OVERWHELM

A very tense action platformer centered around ambience and tight gameplay. A very small scale game, but with lots of player freedom in which bosses they decide to tackle in what order, upgrading the world's enemies in different ways. They get to decide what they're willing to deal with. It's tough, but its gameplay formula has a lot of layers to learn. It's visually not horror, but the player's vulnerability creates a certain sense of tension and dread behind every new screen.

i beat the game :D

Fun game with an interesting concept but I got too frustrated with two incredibly unfair aspects 1 - Limited camera. The camera won't scroll until you're very close to the edge of the screen but the enemies will still be there, out of sight but full able to blindside you. It reminds me of those old SNES-era shovelware platformers that had the camera so far zoomed in that you couldn't reasonably react to dangers when moving 2 - Teleporting bosses, in some cases teleporting right into you, killing you with no counter. Those aside it's an enjoyable, tight game.

Overwhelm is a frustrating game to talk about. I wanted to like this game for its game feel and atmosphere in how it creates this feeling of dread at what monsters you will encounter. But certain aspects of this game cause it to be a frustrating experience that makes the sense of accomplishing its levels lose its satisfaction. The camera is pretty bad as it follows you after you enter a new room, blindsiding you by an enemy that was off-screen. I have had countless times where that happened and either lost a life or it ended my run. Another aspect of this game that makes it a chore to play is the RNG, specifically when it comes to enemies. Not only is there a random amount of hits an enemy can take, but the placement of them can also be randomized. In a game that has limited lives and a run has to be done with just that set of lives, this makes it to where you cannot learn from your mistakes because it will either have a different amount of health, not appear at all, or just be a completely different enemy. It all culminated to a point where I just turned on unlimited lives and feeling like I needed to have easy mode turned on just to have any fun with it is not good design. But there are some positives to this game. Like I said it creates an atmosphere of dread really well and its game feel is solid. The game's monster designs are well-done and the variety is good. The ability to choose which areas to go first adds to the replayability factor of it and decision-making of how to approach completion. But ultimately, this is a game that I wish I could recommend, but its glaring flaws are what influence me to not recommend it to those looking for a good challenge.

Hesitant yes, while the core gameplay is fun and the setting drips in style you'll find your playtime artificially padded by cheap enemy kills. The game does a lot to put you under pressure and give you the experience of "when you have nowhere left to go but forward, you'd better not hesitate." Because a second spent double guessing your next move is a second too late to react to an enemy leaping at you offscreen. In many cases this can be predicted as "they can't move midair so as long as I keep moving they won't get me" but at the same time they can simply spawn in the next area and you're going to run into them without being aware they exist. This sums up most of the deaths you will experience in this game. Chokepoints to other areas will get you killed, it is not a may. In saying this the gameplay feels deliciously desperate and your control over the character is excellent if a bit vaguely explained. I'll fill in some gaps the game does not tell you; 1. You can airdash using the right click punch instead of spacebar. 2. Punches throw you in the direction of the cursor, you do not get sent straight forward. 3. If you accidentally uppercut while wall jumping you cannot use it in self defence until you touch the ground. 4. Wall jumping also uses the mouse as a directional input and doesn't work if the mouse is above your character. 5. You cannot shoot your weapon while throwing a melee dash, this should dissuade you from spamming it. 6. Bosses that are not monstrously large can be knocked back by the punch. Counting your remaining shots while planning your return from a boss battle is one of the best parts of this game and is the reason why it is a thumbs up. All in all it does give the impression of fighting for your life and lives up to the name. But it also suffers from poor design decisions around camera control and teleporting bosses that are used as a shortcut to throw off players that get into a rhythm. Ultimately resulting in unavoidable deaths, even if your reactions are acute.

Hands down one of the best, most atmospheric and well made retro games, ever. It's a travesty that OVERWHELM is still largely unknown. I've finished it multiple times and come back to it every couple of years to relive the immersion, tension and incredible music.

this game made me hate scorpions so much, super hard (even with infinite lifes)

incredible game about teaching you not to hesitate

OVERWHELMING.

Should have been called "UNDERWHELM". Save your $15 and don't do it to yourself.