I normally try to start a review with some witty take, but I’m not sure I have it in me for Extraneum, mostly because it does not deserve that kind of treatment. Less so to say that the game is not worth the time, more because it is the kind of title that simply is.
Extraneum is quite overlooked. It is an extremely competent Wolfenlike title, in that it operates entirely on a single plane and lacks the ability to look up and down. There is height and depth to the levels, but they don’t come into play. It plays a lot like a number of its peers, such as Wizordum, Project Warlock or Exophobia with the tile based world lacking anything beyond right angles, but tends to keep things far more simple in the core gameplay of those other titles. In this regard it may seem to be a little to simple for most folks, but impresses with the fact it is so well executed in its intentions that it’ll likely pull you in and discover there is a lot more depth under the surface than anticipated.
To clear out an almost irrelevant point: plot wise there is nothing really to talk about. Mad scientist makes virus that changes people into his horde of violent footsoldiers along with a bunch of weird mutants. There are post chapter screen dumps to detail things, but it is just you going “I’m going to kill the mad scientist!” That said, this is somewhat akin to Carmack’s admission that games have stories and he is watching porn, and that is not what you come to these things for. You come for the shooting, level exploration and (in a lot of boomshoot cases) the vibe from the aesthetics.
The aesthetics here are a little off the beaten path of most contemporaries. The visuals have a very clear pixel art style that does not match any one era of gaming. The nearest comparison may well be the Metroidvania like Exophobia, but here there are more colours. It is like an alternative reality, where there was a psydo-3D capable gameboy that came out in 1997, but where Exophobia was from the limited, almost monochrome first version, Extraneum is for the follow up in 2000. This is not to say it looks bad, but I feel this would likely be very at home on a Steam Deck.
Gameplay wise, the core of it is very, very simplistic. You have a centered weapon sprite that you use to shoot the many, many enemies that come at you from all angles as you run through the single floor mazes the levels are made from. It rarely changes up the formula, so in most cases you need to be ready for little novelty beyond what the game throws at you with the first couple of levels. For some this may seem limiting, but this gameplay core is thankfully well tuned. Most enemies feel like they require the right number of shots to kill (well, excluding the silly mother octopus things being spongy), and their numbers compliment that, meaning you are likely going to be constantly be challenged at an appropriate level. For shooting things, Extraneum feels almost spot on.
This spot on feel extends to the level design. While the maps can sometimes devolve into large, twisting mazes that can be a little hard to navigate, their consistency is almost immaculate. There are never moments where you look at one of the abstract rooms and think “this does not fit”. All areas feel like the environments they depict, be it sewers, parking lots, factories or mines. The “vibe” for Extraneum is sky high.
This immaculate design leads to some interesting elements, namely secret hunting. Since the levels never really have texture issues, or out of place walls, if you see something that looks off, it is no doubt a secret. This is both a nice touch and a godsend to secret hunters. Rather than have a game where the best way to find a secret is run along walls hitting the use key to hope you randomly unlock some hidden door, here we have a title that if something looks like a secret, it likely is. Again, the word is consistency, and that is what I appreciate the most about Extraneum.
In ways this is the core selling point of the game. Extraneum is subtle; on the surface it just looks like another pick-me in the, now very bloated and overstocked, boomershooter aisle. Pay attention and it has the care and focus of a title like Amid Evil or a classic Build title. In this way, it stands out from the far more slapdash design of something such as Project Warlock. Sure, the novelty is not there, but that is not really who Extraneum is for. This is a boomshoot for boomshoot conocerse.
In ways, this is what will hold back recommendations for Extraneum. What is here is fantastic, but it is really for folks who have already played the majority of other titles of its ilk. If you have not played the core classics like Cultic, Dusk or the likes, then they are likely to be priority over Extraneum. In fact, I’d say you should plough through Wizordum after the core titles, and see if you like the more limited play areas. If you got through all that and you are salivating for more of that kind of stuff, then Extraneum is absolutely top tier for you. For those getting tired of boomshoots though, this absolutely will not change your opinion and will likely only last about two levels before you say “cool I guess” and switch it off through boredom.
I recommend Extraneum, but only because Steam’s review system is binary. For hardened boomshoot enthusiasts, this is absolutely a must once you have cleared out the other high grade titles. For the average person… eh, maybe? It’ll likely be too specialised to be worth the while.
