Calcium Contract

Magic weapon with a quiet sound, no felt impact and damage from shots.

The Boomer Shooter is not only back, it's all over the place. We're approaching oversaturation (or perhaps we're there already, depending who you ask), and there's a lot out today that has no aspiration beyond being Competent, or at best Solid. And while mediocrity is a constant fear when entering the maws of a new first person rocket dodger, I can safely say that Calcium Contract is not a game capable of mediocrity. It's not just a good game - it's a great one. Once we're past the charming marshmallow exterior, Calcium Contract hides a beautiful sugary center. From the moment you start playing, you will understand that this game was made by someone who doesn't just like the genre, but loves it; someone invested enough in the space to have very specific and personal preferences for how it should look, and who sat down to make a game that reflects all of that. This is clear from many small, but important, decisions. For example, "Pistol Starting" is something that is typically an extra challenge for veteran players in these games (and many games don't even support it, much to my chagrin); "Scythe Start" is the only mode of play in Calcium Contract. You start each level with nothing but your scythe and 100 HP; this means you're going to be spending every level keeping an eye out for every tool and resource you can get your hands on, and that you'll always be excited to get your hands back on each of the weapons. This is a clear statement on how each level is its own self-contained puzzle, and how resources are meant to be used rather than hoarded. The weapons, similarly, show a loving craft that could only come from a designer that understands how to make engagements interesting. The arsenal comes it at a compact 5 items, and on first blush all of them can be pretty clearly compared to the classic boomshoot tropes: Your shotgun, your super shotgun, your plasma gun. But this limited roster of weapons still provides a familiar-yet-unique effect, their superficially traditional function hiding additional complexities. For just one example, your basic shotgun fires 3 hitscan rays with pinpoint accuracy, which can also be bounced around corners if the angle isn't too sharp. The three rays are arranged in a horizontal line, one spaced out so that only one beam will hit targets at long distance, but can reliable hit with two or even all three at close range. As a result, the weapon both functions as a shotgun, capable of dealing heavy damage up close and potentially hitting multiple targets at once; but also as a pinpoint-accurate railgun, allowing you to fight at any range, with the spread actually helping to land shot more reliably on those jerk cats at a distance. It is, in a word, inspired - and all of the weapons in the game are given the same thought and attention. The 5-entry roster (plus a funky devoted-button grenade, which is its own entire blog post of interesting design) is deceptive, then; the low weapon count means that it's easy for you to decide which one to pull out in the moment, and their ability to be flexible while still solidly holding a niche makes keeps them interesting to plan around, exciting to find, and plain old satisfying to use. The lack of boring "basic" options or repeating functionalities makes for a gratifying tactical consideration, further amplified by the fact that not every weapon can be found in every level, giving you further chance to really appreciate the nuances of the more common weapons without losing appreciation for the rarer, more funky tools. Enemy design is in a similar spot: while many foes, especially early ones, have pretty clear parallels in the genre, their unique quirks make for a well-rounded and interesting roster, easily capable of creating a variety of interesting scenarios unique to this game. Take for example the humble Sniper Cat, an annoyingly effective enemy you will encounter early on. It shambles around slowly like a Doom Zombie, and its attack consists of a classic red sniper line that will go off after a few seconds, unless you break line of sight or hitstun the sniper. But then, a simple but exciting addition: if a sniper cat cannot draw line of sight on you , but knows it [i]could[/i] get a shot off, it has a jetpack allowing it to fly straight up until it has a good shot on you. This simple extra feature does so much to make the enemy not only feel unique and recognizable, but also make dealing with it feel not quite like any other game you've seen, while still being intuitive and even interactive (who doesn't love starting infights?). And the rest of the bestiary, an impressively stocked one at that, is full of such interesting little tweaks to familiar formulas: Sure, you've seen the fast-moving, hard-hitting melee runners in games before... but what if they can also climb walls to get at you? What if the Hell Baron not only fired three shots at once, but also knew how to lead its aim? And that's not getting into the game's more original foes, which have some very new and exciting ways to make your life heck (positive). I could keep going for at least twice as long as I already have, in an effort to convey just how clever and enjoyable this game is. I have not even dipped into the whole Rewind mechanic, which is a delightful way of letting people choose how hard they want their game to be (on top of existing difficulty levels). Or the Treasure Rooster, a jerk who exists exclusively to provide a unique and interesting additional challenge for players trying to get 100% completion of each level. Or, perhaps controversially, how the game does not employ the traditional secret hunting as a part of level completion statistics... but it does provide an additional type of Thing to keep an eye out for, if you want to play it that way, without ever actually resorting to wall humping. I also won't spend much time on the art and the music, other than to say that I think they're just perfect. The game aims to evoke an extremely specific style, and I think it succeeds at doing so completely. With a theoretically messy aesthetic and seemingly very limited sound font, the game surprises me again and again with just how beautiful it can be, and just how much the music is a bop. My only real criticism is that some of the levels are, at times, easy to get lost in. There is a very good Doom-style Automap, and it can often help you if you get stuck; but if you missed a small pastel-colored key, an item tricky to spot mid-panicked gunfight, you might take a moment before you actually spot it. It's not a terrible problem, as the majority of the levels flow quite well, and even at my most stuck it took less than two minutes of running around to find the dang thing; but it did happen to me often enough that I feel like I should mention it. The only other knock I can possibly think of against it is that, at time of writing, there is no level editor. There is, however, a quite good infinite/rogue-ish mode, which does provide a lot of replay value - but I do hope that a true editor will manifest at some point, because this is one of the few games where the canvas is fruitful, the palette rich; and I am excited to see what some creative folks could do with it. But this is not a deal breaker, and ultimately I understand that the game might not be popular enough to make such an investment of effort worth it. Calcium Contract is easily the most successful and worthwhile oldschool shooter I've played in a good while. It is a complete, beautiful and satisfying experience through-and-through. If you have any interest in boomshoots, I think you'll find something to love; and if you have an interest in game design, especially that of shooters, I believe you owe it to yourself to try it and see just how much new, interesting, and joyful can be made in the space when the developer has a vision, and the know-how to make it sing.

