**It's quite a long review, so don't read if you don't want an in-depth advice, eventually with spoilers inside.**
A long time ago, I discovered real speed in video games, while playing F-Zero GX on Gamecube. Since I'm more a PC guy now, I don't have it anymore ; so I always pay attention to games which could be my new F-Zero.
I had this in mind somewhere when I bought Goscurry, and definitely, it doesn't fit in the square F-Zero left empty.
But it's a f*ckin' awesome game ! The kind of game which seems to be desperately slow and easy. And then you fall. And then you die. And no more than 8 seconds were necessary to terminate yourself ! Wtf man, wtf.
It's not game-changing, mechanics are well known, jump or dodge, and turn, and then combinations, and then faster.
Graphic style is generic, the "cities" you unlock are some random 3D cubes with fog. The variety is... Wait no, it doesn't even exist ! I see the attempts though. The different vehicles feel actually different. Maybe it's only my mind, but when I unlocked the second, it felt more speedy than the default one.
The music is decent, average 8-bit fast-paced beats. More enjoyable than in Velocibox.
So why I love it ?
Challenge, mate. It's painfully difficult. And really well-coded, efficient, clean, fun. You will experience pain (a lot), and you will be rewarded. Same feeling than in F-Zero, when I explode or go off-road because of mixing up the controls (NO I WANTED TO DODGE AND I JUMPED NOOOOO).
First level is training ; you can play without the random obstacles. And even this is difficult, I can't go past 200k points because each time I turn too late or too early.
Second level is harder : same speed with random obstacles and speed boosts. Camera still follows you.
Third made me laugh : it is exactly the same as second but, the - camera - is - FIXED. It means that often, you have to press the "left" key when your mind want to go right. It's not something you notice in GTA while escaping the cops, because you've got time to translate what your mind says. But here, it's so fast, you're dead before you had time to think. You have to adapt.
Last levels are not human, until you play for a few dozen of hours and make your Goscurry skill.
And the beauty of all of this ? IT'S PROCEDURAL !
Meaning that it's totally random. There's not patterns like in Super Hexagon, where pattern study and recognition can make the game easier after ten hours of playing. Here it's only about your reflexes. And you can actually dodge the obstacles by making a fast left-right, which is fun and add variety to the gameplay.
Last feature, this one finished to buy me : you can change the audio track while you're playing. Maybe it seems ridiculous, but I like this kind of detail. It's spice. Like everything in this game, it shows that the devs care more about the players than about the fact they develop a game. I like it. There are a lot of details in this game that are useless for the gameplay and quite tiny in the final game weight, but these details are what give to this game its charisma. Great job here.
So, for all of this...
You like skill-based, mind-bending, fast-paces, fun, hard, arcade-type games ? Buy it and suffer.
You don't usually like these games ? Super Hexagon and Velocibox scare you ? Fortunately, this game can be convenient for everybody. The levels begin quite slowly, you have time for adapt. It's not screwing you in the third second like Velocibox. Whoever you are, buy this game, it's an indie arcade gem.
[Edit, September 10th]
The dev is super-reactive, and the community is really nice. Go, scurry, go !
