Like New 3: Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit (2012)

Good lord a lot of shit has happened since Jan 14th, which is when I heaped praise on Codgeguh. Not even worth getting into!! But also, this game has been blocking me because I don't know what to say about it, so...let's just figure out something to say.

Okay, first of all: listen to this above music while you read the post.

This game originally screwed me up because it doesn't play music or videos on the Steam Deck for some reason, and that's all I had at the time. I'm sure glad I waited because the music is definitely the best part of this game. That track only plays when you're near the healer so it's super easy to miss, but it turns out to be the best track in the game (that I heard). It's both chill and energetic, and I like it a lot.

So what the Hell is this game? It's a sort of...platformer...shooter....exploration...arcade game? With minigames, and gore? I mean like, I don't really know how to explain it so let's just talk about some of the highlights.

The game has a certain kind of humor - kind of Happy Tree Friends meets Disgaea. It's edgy but doesn't really push any boundaries, per se. Which isn't a criticism, it's just...sort of how it is.

Like, look at that button prompt, look at that objective. Those aren't funny exactly, but they contribute to an...irreverent mood, I suppose. It's fine.

The only way to progress in the little stages you tool around in is to kill special monsters. Each of these monsters is completely unique, and each gets their own encyclopedia entry. Some of these are actually funny!

Also, all of these special monsters are either actual boss fights, OR involve some bizarre minigame that's usually trivial and results in gore flying everywhere. Most of these minigames are also completely unique, which is a really cool touch. 

They're not brimming with creativity in terms of the actual interactions (usually just mash A or hit it with the right timing) but the art and concepts that go into them are really darn good.

So why did I quit this game and have nothing to say about it? Well....it doesn't really feel very good to play. It's mushy, as in "when I hit buttons on the controller it just doesn't feel that good." The momentum is all off in the movement, the shooting is imprecise yet generally trivial, the minigames are cute but not exactly complex, etc. etc. etc. 

So I assume the appeal here is primarily the vibes, dialogue, and goofiness. And it does deliver in spades! But the overall package is just not to my taste, so I don't feel the need to keep playing it.

I really do feel like the closest relation, vibes-wise, is Disgaea. But with the game being not-that-great, and the writing being much sparser (it's not an RPG after all), I just don't have anything carrying me forward. I love Disgaea, I love stupid stories about demons where their morality is all mixed up, I love edgy-but-stupid aesthetics, but...it's gotta have something else attached for me.

So yeah, I'm happy to not play this anymore! Sorry Hell Yeah!!

Something Funny

Another song! 

You know that an Edgy Game is gonna have "This badass goes somewhere cute and it turns out his weakness is flowers and love" and Hell Yeah! is no exception. I was listening to the soundtrack while writing this and this song came up, so I had to go figure out what the level looked like. It does not disappoint.

Something Weird

This game is made by a French studio. That's not the weird part. This is obviously French.

Actually there is no weird part, I'm really struggling with this one folks!! This game is kind of boring!!! Anyway the studio went under but still retains the rights to all their games so no sequel for you. This is all we're gonna get.

Something Interesting

I GOT NOTHING im dyin out here oh god

oh god

Anyway if you want a game that's like this but, also, better in every way, I'd recommend Steamworld Dig 2. And don't worry: that studio is struggling and likely to go out of business soon too. Not a great time to be in games, if you like to continue being in games.