Theatre of Doom

Bit easy, but pretty fun. I actually prefer Mouse + Keyboard as opposed to Controller for this.

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"Theatre of Doom" is yet another of literally hundreds of lazy amateur 2D retro top-down shooter/brawlers infesting Steam and lowering the average quality of all video games everywhere. This one is at least 3D rendered, but badly. "Theatre of Doom" is a badly made game where you're in a single/static arena level, it's a kill all the enemies/wave survival type game with no real plot or anything to do but kill NPCs... this is obviously an incredibly shallow experience. Developers typically only make this type of game because they're lazy or just not interested in adding story/plot/interesting gameplay, or they are just in the business of rushing out a minimum viable product to try gouge some cash from Steam gamers. There's a slew of problems with this game, some of them quite insulting to PC gamers, so let's get into it. The game features lazy low-polygon "retro" assets, making this look like a barely functional 3D game from the mid 2000s. It's unclear why the developers weren't able to arrange high quality, high polygon count contemporary assets for the game, and also irrelevant... what matters is that this looks bad as a result of their decisions, a compromise PC gamers shoul…

Just a fantastic top down, twin stick action game. Looks slick, sounds slick, and plays at a slower pace that manages to avoid being frustrating and is actually really fun. I'm not saying its a masterpeice, but its definitely worth the $10 risk to find out if you like it. It's atleast worth that to someone who's meh on it. I know I don't have much time on it, but the game is a small experience that just gets harder.

Theatre of Doom is a compact top-down action game built around speed, pressure, and the satisfaction of surviving increasingly chaotic encounters. Developed and published by Artery Games, it combines hack-and-slash aggression with twin-stick shooting and arcade-style combat, placing the player in hellish environments filled with demonic marionette puppets and vicious monsters. Rather than spending much time establishing an elaborate narrative, the experience concentrates on getting the player into combat quickly and keeping the intensity high. Its strange combination of fantasy horror and puppet-like enemies also gives the setting considerably more personality than its straightforward premise might initially suggest. Combat is where the game establishes its identity. Movement and positioning are constantly important because enemies can approach from several directions while attacks and other hazards reduce the amount of safe space available. The top-down perspective provides useful battlefield awareness, but it does not remove the pressure of deciding where to move next. There is a noticeable bullet-hell influence to the encounters, particularly when the screen becomes crowded, an…

Fun little twin-stick shooter with a 'lasso' variation where you lock-on to the enemy by clicking the right stick (ugh), then you're tethered to them making it easy to shoot or whack them with your sword/bat. Bonus Ecto if you finish them off with your sword. The levels are short and perfect for jumping-in for a few minutes at a time on the Steam Deck. Very addicting gameplay loop so you always want to finish just one more! Jumping is critical for hopping around the platforms to avoid getting surrounded. Keep mashing the jump button if you fall off the ledge to make it back. There are crates that block your path you can smash to gain pickup items. The broken crate debris stay scattered around and hinder your movement so you must jump around them to avoid or sweep them away with your bat. The controls are a little wonky, it's hard to lock-on consistently. The camera movement can also be wonky making it a little more challenging, and sometimes the lighting gets really dark making it more likely to fall off the edge. The top bar is not your health meter and no idea what it is. Your health is the little number next to the little blue heart. You collect red orbs and a white orb b…