Developer: Merge Games
Publisher: Merge Games
Platform: Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PC
Slaycation Paradise – Review
Everybody needs a vacation once in a while, but what if a regular, relaxing day at the beach just doesn’t cut it? Well, the tourists in Slaycation Paradise only care for one thing and that is killing as many things as possible. With the invention of inter-dimensional travel, your journeys won’t be limited to the already overcrowded tourist attractions back on Earth. Step inside the portal, get teleported to a dying Alternate Earth, and make sure to blast your way through waves of enemies while bringing home many fun souvenirs from your excursions.
Story
It was the 60s and dimensional travel was the new big thing. The world powers vied to be the first to perfect it and the great portal race was on. Across infinite worlds, there was wealth, knowledge, and advanced technologies, all ours for the taking. This was the golden age of freelance privateering but subverters and malefactors labeled it an “over-indulgence” and the ECA ban was enacted. In the name of “morality”, Dimensional Travel was limited to dead or dying Alternate Earths. This brought a new golden age of travel, leisure, and personal improvements. Slaycation Paradise is the company that offers an enticing selection of Alternate Earth annihilation scenarios for you and your family to enjoy.
The story is told to us in the intro cinematic and this is as far as the story will go. We find ourselves as an unnamed father who is on a family holiday with his wife and kids. As they did not want to wait, they already went exploring the other dimensions on their own, and now you must find them and enjoy the family vacation together.
Graphics
Visually the game looks amazing and although the action is seen from an isometric point of view, it still makes for a highly enjoyable and sometimes even fourth-wall-breaking experience. When engaging in combat, you’ll sometimes kill someone so hard that body parts will fly against the camera and stick on there, leaving some stains or even remaining on there for a short while. Aesthetically the game looks like a mixture of 1960s Americana but in a futuristic setting. Each location also adds its own mixed vibes, as there are alternate worlds that are sometimes older or newer than our current world. You can also clearly see everything displayed right in front of you, from your ammo count, to the range of the teleporter and the grid on which you can place your defenses. When the inevitable happens, and you need to pass through a small alleyway, the camera will adjust by cutting out the things that block your view.
Sound
A fun, fast-paced shooter needs a great soundtrack to match and this is the case for Slaycation Paradise. During your off-time in the lobby, some typical, calm lobby music plays in the background, but once you step into the teleporter, the game is on. Right before jumping into the action, the music will gradually build up and unleash once you start mowing down the many inhabitants of the dying Alternate Earth. This will put you in a good mood until your trip is over. The weapons themselves sound great for an arcade shooter, and the vast plethora of different enemies all come with unique-sounding attacks. Sadly, the lack of voiced characters is a missed opportunity, as you have a few dialogue options for each interaction and it would have been amazing had these been voiced.
Gameplay
Slaycation Paradise is a top-down action shooter with tower defense elements. It is a simple but fun game to enjoy in between other large games as the missions are rather short each time within a repetitive setting. Simply put, you enter a world, get a few minutes to do as much damage as possible, loot the things you like, and get the frick out of there. In total there are five different locations, each with its own unique map layout, enemies, and theme. For example, there is an underground metro filled with Luchadores or Amsterdam where living sex dolls attack you with sperm. It seems that no subject is too harsh for the developers, and it does give a slight wink to the PlayStation One classic Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012.
Your goal each time is to safely extract from the location, which is done by staying near the exit portal but it is easier said than done. The large energy generated from said portal attracts every being in the near vicinity and they all have one goal: to eat you alive. Rest assured that you won’t have to rely solely on your weapons. Over the whole map, you are able to build defenses like traps, turrets, and walls. You’ll have to collect scraps by scavenging the many dumpsters and containers that were left untouched in this realm, so you’ll be able to afford to build them. These builds will help you to keep the threat at bay, just make sure not to miss your extraction window when you are fighting near the portal.
Each mission has bonus goals to complete. These goals give you extra XP that you can use to build newfound blueprints for new weapons or invest in perks. In order to progress to better locations, you’ll need to upgrade your boarding pass. Just like in real life, this will come at a cost but is worth it in the long run, as it also unlocks more perks to use. As a real tourist, you will find many interesting spots all over the place. By collecting these curiosities, you will get stamps on your sightseer card and with this card, you can collect bonuses at the rewards kiosk. So, get on exploring and killing but just don’t forget to pack your pistol and sunscreen. Don’t worry if the fun ultimately takes its toll on you, the technology is so advanced that upon death, your body will be reconstructed at a small fee deduced from your gains. Therefore the game doesn’t really have a high difficulty curve but some missions are much tougher than others.
Conclusion
Slaycation Paradise is a fun title that will last you a few hours or is great to play as a small in-between title just for relaxing. The simple controls and top-down action makes for a pleasant experience, and the goofiness of the whole package is just enjoyable from the beginning until the end. The graphics look really great and the music will keep you engaged in the few minutes you are roaming the dangerous roads of an alternate dying Earth. There are enough weapons to find and skills to unlock to have a goal in mind, but as there are only five missions and every run feels a bit the same, it could become boring after a long sitting. Even so, the title is still a lot of fun.
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