When I went down this path of deciding to try every single PS Plus Game that was offered in the relatively massive catalogue of "free" games that one receives when signing up for the higher-tiered membership I didn't really expect the games to all be great - I thought it would be quite the opposite actually since I am well-aware of the fact that Sony, and anyone else that has a subscription service is going to fill of the lists with garbage so they can create the impression that they are giving away a ton of games.
I expected some of the games to be pretty bad but this game kind of redefines all of that. It is remarkably bad and as the 1 hour of testing time came to a close I was delighted that it was over.
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I know of the existence of the film and the comics but I wouldn't say that I was ever a fan. I was only loosely familiar with that they were all about. I didn't think that would really matter coming into this experience and while that familiarity might enhance someone's experience while playing this throwback beat-em-up game, I can't really imagine that knowledge making something like this actually fun.
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At first I thought it was at least somewhat interesting because the gameplay brought me back to a time when a very large portion of the overall games in existence were like this. It functions like a Double Dragon or Golden Axe style of game in that you progress, normally from left-to-right, punching and kicking opponents that appear at various intervals and use environmental elements such as bats, bins, and whatever else you can get your hands on to throw them at the seemingly never-ending waves of enemies that are hell-bent on beating you to a pulp.
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I knew nothing about what to expect from this game and my nostalgic glee quickly turned into irritation as I started to figure out that this was all the entire game was going to consist of. You just endlessly punch, jump, and kick as the same re-used enemies come at you time and time again. Strategy quickly goes out the window as you realize that having one (a strategy) is basically a complete waste of time since mad-button-mashing is going to accomplish the same exact thing.
Picking up weapons isn't terribly useful either since you don't do any more damage by hitting someone with a baseball bat than you do by a simple punch. The best semblance of anything that could even be called a strategy would be to run at your enemies and jump over them. Since the AI is very rudimentary in this game they will almost always still be facing the other direction once you land and you just punch them a bit until they fall down, then repeat.
Does it sound boring? Well, it is.
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In the one hour of playtime I only made it to one boss which I will admit was kind of inventive and up to this point it was the only thing that I would have considered even remotely fun. After defeating the first boss, I was advanced to a 2nd stage and upon entering it and seeing that it was just going to be more of the same, I turned the game off.
I don't know who this game would be considered fun to but I can only guess that such a person would need to be a HUGE fan of the characters and it would probably also help if they didn't already have hundreds of hours of this very generic style of game shoved down their throats in the 80's and 90's like I did.
This game is a dud and one that Sony definitely lumped into the rest of the catalogue so they could pump up their "offerings numbers."
1-hour and done for me.... off to the next one
Not recommended
Games I have tried in my journey to play every PS-Plus Extra game for at least an hour
- Windbound (survival game with rogue-like elements - not recommended)
- Magicka 2 (top-down humorous multiplayer hack and slash-sort with immense spell system - maybe recommended)
- Tearaway: Unfolded (charming casual 3D platformer with inventive graphics and gameplay designed for all ages - recommended for casual players)
- Spiritfarer (casual simulation / resource-management style game with an extremely good story - recommended for all)
- Observation (point and click survival sort of... interactive game of sorts set in space - found it very boring after just one hour and do not recommend)
- Gabbuchi (simplistic puzzle game that I feel is better suited to mobile devices. Not recommended on consoles)
- The Messenger (8-bit style action/platformer that is a throwback to original Ninja Gaiden. It's simplistic fun. Recommended)
- Megadimension Neptunia VII (typical JRPG with some adjustments made to combat for uniqueness. Could be fun and I lukewarmly recommend for someone willing to dedicate 50 hours to a turn-based RPG)
- Monster Jam: Steel Titans 2 (monster truck racing game that will appeal only to people who are already fans of the sport - not recommended for any other people)
- Entwined (Visually appealing rhythm pace game that is very easy to pick up but gets repetitive after 30 minutes or so - recommended for anyone that can get it for free.)
- 2Dark (8-bit graphic survival horror/stealth hybrid. The game becomes extremely difficult really fast and therefore failed to hold my attention - not recommended)
- Virginia (interactive-cinema...not really a game and it is over in a couple of hours. Not recommended)
- Trials of Mana (simplistic action RPG that will definitely appeal to the casual gamer that is a fan of old-school RPG combat mechanics - recommended)
- Journey to the Savage Planet (FPS exploration game in a semi-open-world environment. The game is intentionally silly and I loved it - recommended)
- Resogun (arcade-style single-screen SHMUP that will get boring to most people after an hour or so. Not recommended)
- The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (point and click adventure game that doesn't work on consoles and is just irritating to play - not recommended)
- Mighty No. 9 (it's Mega Man but terrible. Definitely not recommended)
- Moving Out (delightfully funny moving company simulator. It gets boring and repetitive pretty quickly. Recommended for a short laugh)
- Last Day of June (a sad story done in 3rd person perspective that while an interesting story and/or life lesson, quickly becomes repetitive and dull. Not recommended)
- Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom (action adventure RPG with an inventive combat system that unfortunately becomes very boring very fast. Filled with bugs and invisible walls, I lost interest within the first hour. Not recommended)
- Hue (inventive puzzle-platformer that whose basic controls are the reason why it is fun. This is also the reason why it gets old after a couple of hours)
- Dragon Quest Builders (simple building game similar to Minecraft with a quest and story system built it. A lot more fun than I thought it would be and highly recommended)
- Bound: Shattered Kingdom (artistic 3D platformer with an unusual graphical style that has an amazing story. It's only 2 hours long but still very good. Recommended)
- Hohokum (an artistic and relaxing experience but ultimately it isn't really a game because there are no clear objectives. Not recommended.)
- Bound by Flame (basically a budget Witcher but fails in almost every way. This game was frustrating to endure for an hour. Not recommended )
- Stray (a simplistic and beautiful adventure / puzzle game that I think most people would enjoy. However, it isn't as perfect as professional reviews would indicate IMO)
- Alienation (action RPG that plays similar to Diablo3 but set in a futuristic world. Recommended for casual multiplayer with friends)
- Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (A classic beat-em-up akin to Double Dragon that loses its appeal in the first 15 minutes of gameplay. Not recommended)