Честно сказать мне не понятно, откуда у этой игры столько положительных отзывов. Могу предположить, что большинство людей приобретших эту игру заранее знали, что они приобретают. Я понимал, конечно, что это бумер-шутер, однако мои ожидания заключались в том, что я планировал увидеть некую вариацию на современные классические игры, а не в прямом смысле - FPS игру конца 90-ых - начала 2000-ых без каких-либо изменений с учётом современных реалий. Другими словами, перед нами игра 25 летней давности, а не современный аналог, современная интерпретация классики – Doom/Quake. Это всё означает, что игра ориентирована на тех игроков, кому интересна непосредственно классика, а не современная её интерпретация. Хотя я положительно отношусь к классике и даже сегодня получаю удовольствие от таких классических FPS боевиков как первый Half-Life, Turok и Duke Nukem 3D, я всё же не могу назвать эти игры моими любимыми. В эти игры всё ещё приятно играть, но хочется увидеть переосмысление классики, т.е. новые игры с новыми механиками, пусть и с использованием старого графического движка или модифицированного старого графического движка. В общем, мне интересны современные интерпретации классических шутеров такие как Ion Fury, Project Warlock или HROT. Я это всё к тому, что возможно, это просто не моя игра, не для меня она создавалась. Перейдём к главной проблеме или к тому, что больше всего мне не понравилось в этой игре и что и определило моё отношение к ней. Итак, оружие в игре. Впрочем, можно сказать более широко: отстрел или перестрелки с противниками. Так вот, перестреливаться с противниками или отстреливать противников здесь скучно и скучно достаточно сильно. Во-первых, у нас имеется 5 видов оружия, но используем мы в основном только 3-4. Из этих трёх-четырёх у нас имеется некий аналог пистолета или винтовки, т.е. оружие, которое стреляет достаточно медленно, перерывы между выстрелами достаточно большие (длительные). Для бумерского-шутера это довольно странно и необычно и поэтому воспринимается это очень…эээ…дубово. Это оружие ощущается как винтовка, которая стреляет по одному патрону, но которую при этом нужно каждый раз перезаряжать. Здесь, конечно, нет перезарядки, но есть именно такое ощущение, ощущение нудной стрельбы по противникам у которых полно жизней из-за чего перестрелка с противниками превращается в нудную и тягучую задачу. Далее, у нас имеется что-то типа автомата или пулемёта, который в этой игре представлен в виде некого предмета который стреляет костями, т.е. патроны в виде костей, которые, попадая по противнику, отскакивают под прямым углом (идея эта интересна, да). Потом у нас идёт аналог дробовика с очень большим разбросом (который к тому же станит противников) и заканчивается всё это что-то типа ракетницей или аналогом РПГ. Да, есть ещё коса, но игрок не часто будет использовать этот тип оружия, впрочем, возможно игроки, которые играют в такие типы игр более успешно, чем я смогут найти этому оружию применение. Что тут важно, так это то, как оружие стреляет. Ну, ok, костяной автомат и аналог ракетницы ещё неплохо функционируют и их относительно приятно использовать, но вот дробовик и тем более пистолет/ружьё, которое стреляет тройственным патроном, использовать очень и очень скучно, главным образом из-за его слабой эффективности. И дробовик и вот этот второй тип вооружения довольно малоэффективные из-за чего бои с врагами затягиваются на непозволительное