🎨🖌️ Paint the Town Red | Xbox Series X | Review | 7.5/10 | "I’m a Big Fan of Voxels" 🎨🖌️ @SouthEastGames #IndieGames #GameDev

I’m a big fan of voxels. I’ve been introduced to some fantastic games over the last couple of years that made awesome use of them and Paint the Town Red can very easily be added to that list.

A first-person title with a heavy focus on melee combat, Paint the Town Red’s multiple game modes mean that it can be used for either brief blasts of bloody bashing bonkersness or delved into for a deeper, more RPG-ish experience. The one thing that really feels like it’s missing from the console versions is some sort of multiplayer mode. The game would really come to life with friends - although the PC version does offer it so perhaps it’s a possibility for consoles down the line.

The first mode I got stuck into was the ‘Scenarios’, these are single locations such as a dive bar, prison complex, pirate pub and the like where you get plonked in and - upon throwing the first punch - kick off a massive, MASSIVE brawl. Good.

The focus on melee action means that you’ll be dashing around and booting assailants out of the way / off piers and into water as you desperately look for the next weapon to cause further mayhem. From mugs and pint glasses to chairs, knives and shovels, most things can be picked up and used to clatter people on the bonce, you can even remove their heads in a clean slice if you get the angle just right, which is extremely satisfying and results in glorious spurts of voxel-gore. In fact, the facial / limb damage is quite advanced and people will continually, fiercely come at you until you finally expose their pink matter.

The goal in this mode is simply to be the last one standing. A tough ask when there are seventy guys and gals to beat to death - all of whom are out for blood and just as happy as you to throw a pool ball across the room at your face, or batter you across the back with a bass guitar as you insert a broken bottle into someone’s visage, special awareness is key.

There’s a real, simple appeal here to just diving in and kicking off, trying not to get cornered and taking out as many people as you can in the skirmish. The sheer number of modifiers on offer can add or subtract from the challenge as necessary and can even change the genre of the game from first-person brawler to top-down twin-stick shooter, very cool stuff if you are willing to experiment. The devs have handily included modifier combinations to create certain types of matches and moods.

The Arena mode throws waves of enemies at you and offers an endless mode where you will REALLY be tested, but the really interesting thing is a mode simply called ‘Beneath’.

In Beneath mode, you start off in a quiet facility, choosing your character from four available - each has different speeds, strengths and skills - before being lowered into a mysterious cave system from which there is no return. Each run will see you getting further and further towards the end, with permanent upgrades and unlockables assisting you with each attempt. I was completely hips-deep in this. The procedural generation means that each level of this RPG-styled section of Paint the Town Red has a new layout each time - but there will always be set events and areas in each part, such as a shop and an altar where you can offer blood for items and equipment. It is TOUGH and yet compulsive due to the smoothness of gameplay and a wonderfully oppressive atmosphere, thanks in no small part to the ominous sound design and horror-themed enemies. It’s a really well-rounded experience.

As you make your way through, you’ll come across a narrative wordlessly told, with only the scenes and items scattered around to help you piece events together. It’s a surprisingly effective approach and tonal shift, especially when compared to the more instant thrills of the Scenario mode, adding to the appeal and value of the game.

As I said at the start of this review, however, it does feel slightly handicapped by a lack of multiplayer and I really hope that local/online co-op is implemented down the line, if at all possible, I honestly can’t think of a time I’ve wanted co-op in a game more than this one and yearned for another player to share the experience with.

As it stands, the Cthulhu-esque Beneath mode will appeal to those who like an obtuse challenge and the Scenario / Arena modes are perfect for those who just want to get involved in a good, old-fashioned punch up.

Right, I’m off to throw a cutlass at a chef.