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Genre: Action, Indie
Developer: Zombie Dynamics
Publisher: tinyBuild
Release Date: Jul 6, 2018
Edited by KnightAvenger
Let me just preface this review by saying that I am absolutely awful with horror games. Most people can seemingly take a few jump scares and horrifying moments on the chin. Me? I cower in fear, am too much of a chicken to attempt Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Outlast, etc.
On the other side of the coin, I consider myself generally decent at twin-stick top down shooters. I’ve logged hours upon hours en route to 100% achievement percentages in the Binding of Isaac games; I’ve carried on that experience into games like Enter the Gungeon and Nuclear Throne; hell, I’ve even beaten Mr. Shifty.
So, admittedly, I come into GARAGE: Bad Trip with a significant amount of trepidation. Developed by a Russian collective of developers called Zombie Dynamics and published, once again, by our friends at tinyBuild, it carries on in Hotline Miami’s tradition of top-down ultraviolence, with its own changes in gameplay pacing and a significant dose of horror.
Serving as a homage to horror B-movies, the game looks the part, as if it had just come out of VHS, dressed with various amounts of filters. The pixel graphics (for the most part) are awesome, and there’s a chimera dog featured on the main menu with some striking details. Playing as Butch, an ex-drug dealer, you wake up in the boot of a car and have to save a girl. Problem is, the road to hell (in this case) is paved with zombies. Lots and lots of zombies.
Minor story spoilers here.
Turns out, partway through the story, you’ll encounter a few videos in the style of old documentaries/films that explain where all these zombies come from — they’re the brainchild of a mad scientist using research funding in order to rise the undead as well as create grotesque amalgams of various sorts, including the two-headed dog that you see in the main menu.
Minor story spoilers end here.
Unlike most top down twin-stick games, GARAGE requires the player to possess finesse as well as shrewd resource management. Butch starts out with nothing but his fists and gradually continues to acquire more weaponry as the player progresses through the story. As mentioned above, GARAGE differs wildly from Hotline Miami in that, instead of encouraging a balls-to-the-wall mentality, it requires the player to be far more slow and methodical.
You cannot just expect to bumrush every single room and mow down everything, simply because you won’t even know WHEN the zombies will come. This is where Zombie Dynamics captures the tension so perfectly because, even though you know that there WILL be zombies, you just cannot seem to predict when a pack of zombies will suddenly lunge at you. I’m not going to lie, the jump scares that resulted seriously spooked me and made me reconsider my life choices; maybe I should have played a game which didn’t make me feel way out of my league.
As for resource management, the game excels at forcing the player to be careful as well. Because Butch has no passive health regeneration, the player is basically at the mercy of whatever resources he can find throughout the level. The player will learn a dodge roll technique, but he can only use it so many times before he runs out of stamina and needs to wait a while for that to recharge. There are beverages and snacks that restore a bit of health but cannot be stored for later; there are also medikits that heal more and can be stored but up to a certain maximum, and they are also generally quite rare. Ammo is pretty much the same story, although the game does a good job of never leaving you without enough resources during difficult boss fights.
Speaking of boss fights, they are glorious, and represent one of the few breaks in sheer scariness. Although the tension still remains high, any feelings of dread are replaced with the sheer adrenaline you get from kiting bosses that are just so surreal to fight. A motorcycle segment where you had to dodge explosive barrels was a welcome change of pace from kiting zombies instead of mowing them down with said motorcycle. Random videos that pop up in between some chapters also inject a semblance of cheesiness and comic relief (there was literally an advertisement that flashed a whole lot of butts). ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Where GARAGE falls short, though, is in the kicking function. F@%* rats. The only way to kill rats is to use the kick action, but not only does it cost stamina like dodge rolling, it’s also pretty clumsy, locks the character in place making him vulnerable to everything else, and feels generally iffy to land on the rats themselves. More often than not, you’ll likely lose a lot of health just dealing with a bunch of rabid rats.
Which neatly leads up to my final point, namely, that the save system is way too rigid and not helpful enough for my liking. It saves in predetermined locations, which kinda necessitates near-flawless play for each section. You’re either not going to pass the section or head into the next in poor shape. There’s also a glaring inability to quit mid-level and resume it later, which I, unfortunately, discovered when I ragequitted the game after the game suddenly sprang three GIANT rats on me and I was unable to pass that zone for minutes on end.
Pros:
- Aesthetic and ambiance masterfully executed
- Occasionally breaks the tension with some hilarious moments
- Captures the cheesy B-movie moments
- A competent twin stick game that requires careful resource management
Your mileage may vary:
- Not for the faint of heart
Cons:
- Kicking rats requires way too much precision
- Fixed save points; inability to save mid-chapter
K3W3L gives GARAGE: Bad Trip a Drastik Measure of 8.5 out of 10 (85).
If, like me, you’re particularly bad at handling horror games and jump scares, you probably won’t take to this quite so easily. However, if you relish top-down games with horror game elements, this game, priced at USD $14.99 on Steam, would be right up your alley.
Just like Mr. Shifty before it, incidentally, you can also pick up the game on the Switch if you prefer. Portable horror!
