Being ill, I couldn’t really focus on anything too hips deep, and was really fancying some kind of casual, zoned-out fun…and stumbled across Gigapocalypse in our ‘to be reviewed’ list. It was just the tonic.
A very different beast to my initial assumptions (I assumed it would be – effectively – an updated Rampage), Gigapocalypse draws from several genres, with a lightness of touch and an ever-present sense of humour that keeps things breezy and fun.
Choosing from one of three Gigas (giant monsters), you are sent through various time periods and must smash and destroy your way to the end of each stage, where a boss will also need to be dismantled to ensure your victory.
The real twist here is that you aren’t directly controlling your Giga, instead selecting various powers and abilities, as you target enemies with a reticule as your Giga automatically stomps ever forwards, leaving destruction in its wake.
This more passive approach really gives the game character and lends towards focusing on upgrading and unlocking from the myriad of selectables and skill trees that dot the game, as opposed to a more hands-on arcade approach. Everything has an instancy to it that makes gameplay and progress feel immensely satisfying, like a lightly simulated version of the Amiga classic Walker, with a dash of Rampage and a twist of King of the Monsters.
In-between missions, you’ll spend the upgrade points that you’ve collected. As well as building upon your monster’s basic abilities, you can build shrines and various areas that hugely boost their stats. There is also a ‘pet’ system, with a huge number of little helpers available that not only act as extra weapons but also again boost various stats, the collecting of these really does get addictive, allowing you to have up to five in effect at any time, making the on-screen action pretty chaotic!
The simplicity and accessibility that runs through Gigapocalypse really does give it a charm. The short scenes that play out as if your murderous procession is being captured on TV are genuinely funny, as are the Tamagotchi-Esque moments where you can feed, tickle or clean up after your Giga for extra experience points.
The whole game is designed to see you progress through smoothly, and the fun in upgrading your Giga and seeing which locations that you will be taking down next give a visceral thrill that keeps things fresh until the endgame, even though it’s all built on a pretty simple concept. Good.
With vibrant pixel art, great humour, wonderfully manic energy and some serious ‘one more go’ gameplay, Gigapocalypse was a real treat to discover and is perfect for short blasts of pure fun.
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