Desecrators

Buggy, some of the random levels can leave things in impossible to reach in areas. No clip or cheat commands to fix it. Details: In the level Ice Comet Rivals Collect, a pillar is directly in the middle of a hallway that the ship is required to travel through. The ship cannot pass on either side of the pillar. Although the objective area is visible farther down the hallway past the pillar, the ship repeatedly bounces off the narrow gaps around the pillar. The openings are just wide enough to see through, but even after rolling and forcing the ship toward it it is not wide enough to pass through and reach the objective areas ahead. I replayed the level a second time, and the pillar was still present. After ramming into the walls and spinning around for several minutes, I eventually managed to squeeze through a tiny gap. This appears to be an edge case involving how the game calculates the ship’s collision size versus the actual width of the opening.

Desecrators is a game that just throws you right into it. Drop into a randomly generated rat’s nest of a space station, grab the goods, find a secret or two or twelve, and leave. The rinkydink starting weapon won’t cut it on its own, so find some power upgrades or other tools of the trade. Mines, missiles, and exopods come in handy because the opposition doesn’t play nice. Neither do you. You are going to get ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ jumped. Around every corner there are threats waiting to send you back to the game over screen at blinding speeds. Turrets, automated drones, and tanks will make sure you sorely regret every overambitious push. A mixture of good movement, situational awareness, and the devil’s luck are all part and parcel of a winning strategy. Make sure to check your six; there’s a rearview mirror for a reason. Desecrators has that 6th generation gaming ambience dialed in. Cold, ominous, eerie corridors. The dull, thrumming echo of miscellaneous sci-fi tech. A flare sent deep into a cavernous chamber. Chunky textures and thumpy visual effects. Soft beeps and blips that remind me of submarines. The same disquieting vibe that lures players back to Metroid Prime, System Shock 2, and Halo CE over and over again. In later dives, enemy NPC’s with player loadouts will invade your run. Every fight with another Desecrator is scrappy and desperate. Missiles flying every which way, LMG rounds tracing wide arcs, mines drifting in zero-G. It’s like two wasps fighting inside an empty coke can. Between each dive, passives, weapon upgrades, and item slots are available for purchase. The randomized nature of the passives undercuts some of the strategy here–hard to build towards a certain playstyle in a run if RNG isn’t kind. Increasing my flamethrower ammo capacity doesn’t help me if I don’t have a flamethrower. The utility of some of the passives is also dubious at best. I don’t see the purpose of being able to turn 20% faster, especially not for that price. Nitpicks aside, Desecrators is a great time. It’s got that shooter game feel pizazz that pulls me back for another attempt. Turning drones into drifting scrap and charred metal is what it’s all about. The feeling of power when your fire rate jumps is immense–it’s hard to overstate how dramatic the jump from power level 1 to 3 is. It’s a leaky faucet to a fire house. Taking it piece by piece, Desecrators is made up of solid components. Addicting core loop with some progression quibbles. Solid secret hunting and boss encounters. Pants-♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ scary NPC invasions. Surprisingly easy to navigate. Great with a friend or three. And, of course, those vibes. Don’t forget your flares. Watch your back.