[h2]Pretty neat run 'n gun! Really short though.[/h2]
Okay so, I'm about as big of a WayForward fan as one could be. I love most of their repertoire, I think they make super neat games. Especially love the Shantae series, that's one of my favorite indie franchises ever, in general.
[b]Spidersaurs[/b] is weird 'cause it just kind of... Came and went with little fanfare? I didn't even know it existed until a good bit after its release, and apparently even PEOPLE WHO WERE FOLLOWING IT were barely aware it came out at all.
That doesn't mean it's bad, mind you, I DO think it's neat! Just... very short. And a little bit unremarkable gameplay-wise. And kind of expensive for something you can beat in an hour-and-something on your first time relatively easily. And it just sort of came out and was forgotten about immediately.
Right, so, the game itself!
It's a [i]Contra-like[/i]. It's a run 'n gun platformer, and it basically plays LIKE a Contra game. It shares a lot of mechanics with that, but adding a couple things of its own (since you unlock new moves with every stage you beat).
To summarize, you can run, jump and shoot to start with. You can have two weapons on you at once, and switch between the two with the shoulder buttons. Picking up a second copy of the same weapon you already have upgrades it to its "level 2" version. You also have a "lock" button to stand in place while aiming. That's all Contra so far.
There's... I think six? weapon types in total, all with their two levels of power. And there's two playable characters, each of which gets COMPLETELY UNIQUE VERSIONS of each weapon. For instance, the girl gets a regular spread gun, while the guy's version of it is a flak cannon that spreads on impact instead.
Then as you advance, you can unlock a double jump, an air dash, a grappling hook to latch onto ceilings and grabbable rails, and a stomp move that breaks floors and damages/bounces off enemies.
It's basically Contra 5! Fitting for the studio that made Contra 4!
The [b]visuals[/b] are super neat, too. All hand-drawn 2D art, hand-animated, with SUPER smooth animation and a super charming artstyle. Lovely character designs too (even with the very [i]blatant[/i] ones like the spider-haired lady, it's got its charm).
[b]Music[/b] is... fine?
It's like, serviceable. There's a couple actually pretty dang catchy melodies in there.
Unfortunately though, [i]it's not Jake Kaufman[/i] music, so it's not "blow your eardrums off within 5 seconds" good like all his tracks always are. It's an ex-Capcom composer with a decently sized portfolio, but nothing quite up to the standards of what Kaufman always does.
It works fine in-game, I just wouldn't really go out of my way to listen to most of it elsewhere.
Honestly?
This game is pretty dang solid for as long as it lasts!
Only problem is... [b]it's 5 stages long.[/b] You have a tutorial that's over in less than 5 minutes, and then 5 "main" stages that are over in less than 10 minutes each. Plus an extra boss available if you play on Normal difficulty or higher.
That is to say, you can beat the game within slightly over an hour pretty easily. And that's it!
There IS an arcade mode (where you play all the stages in one sitting without saves or a stage select), and a "speedrun mode" (which is arcade mode but with all the moves unlocked from the start) for a slight amount of extra replayability but. Uh.
That's it.
You see how I have almost 7 hours of playtime? That's how long it took me to 100% the game and get all the achievements (which include making you play the side modes). And I accidentally left the game idling for a little bit so it's probably ACTUALLY closer to 6 hours.
Which is a shame, because I do like this game! I did enjoy it a good bit, the visuals, the gameplay, the mildly-amusing writing and dialogue and setting!
[i]But it feels like it's over before it even starts![/i]
I do think it's worth playing if you get it on sale (I got it for 75% off IIRC, it was like three bucks), but, uh. It IS admittedly a bit hard to recommend at full price given how little there is to it overall.
[b]So, uhhhh, TLDR: Very neat, pretty, and solidly-built run 'n gun with good gameplay, good visuals, and fun writing, but it's deadass not even two hours long. I like it a lot, but you should probably get it on sale.[/b]
