Developer: South East Games, South East Games Pty. Ltd.
Publisher: South East Games, South East Games Pty. Ltd.
Platform: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Switch
Tested on: PC
Paint the Town Red – Review
Have you ever felt so annoyed or angry that you just want to paint the walls with the blood of your enemies? In Paint the Town Red you get the possibility to literally give the world a new color; as your fists are the brush and your enemies’ blood is the paint. At first glance, you might think that this is just a small indie game, but the rabbit hole goes way deeper.
Story
Paint the Town Red is all about your character who is fed up with their normal life and wants to start a riot. In the scenarios, you will be tasked with killing every person in that location and thus painting the town red. You will traverse biker bars, prisons, 80s discos, pirate towns, and more during your travels. In Beneath (the game’s single-player Roguelite mode) you play as an operator for a mysterious company that ends up fighting evil monsters that come out of the Earth’s inner layers. Fight your way through caves, rescue survivors, and kill as many abominations as possible. In terms of story progression, the game does not have a lot on offer and just lets you enjoy the gameplay instead.
Graphics
The entire game is pretty blocky as everything is made with voxel-based visuals and it might remind you of the representation of Canada in South Park. While this may give the impression that the game looks child-friendly, it is far from that. You can break opponents to the bone, chop their heads off, kick their faces in, and spill loads of blood. The more people you kill, the redder the scenery becomes, as the game really lives up to its name.
Sound
One of the most fun aspects of Paint the Town Red is that the music changes according to what is going on. Just like in an action movie, the music gets more intense once everybody starts fighting. Most venues have a live concert going on and you can stop the music by attacking the band playing. Luckily, the music will return after a while, so you don’t have to sit through the entire level in silence because you threw a brick at the guitarist. Aside from the nice music, the sound effects are pretty good and a symphony of people shouting in pain is the best way to spice up the soundtrack.
Gameplay
Paint the Town Red is a chaotic first-person melee combat game where you need to kill every single person in the place. The game is filled with fun different modes and even a Roguelite adventure. The first mode is the scenario, where you place yourself in one of seven scenarios and your main goal is to kill everyone. Each venue is peaceful at first, so it’s up to you to throw the first stone or anger people and start the riot. You might think that this can get boring rather quickly, but there is a boatload of modifiers (over 20) that you can play with, such as slow-motion, zombies, guns, machete time, and so on.
Because of all these settings, the scenario mode boasts a lot of replayability. The game is hard but can be mastered once you get the hang of it. Health is limited and depending on what hits you, your run could be over sooner than expected. If you feel like you want some more carnage, then the arena mode is right up your alley as it offers many interesting setups. Fully completing the arena mode will be a challenge.
Lastly, there is a whole Roguelite adventure for you to experience. Here you select your class depending on what stats you prefer and dive deep into a cave system where pure evil lurks. During these runs, you can pick up points that you can use for permanent upgrades, as death means losing everything. Each run is unique and, while the combat is slightly different, the game remains essentially the same.
In this game, anything goes. You can grab anything that isn’t bolted down and beat your enemies to a bloody pulp with it. The other people are strong, but a well-placed attack can quickly dispose of them. You will notice that some characters are stronger than others, so be on the lookout for mini-bosses and their henchmen. The last thing up your sleeve are special moves, these can easily clear the way or obliterate waves of enemies. These special moves take a while to charge, so use them sparingly.
Controlling the game is a piece of cake, its simple controls allow for basically anyone to pick it up and enjoy it, but mastering the game may take some time. Each fight plays out differently, but you’ll get the hang of things quite quickly. As a whole, the control scheme is quite intuitive.
Conclusion
Paint the Town Red is one of those hidden gems that deserves a lot more attention. At first sight, the game might not look like much, but its large amount of content and replayability make this title a solid investment if you want to blow off some steam. Nothing feels better than beating up a room full of people, painting the floors with their blood, while listening to great music in the background. The venues feel alive and the riots are just pure chaos, ensuring a whole lot of fun when things explode.
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