Developer: titolovesyou
Publisher: DreadXP
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
PIGFACE – Preview
After spending some time creating their own horror games, DreadXP has mostly been focused on working as a publisher so other indie devs can have a shot at creating their games with extra monetary backing. That way, more unique ideas can actually make it through development and onto platforms such as Steam. PIGFACE, the action-packed shooter we’re looking at today, is a perfect example of this collaboration in action. This is the first game released by titolovesyou, currently still in Early Access, and already a sleeper hit.
PIGFACE has a bizarre plot. The main character, a young woman named Exit, is kidnapped by a mysterious group and wakes up with a tiny bomb chip implanted at the base of her neck. She is forced to murder people as a test, which serves as the game’s tutorial. Because of her dark and violent past, she’s quite good at it. Finding her results satisfactory, Exit is now hired to become employed by the people who kidnapped her and sent on various missions where she has to murder her way to her goals.
Utilizing the popular retro graphics that have been common in horror games lately, PIGFACE has that typical low-poly look that might throw you back to your old PlayStation days. While not the most unique choice, we’d say this game uses the style perfectly, and it actually fits the overall gritty vibe of the game. There’s quite a lot of gore, though that too remains more pixel-y than graphic. Since PIGFACE is currently in Early Access, there are only a limited number of maps we can visit, but the ones that are there are quite huge and all have their own look, with promised future locations bringing even more visual variety.
However, we do believe the sound design of this game could use some work. In a vacuum, the music is actually decent. It picks up as you enter combat, with fast-based techno beats to keep you company while you blow off people’s heads. The problem is that once combat stops, the music stops. And right now, the game doesn’t seem to recognize when combat exactly is. Since the maps are big and enemies are spread around them, you often shoot a few guys and then retreat to consider your approach, causing the music to start and stop and start and stop constantly, repeating the same part of the soundtrack. We hope they fix this in the future. The sound effects and such, on the other hand, were all fine.
PIGFACE is a first-person shooter that allows you some freedom in how you approach each mission. You start in your van, where you can pick what weapons and other tools you want to take into the level. From the moment you step out of the vehicle, you’re dropped onto the map and need to work through your tasks in any way you see fit. Stealing vital information, blowing up drug labs, or killing a certain person, all could be objectives. You have two tasks that need to be completed for the mission to be considered a success. But each level also has a third, optional objective. If you complete this one, you’ll get a bonus payout.
Whether you want to go in guns blazing or want to try a more sneaky approach, it’s completely up to you. Just be mindful that you can only carry one melee weapon and one gun at a time. Though if you run out of bullets, you can always just grab the gun of somebody you shot. The game is decently hard, and you’ll fight enemies that only have wrenches themselves, but also others with machine guns and even snipers. Once you’ve finished a mission, you can always go back and replay it to still get the bonus objective later.
The money you earn can be spent on more weapons or upgrading your existing ones. Examples include adding a scope or laser sight to your guns. A silencer could help you be more sneaky. You can also buy other tools to bring along, like landmines, armor, or morphine to heal yourself with. Lastly, the title of the game might be a reference to the changeable masks you wear during your missions. Currently, there’s only one in the game, but later on, each mask you can wear will have a different effect.
Conclusion
PIGFACE is classic shooter fun. Gorey, fast-paced, chaotic, and with a lot of promising content yet to be added, we’re glad this indie dev got the chance to bring their first project to the masses. While there’s only about two hours of gameplay now, going by the roadmap they shared, a lot of great levels are in the works, so it could be interesting to get this game early rather than wait for hype to heighten the price.
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