BeefArena

Do you like hurting other cows? *PETA has joined the chat* But don't worry, these are space alien cows, or cows mutated by aliens, or spliced with alien DNA, or who knows - they're just evil, alright? Its our job to cull the herd! Beefarena is an old-school romp into the days of yore when 'arena battle'-type games existed, most notably, Mario Bros. (not to be confused with Super Mario Bros. - this was the one with the POW power-up in the middle of the screen). The concept is simple - space cows have gotta die - and your job is to wipe out a certain number of them per map to proceed. You don't just kill them, but collect their steaks they drop behind, as each map has a prerequisite of the total number you need to collect to move forward. However, the stipulation is that you must collect those steaks fast, or else they rot, which spawns flies. Those flies can absolutely wreck your run if you don't pick up the steaks quickly enough, so it becomes a race against time to kill, dodge, and grab as much meat as you can (heh). The game can be best described as 'The Binding of Isaac' meets 'Mega Man' with that dash of 'Mario Bros.' mixed in for the arena style gameplay. The soundtrack is very much old school and has a very retro charm to it, and the sound effects have that nostalgic crunch to them much like classic Atari games. Despite it looking and feeling like a 'lost-in-time' retro game (I mean this in a good way!), it actually has some current roguelike elements to it - various powerups, gun types, and playing cards (collect 5 to get a powerup, which drops based on whether or not you get a high card, pair, etc. - a little homage to Balatro maybe?). Each run is different than the last, and there are various elite enemies to face, as well as bosses. Beefarena is not without its share of bugs, though. But as this is the dev's first game, its to be expected. No game is perfect, and I've run into a few - one of them game-breaking. But the dev is SUPER responsive and he had a fix made within 5 minutes of me mentioning it to him. Awesome stuff. Overall, this game puts me in a happy place. Nostalgic, difficult (it doesn't hold your hand), and absolute replayability. A great trip back in time to when games didn't need crazy graphics, orchestral scores, DLC and other filler to try to be fun. They just *were* fun. Thanks zinkem for giving us a beefy blast from the past! PS - 'Where's the Beef?' - if you know, you know :D

Great game - fun 2D action with good mechanics and impressive pixel-style graphics. Love it

Amazing offering from emerging game auteur zinkem. high quality, high class work that will stand the test of time as classic gameplay is classic gameplay. I will defeat the cows you watch

So... much... meat. Beef Arena is a blast. There is a surprising amount of depth, with satisfying rewards for skillful play. Chainsaw a cow or lasso God himself, pick your path.

Fun game with an interesting concept. Gotta love shooting away cows from space!! Enjoyed this game and looking forward to more challenges as I get further along.