для бумер-шутера время. Всё это очень долго и нудно. Нудно ещё и потому, что стрелять из всего оружия, что представлено в игре, просто скучно (лично мне). Нет каких-то особых эффектов от стрельбы, да и оружие ощущается как какое-то игрушечное. Мне можно возразить, что оружие тут реализовано в соответствии с тем общим стилем, которое используется в игре. Это да, но это не решает проблему «скучного оружия» или «скучной стрельбы». Если оружие тут скучное, стрелять из которого очень не интересно и не весело, то вот противники тут довольно интересные. Действительно редко когда можно увидеть в играх подобного жанра совершенно разных противников, но не в смысле их внешнего вида, а в смысле их поведения. Вот тут противники на редкость интересные и разные именно в плане своего поведения. Да, есть обычные юниты, которые просто стреляют по нам или вот летающие противники, которые так же пытаются попасть по нам, но есть в игре также противники, который являются как бы поддержкой, саппортом. К примеру, есть противники, которые начинают телепортировать окружающих юнитов туда-сюда из-за чего становится трудно не только уворачиваться от вражеских снарядов, не только контролировать место нахождения противников, но и стрелять в них. Ещё секунду назад враг был прямо у тебя перед носом, а буквально через секунду, он уже у тебя за спиной или атакует с фланга. Проблем не возникает если перед нами всего лишь парочка обычных противников, самых простых юнитов, но когда под эти чары попадает штук пять летающих, шарообразных противников, которые очень сильно бьют главного героя, то бой становится более интенсивным ведь эти пять противников начинают не зависимо друг от друга пропадать и появляться в рандомных местах (нет, не всей карты, а лишь небольшого участка, но и этого достаточно чтобы ввести в замешательство игрока). Другой тип противника просто воскрешает поверженных игроком юнитов. Третий тип врагов посылают на игрока огненные волны, которые медленно стелются по земле в направлении игрока. Это может показаться простой задачей, увернуться от такой волны, но если таких противников больше двух и мы ещё к этому находимся в туннеле, то увернуться от такой обжигающей волны становится намного сложнее, особенно учитывая очень ограниченные способности по прыжкам. Так же снайперы тут забавно реализованы. В общем, враги в этой игре уникальные и интересные. Если бы их было бы интересно уничтожать, то игра бы была бы интересной. А в чём вообще фишка всей игры? Вот этого я так и не понял. Я согласен с одним отзывом, что в этой игре скорее мемешные противники и поэтому, с моей точки зрения, вся игра является как бы шуткой или одним большим мемом. У меня такое чувство, что разработчик поспорил с кем-то, что ему удастся не только создать, но и продать игру-мем основанную на Doom. Если Doom это кровавый FPS боевик, то Calcium Contract является мемным FPS боевиком с яркой палитрой и как бы намёками на некоторые другие вещи (не будем уходить тут в конкретику по понятным причинам). В общем, я не против мемной игры, если в эту игру интересно играть, особенно если интересны основные её элементы (стрельба, к примеру). Здесь же... просто скучно. Всё же FPS боевик должен визуально взрываться, а он тут этого не делает, хотя мог бы, особенно учитывая выбранный стиль. Ах, ну и да, игра явно не стоит 600 р., красная цена – не более 100-200 р. Как итог: 3 из 5 или скорее не понравилась, чем понравилась.

