Included In: Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality, Bundle for Ukraine, Indie Bundle for Abortion Funds
Genre: Action
Pitch: An old-school beat-them-up inspired by motion pictures of the 1980s. Dodge, dash, and punch until the timer runs out or you die trying.
My expectations: If you're going to make '80s-nostalgia-sploitation, go all the way. I have as much affinity for that decade's pop culture as the next person, I suppose. What stands out most in the screenshots is all the movie poster in the background. I hope the references go a little deeper than "here is the famous poster from a famous movie."
And I could always do with a little less reverence toward Michael Jackson, Bill Murray, and the Landis family. Your nostalgia shouldn't make me go, "Huh, relatively, the Republican governor isn't so bad."
Review:
Remember when Herschel Walker said, “Vampires are some cool people,” before telling us that werewolves are even cooler? That wasn’t just politics. He cited sources. A werewolf can kill a vampire. There’s evidence a werewolf can surf on a car and is permitted to participate in high school athletics (unless the werewolf’s trans; that would be unfair, dangerous, and difficult to explain to my children).
An American Werewolf In LA takes liberties with these creatures. Werewolf movement is herky-jerky, actions are delayed, and the werewolf’s range is laughable. There’s this huge Teen Wolf sprite, with massive jaws and burly arms, but he can’t connect a hit without practically standing on his target.
Punches have a long wind-up, but the stiff animation doesn’t sell the power, especially when the wolf’s jacket blends into the background. Long, slow combos continue to play out after enemies are defeated, with no apparent way to cancel them.
Blocking is more effective than dodging, but since they’re both the same button, it’s difficult. Attempts to turn and block typically result in a dash straight into an oncoming attack or a block without turning.
Fighting feels bad, and there’s nothing to this game except fighting, sooooooo…
+ This isn't a typical brawler, where the goal is to defeat every enemy and then progress to the next wave. Instead, the objective is to survive long enough to run out the clock. I like that.
+ Big, bold sprites that never stop bobbing up and down. I like them.
+ I gave up on the second level, but assuming they continue to add new enemy types and environmental obstacles to each stage, you can expect a decent amount of variety and challenge along the road to L.A.
+ A limited set of mechanics that are flexible enough for both fast, masterful action and slow, careful strategy.
– Fighting feels bad, and it's all fighting.
– Stiff animations. Actions are difficult to read.
– Movement speed, action speed, jump height, button mapping, animation length, input buffer, projectile speed, hit-detection, character size, character shape, sprite/background contrast—these are boring nerd things that I don't think about when they're all in tune with one another. Fundamentally, mathematically, An American Werewolf In LA disagrees with itself.
– I'm putting a lot of blame on the visuals, but the audio doesn't sell the action or provide adequate feedback, either. The music is what someone thinks rockin', arcade-brawler music is, but it is not.
🧡🧡🤍🤍🤍
Bottom Line: There's a good chance you're looking at clips of An American Werewolf In LA, and thinking, "Well, of course Jake doesn't like it. He's bad at it!" You're right. I am bad at this game, but not this genre.
Give me a brawler with something to offer, and I'll learn to overcome every quirk. Give me a confused jumble of ill-fitting pieces and '80s nostalgia, and I'll recommend you trust me when I say it feels worse than it looks.
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