doing a sneak attack as well for instance.
Next to the standard units there are also champions available, each with their special skills. When this minion is killed, the mission is over and you’ll need to start again. Each chosen one has some abilities that can be useful during certain situations. Even more, the available units and buildings can alter, depending on which champion you pick. This is certainly a very important aspect you’ll need to keep in mind. Also, your evil highness also has some tricks on his sleeve (like making it rain fire on a certain location) which surely can tip the scales.
The available buildings are what you can mostly expect in tower defence games. Next to building the standard towers, you can also upgrade them. One extra possibility is not to only position your towers, but you can also place some hazards on the road. For instance, you can place some strategic pitfalls here and there or when you’ve gained the right champion, you can decorate the roads with some nice acid pools. A realistic downside to these hazards is that your own units can be damaged as well. Some of the special troops you can build, will be able to pass without recoil, so keep this in mind.
After you’ve had a glorious victory, you are rewarded with experience which leads to gaining skill points. These can be invested in your skill tree, giving you the opportunity to learn new skills. Next to the general elements, the towers and units can be improved as well.
Conclusion
If you want to get a taste from the dark pleasures of raising an undead army and conquering the world while shedding blood, you’ll certainly like Oh My Gore!. Don’t think it’ll be an easy trip, as some of the levels might need a good plan before really jumping into action. The graphics and sound really give you that retro-feel, while the blood splatters will kickstart your evil mind. Are you ready to conquer the world and find out the truth about Raelius?
Oh My Gore! - Review,
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