by Badger Nimahson
As a gamer when you hear the description “cooperative holypunk brawler” you can’t but be instantly intrigued. Add to the mix that you play as a Demon and their Hellhound companion and I’m not gonna lie I’m excited to play Obey Me
The intro in the press release for Obey Me only serves to fuel my interest and excitement even further:
Step into the middle of an endless war between the forces of heaven and hell as the lesser demon Vanessa Held and her trusty hellhound Monty. Fend off sacred and hellish armies for control over humankind’s souls while seeking to unravel a world-shattering conspiracy at the center of this eternal conflict.
Tear into macabre creatures, otherworldly foes, and deadly mechanical devices with Vanessa’s astral weapons. Make use of Monty’s infernal attacks to cut paths through enemy ranks before chaining together hellishly potent combos as Vanessa. Harness the souls of slain adversaries to unlock new skills, upgrades, and more to become an even more lethal duo.
Sounds amazing right? You can understand how excited I was to receive the review code for Obey Me. So I hope you can understand my disappointment when I say Obey Me really failed to deliver.
Don’t get me wrong Obey Me isn’t a bad game. it just doesn’t really do enough of anything to bring it anywhere near what the press release promises.
Gameplay
There are so many “little” problems with the gameplay in Obey Me that they soon compound into a feeling of “why am I wasting my time on this?”
The promise of chaining together hellishly potent combos actually translates to bashing the X button to be rewarded with sluggish slow combos that take so long to execute you usually end up getting hit.
The clunky execution of combos means you soon give up and the upgrade system and revert to pressing X three times before pressing dodge to warp away from attacks.
The addition of Secrets, lore and crystals on each level would usually had to the playability of a level but the complete lack of any level map of any kind soon means you just end up running around aimlessly and often find your self in areas you have already been.
The introduction of corruption that acts as a sort of pinball bumper is at first interesting and fun but due to the level lay out and the way they are placed soon becomes annoying and detrimental.
These “bumpers” along with plants on the floor that poison you as you step over them, flame barrels and enemies in a tight space soon means that gameplay is cramped and infuriating.
Graphics
The graphics in Obey Me are perfectly fine for a brawler although the constant re-use of assets makes the levels feel repetitive and boring.
There is without a doubt a good use of shadows and lighting to set an apocalyptic setting and honestly this works really well. It is just the gameplay and level design really let Obey Me down.
Conclusion
I was genuinely excited for Obey Me. I truly love a good brawler but this just really failed to deliver. Combos are sluggish, the level design is too tight and cramped and ultimately this means the upgrades are essentially negated as there is no way to competently use them.
I am honestly disappointed with Obey Me. Everything it promised sound great and enjoyable and fun. It wasn’t ground breaking or revolutionary it just sounded like a great game. it shouldn’t have been that difficult to implement these features competently and I feel that is why I am so jaded by Obey Me.
I quickly went from excitement in receiving the review code for Obey me to wondering why I was starting the game up again when I have so many more games to review.
obey me could have easily been so much more. It is a shame that we got a clunky, sluggish and badly designed game in the end.
Overall Score – 4/10
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