No juego mucho Doom, pero este me está encantando, tiene una pequeña historia, donde somos una parca cazando a una serpiente que se rebela a la ley de que todo debe morir. La estética de plastilina que me copa, se ve lindo. Aparte, la dificultad es media, con una gran ayudita, y es que tenemos una mecánica de time rewind, por lo que, si nos matan o cualquier cosa, podemos volver al punto exacto que queramos. Como punto negativo, hay re poca variedad de armas, pero es un aspecto menor, creo, considerando que tiene muchos niveles, grandes, variados, así como un modo score-attack con rankings online. Muy bueno, y en descuento, aún más.

Another case in which reviews would benefit from a "Maybe" button: Calcium Contract is a competent Doom mod, sure, but when you price yourself on par with Hollow Knight "competent" isn't enough. There's interesting ideas in there, but they don't get to shine: your basic melee weapon can deflect projectiles with a well timed strike but even under ideal conditions you're better off running up to the enemy and hitting them directly, your basic ranged weapon can ricochet but gets no bonus for doing so, you can rewind time a la Prince of Persia but there's so little need for it I went through half the game before realizing I had such power...

I don't need to have played much to know that Calcium Contract is the definition of "nifty neato" and "whimsical". Presumably created by the same developer behind Hrot, under a different name for whatever reason, Calcium Contract sees you assume the role of a Grim Reaper, charged with the task of putting down the "Bird Serpent" (who looks to be made of pompom puff balls and a chicken head). He has defied the "Calcium Order" and the "Contract", which all living creatures must abide by... that they must one day die. He's mounting some sort of insurrection against this natural world order, and it's your job to ensure his mortality. This is a fairly standard "total conversion" mod for DOOM, although it resembles DOOM more closely than other recent examples. This is what I would describe as a DOOM clone, honestly. If you want the short version, while it plays like DOOM for the most part, there is enough here that makes it interesting to play. Here it is in broad strokes. - Quirky visuals - Creative weapon redesigns, plus grenades that seem to freeze, if not outright kill enemies - You can deflect projectiles with your scythe - Mechanically unique enemies to set it apart from DOOM - 20ish brief levels - Proc-gen horde mode with gameplay modifiers - Very little resource management, each level resets health and weapons ("pistol starts") - No secrets, only runaway "treasure" monsters to kill before they vanish, and clocks to smash. - The ability to manually rewind your progress through a level, and try again - Buy if you love a good, old-fashioned FPS that keeps things simple and fun, preferably on sale. Now, the long version. The visual style is very arts and crafts, creative and strange. Enemies look to be made of clay, and as previously stated, the Bird Serpent is a strange creation akin to some child's feverish dreams. The game certainly isn't in a modern style, but it has a real idiosyncratic appeal that only the odd little indie brain could conjure up today. The weapons function similarly to DOOM's arsenal, but have strange redesigns featuring three funny little floating skulls to help you out. They really are quite cute. The animations are wonderful but the sound effects are pretty dinky, which I suppose plays along with the sort of silly skeleton type vibe going on here. The weapons may be more or less be DOOM guns, but the enemies have a little more going on. You've got jet-pack wearing sniper cats and jesters who teleport their allies around only to disappear in a puff of poison smoke. You've got Pinky equivalents in the absolutely YOLKED- I mean YOKED Roosters who can scale walls. You've got little salamander wizards who create walls of flame. And those are enemies found in only the first few levels. Even those who resemble DOOM enemies have something a little different about them. Judging by the trailers, encounters seem to really be pushing a sort of chaos and almost bullet-hell type of experience, and a lot of time must have gone into making the game's combat feel distinct, even if the weapons are familiar. That's really the selling point for me, funky visuals aside, it's the creative reinterpretation of the classic DOOM formula. It's why I buy and play these games, and it's what keeps the genre so fun and interesting as it has evolved over the decades. I think Calcium Contract is a fine game. If you're thinking of purchasing this game under the false impression that this is some Selaco-level project, you are deluded. There are certainly more ambitious projects, paid or free, but none of that matters. Calcium Contract is an interesting little variation on the classic DOOM formula, quite literally keeping it old-school, and that's the point. My experience thus far with this game is that it reminds me of the FPS genre's humble roots. Back when Heretic was basically more DOOM with a fantasy coat of paint, back when DOOM modding was in its infancy. It reminds me, too, of more child-friendly DOOM mods, such as Chex Quest or The Adventures of Square. Sometimes kickin' back with an old FPS, blastin' critters for an evening is all a Boomer Shooter needs to be. I'd actually really recommend this game as an introduction to anyone looking to get into FPS games, particularly kids. It's very approachable, fun, and the violence is not really graphic at all. Levels aren't too complex, visuals are colorful and communicative, and there's no need to worry about secret hunting. Plus all the weird monster animal guys will either be endlessly amusing to the kiddies or keep them up at night. (Oh, the memories to be made!) I do think the base price is a little more than what this game should be going for. $16 is a little more than what I think this is worth, and I'd recommend getting it on sale. I could see $9 or $10 being a more suitable base price, but it's not my call to make. I paid $4 for this and I think I'll more than get my money's worth once I'm finished.

