Spidersaurs Switch Review
Summary: Overall Spidersaurs is a very good example of a modern take on the run and gun, whilst it doesn’t quite have the depth that some people may be looking for it certainly fills a gap in the quick play genre and is good for a travel journey or a quick game during lunch break. If you like the vibe of games like Contra, Metal Slug and TMNT then I would suggest giving this game a try.
3.9
Nostalgic
Wayforward are back again with a new game that comes with a nostalgic twist, not just in its gameplay but also the theming harkening back to the days of Saturday Morning cartoons and Super Nintendo.
Spidersaurs has all the trappings of a perfect 90’s licensed game from a cartoon intro to a very catchy theme song. If you had told me, someone who was not born until 1995 that Spidersaurs was an under the radar gem of a cartoon I could well and truly believe it.
Story
Starting up the game greats you will a short cartoon intro that gives the player the basic premise for the game Earth has run out of food. A Billionaire scientist steps in and creates a new food source Dinosaurs mixed with spiders (what could go wrong). Unfortunately they escape and are starting to attack. Victoria and Trainee officer Adrian are tasked with eliminating these mutants and saving the Earth from yet another catastrophe.
Gameplay
The gameplay for Spidersaurs is your typical run and gun in the ilk of Contra of course this game is made by the minds behind the Nintendo DS release Contra 4, it is hard at times not to compare Spidersaurs to that game. The characters weapons are very similar, machine guns, flamethrowers, grenade launchers and of course the spread-shot.
Throughout the level robot drones when destroyed drop upgrades for your weapons, when you take a hit your weapon loses part of the upgrade and when you die you are back to the basic machine gun. Thankfully you are able to have two weapons at all times and when you die you only lose your active weapon.
The levels are your typical fare for this sort of game and the theming very much follows the set formula of Laboratory, Jungle, Sewers etc. Whilst they are generic the graphical design is very well done adding detail but without making the projectiles from the enemies hard to see, which we have seen in other retro inspired games becomes a major issue.
One gameplay feature that Spidersaurs has copied from older games in the genre are the respawning enemies, which will gang up on you especially when you have low health. But grab the trusty spread gun and blast away.
Each level is split in two which gives the player both a respawn point when they run out of lives and it also allows the player to switch between the characters as well. Spidersaurs is a short game with only six stages which for the price some people may feel that the game could have added a bit more to it and that includes at the completion of the game apart from being able to start with the upgraded weapons and a speed run mode there really is not a lot to bring you back in once completed.
Graphics
One of the things that makes Spidersaurs stand out is the use of hand drawn animation for the characters and the depth in colour used for the backgrounds enemies are detailed and large which of course makes it easier to see but also enriches the visual fidelity of the game as a whole. Along with the standard enemies you have large end level bosses each with their own style and pattern to follow.
Of course a lot of the details went into the opening animation which oozes Saturday Morning cartoons and will be nostalgic for anyone who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s.
Final thoughts
Overall Spidersaurs is a very good example of a modern take on the run and gun, whilst it doesn’t quite have the depth that some people may be looking for it certainly fills a gap in the quick play genre and is good for a travel journey or a quick game during lunch break. If you like the vibe of games like Contra, Metal Slug and TMNT then I would suggest giving this game a try.
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