izigame.me

I've never felt so conflicted about giving a positive review, so I'll start with the negative bits:
1. This game originated as an SCP fangame, and then the devs made a deal with the SCP wiki admins to "file off the serial numbers", so to speak, and eventually got the green light from them for the project. That unfortunately means that if you don't know the SCP lore (and we're talkin' some deep cuts, like Bright and Clef having a sword duel), there are large portions of the plot, especially the endgame, that make zero sense. That's really a shame, considering that the portions of the game that aren't SCP references depict an interesting cyberpunk world that's obviously had some thought put into it. I wish the game had done more with that.
2. The fighting system feels 'clunky', particularly when compared to ICEY and other games in the same 2D-using-3D platformer fighters or beat-em-ups. You do not get to cancel out of moves, which is a standard mechanic for the genre, and comboing is relatively difficult unless you're using the wildly overpowered twin blades.
3. Speaking of the twin blades, they're simply OP. Out of every single option you have in your arsenal, the twin blades are so much better than everything else (except for dealing with flying enemies, which is why you have a gun) that you'll be using them from the moment you get them up until the endgame. They're just objectively better than any other weapon type you could have in their slot.
4. There are trap options in the weapon skill upgrade trees that actually make the weapons more difficult to use because you'll accidentally do the input for the 'special attack' you don't want, get locked into the animation for it, and suffer the consequences.
5. The save point system, limited inventory, and expensive healing items are trying to evoke the old-school survival horror games in an action platformer. It doesn't work too well, especially given the next point:
6. Money is a massive obstacle to advancement, up until the point you can basically fish for infinite gold. The earlygame is brutally stingy with item drops and gold, but once you start fishing, you're swimming in dosh and can just buy the almost-best weapons and stack your inventory with healing items that used to be too expensive to waste, but are now basically soda pop.
7. The soundtrack is... decently ambient for the genre and tone of the game, but has no standout tracks that make you go "AWW YEAH! IT'S THAT TRACK FROM ANNO: MUTATIONEM!" Even the boss themes are kinda forgettable.
So why, you may ask, am I giving this game a thumbs up?
1. It has a wonderful aesthetic, blending 2D and 3D almost seamlessly, with art that strikes a very hard-to-hit balance between chunky pixels and expressive characters.
2. It's actually pretty fun (especially after you unlock the twinblades and can fish for infinite money), and the story and characters are interesting.
3. Its sidequests provide an interesting look into its cyberpunk setting, and sometimes have hilarious and unexpected difficulty spikes that keep you on your toes. You might have just sliced your way through a VERY TOP SECRET UNDERGROUND LAB with monsters running loose in it without breaking a sweat - and then you get your clock cleaned by a few ganger chumps in an alleyway on a sidequest.
4. Jill and her Boss from VA11HA11A show up as cameos, and actually cover your shifts at the family business (a cyberpunk bar, of course). And they fit right in with the visual style.
5. You get to fight SCP-076 TWICE, mop the floor with SCP-682, and go toe-to-toe with Dr. Clef's dragon form because why not? This is the flipside of my complaints about the game being an obvious SCP fangame with 'the serial numbers filed off': if you do get the references, it's funny as all get out to take on some of the baddest badasses in the SCP setting and fight them to a standstill or outright WIN.
6. The bosses have unique and interesting mechanics. Don't want to spoil too much here, but have you ever fought a skeletal giant crocodile on a platform floating atop sulfuric acid and it's actually a game mechanic where on the platform you and the giant crocodile are, because both of you have weight and tip the platform in various directions (often leading to someone getting a sulfuric acid bath. I hear it's good for the skin)? That's just one of the many bossfight gimmicks this game has on offer, and the rest are interesting in their own right.
7. The protagonist and deuteragonist are a classic 'buddy cop' or 'straight man and oddball comedy duo', and while it's a little grating at first, once you realize the style of comedy they're going for, it's great. Every stoic cyberpunk badass can use a comedic relief character.
8. The endings. It is a binary choice at the end, but both endings feel true to the characters, and the game allows you to load straight to that decision after getting one ending, which is a nice convenience, because you're going to want to see both.