I picked it up for the awesome aesthetic. The gameplay, however, gets stale pretty quickly. If you've played the OG DOOM trilogy then you already know what's waiting for you, except DOOM has a better movement and better map, and it's more inviting to discover secrets. In short, the game looks great but it's kind of boring. I don't regret picking it up, but I could've lived without it.

I would pick mixed if I could. I got it on sale, but it's not worth full price. Neat game, but repetitive with the limited weapon and enemies. It's basically doom swap outs with a cool art style. I'll finish it eventually

[h3]Um DOOM com vibe de Vila Sésamo protagonizado por uma caveira hippie que parece ter saído do Midsommar[/h3] Sim, essa é a melhor descrição possível que eu posso dar desse jogo. Calcium Contract é um jogo bem agradável de jogar, especialmente para quem gosta do estilo boomer-shooter. Ele não é uma "pérola", mas definitivamente se destaca com sua personalidade singular e marcante. Tudo nele é coloridinho, bonito, animado e engraçadinho, incluindo as músicas e os sound effects - o que é bem estranho de acostumar no começo, já que absolutamente todo jogo no estilo possui sons que destacam seu caráter de ação. Mas aqui não. As músicas aqui são calmas e animadinhas e as armas fazem sons de brinquedinhos, o que, por mais estranho que seja por não ter impacto, acaba sendo simpático pq encaixa muito bem na vibe do jogo. Algo que é digno de mencionar é que ele possui várias mecânicas e ideias únicas, tanto nas armas (onde, das 5 armas presentes no jogo, apenas duas possuem munição limitada) quanto nos inimigos. O jogo possui inimigos ofensivos e suportes e, cara, eles são MUITO criativos - especialmente os suportes. Como exemplo, não posso deixar de mencionar o inimigo-relógio, que pode te tacar um debuff que faz todos os inimigos ficarem mais rápidos por um tempo ou pode fazer com que todos os inimigos em volta dele te ataquem ao mesmo tempo, no ritmo das batidas do relógio dele. ISSO É MUITO DAHORA! A única coisa que me incomodou no jogo - algo mais por gosto pessoal e costume - é que ele não possui segredos no mapa. Não há paredes secretas nem nada do tipo. O único "segredo" existente no jogo são inimigos dourados que carregam tesouros, que precisam ser eliminados rápido antes que fujam e desapareçam. É divertido caçar esses inimigos, mas não ter umas áreas secretas pelo mapa de um boomer-shooter é algo... sei lá, é como se fosse um pecado. Mas no geral é uma experiência que vale a pena para quem aprecia esse estilo de jogos. Calcium Contract é bem rápido de zerar - e tem um sistema de "voltar no tempo", para caso você queira refazer algum movimento (ou tentar pegar o inimigo-tesouro antes que ele escape), então é bem tranquilo. Mas deixo avisado que a dificuldade dele escala bastante perto do final. O jogo SABE como usar os inimigos dele pra te ferrar lindamente, e ele VAI usar os inimigos dele pra te ferrar lindamente, então estejam preparados!

Neat old school style shooter. I enjoyed the bonkers aesthetic and tone. Felt a bit like Grim Fantango meets Doom. More levels than I anticipated and there's a fair deal of challenge here to work up through if you're into playing shooters like this till you breeze through it's upper difficulty.