Some of my favorite indie games of the past decade are the originalGunman Cliveand its sequel. They are very simple games, but they feature very tight and interesting level design and are fun to speedrun. Despite the fact that I can beat those titles in under 30 minutes without much effort now, I have dumped around 30 hours into the series across many of the platforms it is available on. My love for those games is one of the reasons I was quite excited whenGunman Clivecreator Bertil HorbergannouncedMechstermination Force.
Don’t get me wrong,Mechstermination Forceis different from Bertil’s previous two outings, as this is something more akin toContraorGunstar Heroesrather thanMega Man. That being said, this boss rush carries over many of the design tenants that made theGunman Clivegames so great, even if the controls can take some getting used to.
[pullquote]"[Mechstermination Force] carries over many of the design tenants that made theGunman Clivegames so great."[/pullquote]
While games where you continuously fight giant bosses likeExtinctioncan get repetitive quickly,Mechstermination Forcenever runs into that issue by going theShadow of the Colossusroute and keeping things limited but fresh. Every boss in the game is immensely different than the last, consistently keeping things engaging. While the MegaMech boss count may seem very low to some, every boss plays out like a level in itself.
MechsterminationForce’svariety of MegaMech fights will have you platforming nearly as much as you are shooting, so this title should still please fans of platformers likeCuphead, Gunman Clive,and its sequel. The platforming and controls in general though are somewhat floaty in this game. It was a bit of an adjustment at first, especially coming offGunman Clive HD Collectionfor Nintendo Switch. Some of the more precise jumps do become harder to pull off due to the floaty controls, but as I started to wrap up my playthrough, I ultimately got used to it.
Outside of the standard shooting abilities,Mechstermination Forceeventually gives players the ability to do things like double jump and hang onto metal surfaces. Like the standard jumping, these controls can feel a bit floaty at first, but I was able to get used to them. Compared toGunman Clive,Mechstermination Forceexpands and tries new things. While it can be an adjustment at first, once you get the hang of the controls you start to bask in the great level and boss design.
I want to stress once again just how each MegaMech fight still feels like the standard level of another platformer. WhereasCupheadmade the decision to lock boss fights to just one screen, the camera is not afraid to move inMechstermination Force, helping with the absolutely great sense of scale, even from a 2D perspective. While on paper every fight boils down to shooting weak spots to expose a vulnerable red bump that players can hit and destroy, how you do that can vary.
One level may have you fighting a MegaMech that isn’t too far off from a boss inGunman Clive, while the next could have you fighting to survive on a snake-like MegaMech or a fight just a few steps away from going into bullet-hell territory. The boss designs are increasingly impressive with each new fight and truly rely on players honing their skills as the game goes along. Co-op accentuates the experience even further, allowing you to share the fun, and the difficulty, with a friend.
The game’s difficulty is also nail-biting. Coupled with the aforementioned adjustment to the floaty controls and elongated boss fights on limited health, the earlier levels can teeter over the line into being frustrating. Fortunately, as players gain new abilities and upgrade their character, a balance is struck that givesMechstermination Forcethe perfect feel in terms of difficulty.
From a presentation standpoint,Mechstermination Forcenever struggled to run well for me and it looked good in both docked and handheld mode. For the most part, the playable characters and bosses all take advantage of strong, bright colors, so you always know what the target is and where the action is. It may lack the utterly amazing style of something likeCupheador the dedication to a visual theme likeGunman Clive, Mechstermination Force’sbright and colorful nature does help it stand out among the sea ofNindies on Switch.
The music is also incredibly strong. The sound design, while simple, does a good job at audibly indicating what is going on. WhileMechstermination Forcecan be immensely difficult at times, if nothing else, the soundtrack got me through these rougher patches.
[pullquote]“If you are looking for another run ‘n gun boss rush game for Nintendo Switch,Mechstermination Forceis definitely a great option."[/pullquote]
I haven’t fallen in love withMechstermination Forceas I did withGunman Clive,but that’s not to say it’s a bad game. In fact, it’s really good. While bosses can be excruciatingly difficult and controls can feel floaty, especially in the early game, the MegaMech fight’s design makes up for it in spades, making simple fights feel like what entire levels would in a standard platformer.
If you are looking for another run ‘n gun boss rush game for Nintendo Switch,Mechstermination Forceis definitely a great option and cements Hörberg Productions as one of the most consistently great Nindie developers. As the indie scene on Nintendo Switch gets more and more crowded, it is important to know which titles are worth your time. If you enjoyed some of the other titles I comparedMechstermination Forceto in the review, this new Switch exclusive is definitely worth checking out.
