Developer: Dejima
Publisher: Thunderful Publishing
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Firegirl Hack ’n Splash Rescue – Review
They say, where there’s smoke, there is fire, and where there is fire, there’s Firegirl. You play as the newest recruit for the fire department in a city plagued with a sudden increase in fire outbreaks. It is with great honor that you join the team as you are following the footsteps of your late father, who sadly didn’t make it out alive during one of his rescue missions. Will you be able to rescue the many civilians trapped in the city? Or will you rack up a binder full of hospital bills before finally giving in your letter of resignation?
Story
The story takes place in a city that is under siege by a streak of mysterious arson cases. You play as Firegirl, a young aspiring firefighter that wants to step into the footsteps of her late father. Her father used to be a firefighter ten years ago but saw an early demise when he and his team got trapped on the rooftop of a burning building. Only one other firefighter made it out alive back then. This veteran firefighter is now the Chief, and as your boss, he is proud of your career choice.
Your first day starts with the firehouse being on fire, this literally gives you ‘training on the job’. Nonetheless, you notice that the fire seems different than a regular fire. Upon putting out the fire you are rewarded with a place on the emergency responders unit, and your career as a firefighter starts. After a few missions, you find a mysterious ‘Fire Tome’, and soon after, a strange entity starts attacking you. You make it out alive, and your chief, who witnessed everything, states that this is the return of the Fire Lord. Suddenly someone from the FBI shows up and tells you that she is investigating these arson cases where someone is using these Fire Tomes to summon the Fire Lord. Now, you are put on a journey to collect all thirteen books and bring an end to the chaos. The story length may differ for every player, as the collection of the tomes can take quite some time and seems locked behind your progression.
Graphics
Visually the game combines the best from arcade pixel artwork and a 2D/2.5D environment, depending on what location you are in. In its essence, it is a fully 2D game with a background that gives you the impression of a 3D world, yet sometimes the camera slightly turns to give you a better view over a long corridor. Thanks to its beautiful pixel artwork it looks and feels like you are playing a modern version of a classic arcade game. Not only do the visuals give off this vibe, but the combination of the visual triggers when picking up items or rescuing people, as well as the text dialogues, make this game a proper homage to the past. The various enemies make you think that you are in this kind of Anime world, with inspiration certainly taken from Japanese culture.
A fun quirk about Firegirl Hack ‘n Splash Rescue is that originally the frame rate is locked at 60 FPS. The game plays really smoothly, but if you want to see the game behave quite strangely then just unlock the frame rate in the options menu. This makes the character’s mouth move really fast in text dialogues and gives the gameplay a few strange issues.
Sound
If the graphics aren’t enough to get you back into the arcade era, then the sounds will surely take you on a trip down memory lane. From the music to the sound effects, and the cheeky announcer that shouts stuff when you pick up items or rescue someone, this game is a real retro experience. Don’t expect too much though. The music is pretty repetitive after a while. On top of that, the game’s music switches to something more ‘desperate’ during the last minute of your timer, adding a bit to the possible frustration that might ensue.
Gameplay
Firegirl Hack ‘n Splash Rescue is a platforming action arcade game where you must put out fires and rescue civilians and pets to uncover the truth about all the events that plague the city. The game begins with a short tutorial in the firehouse. You’ll have to rush in and learn at a fast rate on a very hectic first day. Controlling Firegirl is pretty easy and she responds quite quickly to button inputs, which is perfect for when you need to move through tight corridors.
Your water hose is your main line of defense and it can even be used as an impromptu jetpack. One thing to keep in mind is your water pressure. The latter is a limited resource that depletes the more water you use. Even though the high pressure might be gone, you’ll still be able to use your hose at a significant handicap (which becomes less of a problem once you have more upgrades). To prevent or fix this, you can always refill your backpack with water bottles or at a broken toilet.
After the first mission, the world slowly opens and you get introduced to the main mechanics of the game. Finding volunteers that help rebuild the firehouse and allow you to purchase upgrades will make your life easier. These upgrades won’t come cheap, but will greatly improve your resilience in the long run. To get these upgrades, there are two ways of gathering funds. The first is through government sponsoring, which already covers part of the bill(s). Another way of gathering funds is with fans. You will accumulate fans by rescuing people/pets, and when you leave the venue without casualties, then the fan donations will roll in.
Firegirl Hack ‘n Splash Rescue is a pretty hard and unforgiving game at first, but things get gradually easier as you unlock more upgrades. The game uses procedurally generated maps, which can really backfire in a platforming game that has ‘fixed’ exits. This means that sometimes when you find an exit, entering another room for some extra exploration causes a fire to start behind you, making it almost impossible to backtrack to that exit. On top of that, the levels have a timer, and thus, not making it back may result in failing the level. Fortunately, failing a mission only limits the funds that you are receiving, so dying a few times or exiting early doesn’t come with a really heavy penalty.
The main goal of the game is to find all thirteen tomes to stop the Fire Lord once and for all. You will find these tomes randomly in levels, but getting to them might not be as easy as you’d hope. To collect them all, you’ll need to amass enough funds to buy more and more upgrades. Sadly, grinding for money and acquiring these upgrades does get a bit tedious after a while. Nonetheless, finally getting the much-needed upgrades does feel rewarding.
Conclusion
Firegirl Hack ‘n Splash Rescue is a fun game that suffers from a few design flaws. The randomly generated levels can make a run pretty frustrating if the exit is in an awkward place. However, if you press on, then you’ll notice the charm that this game has. Not only are the graphics and sound a true homage to arcade games, the game actually is actually amusing to play. After the initial threshold, you’ll find some fun in unlocking all the game’s content to ultimately defeat the Fire Lord.
Firegirl Hack ’n Splash Rescue – Review,
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