Headlander is a side-scrolling sci-fi romp about a floating human head in search of its body. The head is encapsulated in a jet-powered helmet that can rocket boost through the air as well as vacuum suck items out of place. Typically, the vacuum power is used to dislocate the heads of robot enemies so that (as the title of the game would suggest) the head can land in their empty neck holes and take control of their bodies. Enemy robots not only provide a place to land, but also play an integral role in how movement around the environment is handled.

Using the rainbow scheme of ROYGBV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet), doorways are color coded and only robots of that particular color (or right of that color in the scheme) may pass. For example a red robot may only pass through a red door, but an orange robot may pass through both red and orange. This type of gatekeeping feeds into the overall “Metroidvania” style of level design, where there is clearly a way to access a room, yet the level of robot clearance isn’t available until the story develops further and introduces green, blue, or violet robots so you can access what’s behind gates of those colors.

One of the neat things about this heady design is the fact that the robots aren’t just the same type of robot with a different color skin. There is a fairly large selection of robot types to land on, each offering a unique feel for both movement as well as attack. Some robots are fast and lanky, while others are gangly and skittish, motoring around on roller-skate-powered chassis. Military grade robots are armed with various laser bolts that can fire as a single, double, or triple blast, or a wild multi-spread rain of death. A menagerie of mutant-like bots are introduced as the story progresses (which are mostly for show, but there is a side quest mission requiring these oddities to be corralled for research).

Moving throughout the environment, energy spheres can be collected to unlock power-ups to the helmet, in addition to nodes which provide health and shield increases. Helmet upgrades provide damage boosts for weapons attached to robots as well as the ability to rocket boost through groups of enemies to blow them up. Melee attacks can be increased in damage, and there’s an ability to recharge the health of the robot bodies that have been landed on. One of the cool late game upgrades is the ability to trigger a spectrum shield (which diminishes the energy of the shield meter so it can’t be used indefinitely) and almost acts like an invisibility that just looks badass.

While the mechanics are fun and provide a thoughtful progression that really encourages exploring all aspects of the world to find every upgrade possible, the game wouldn’t be as good as it is without the story framing the player’s actions. Playing as the floating head (at the beginning the game allows players to select one of three faces—I picked the female head and strangely can’t imagine playing the game and having the story impact as much as it did if I had picked one of the male choices), a quest is presented to defeat Methuselah and find the rest of the player’s body. While the story isn’t exactly original, the stylized 70s sci-fi presentation adds so much greatness that the shortcomings can be easily overlooked. A retro-vibe oozes from each area that is simply a treat to explore. Citizen robots can be talked to and their conversations add a wonderful flavor that further enriches the atmosphere.

Keeping with the 70s look, the music also conveys a synth-pop style that is both gothic and disco at the same time. Headlander is a wonderful game that has a compelling enough story, wonderful environments, intuitive controls and gameplay that rewards players for exploring and collecting everything as the story progresses. Never did I feel like I was spending too much time exploring new areas or trying to figure out environmental puzzles. 

My only real complaint is how easily some areas feel overwhelming when it comes to combat. As mentioned earlier, military robots become a method for controlling and navigating through the world. At times, however, there are rooms that feel unbalanced with the number of robots converging on your floating head, or there is an absolute chaotic number of laser bolts zipping and bouncing around the level at any given moment. While hovering around as simply the head, the left stick controls flight direction, and the right stick can be used to put up a shield to deflect bolts, but the barrage of laser death is almost enough to send an epileptic into fits. I played this on PS4 and found that in a few locations, the frame rate would dip dramatically below the normal smooth 30+ frames per second. This wasn’t simply because of the number of enemies on screen, but also due to the visual effects being applied to the game.

Story progress eventually leads the Headlander into several boss battles, and each boss battle feels really good. These bosses mix up direct attacks with environmental puzzles and utilize all of the weapon and head upgrades that are provided along the way. I cannot stress enough how smartly the game is designed. Once the game is complete, the game allows players to go back and perform “clean-up” to find any missing power-ups or explore missed rooms while playing through initially.

Headlander is a great game. It’s not perfect of course, but it is yet another Double Fine gem that should not be overlooked. The art style, music, story, and gameplay all work so well together and provide an immensely fun and satisfying gaming experience. Fans of Metroidvania games have plenty to look forward to exploring all the nooks and crannies and discovering every hidden room. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have just a few trophies left to unlock for the platinum. Time to head back in for more!

Pros:
+ Smart, heady game design
+ Fun environment navigation
+ Interesting 70s-style sci-fi story and presentation

Cons:
– Combat can feel overwhelming at times

Game Info:
Platform: Reviewed on PS4, also on PC
Publisher: Adult Swim Games
Developer: Double Fine Productions
Release Date: 7/26/2016
Genre: Action-Adventure / Metroidvania
ESRB Rating: Teen
Players: 1

Source: Review code provided by publisher

Buy From: PlayStation Store or Steam for $19.99. Headlander also is currently part of the Play 2016 PlayStation Store promotion.

In every neighborhood there’s always that one house that gives out the best candy, and every trick-or-treater rushes to get there first, before all the other kids have claimed the full size Snickers bars or King Size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. (Screw all those mini candy bars!) This Halloween, in the video game neighborhood, Double Fine and Midnight City are the owners of the house with the best treats. Better yet, there is no supply limitation in this age of digital downloads.

You do need to own a PlayStation 3 or PlayStation 4 to get these goodies, though.

Following the October 28th PlayStation console launch of Costume Quest 2, LittleBigPlanet‘s loveable burlap mascot, Sackboy, will be added to the game in a free post-launch update. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Sackboy will be playable in time for Halloween. A specific release date for the DLC hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the press release announcement uses the phrase “in the coming weeks” to give an idea of release timing.

Sackboy will appear as a hidden bonus costume assembled by finding the four necessary materials–a burlap sack, buttons, thread and a whole lot of love. Sackboy’s DIY costume look is adorable while exploring town, but in combat his ‘Little Big Beat Down’ special attack packs a serious punch.

Double Fine and Midnight City are offering an early trick-or-treat surprise this weekend, kicking off Steam pre-orders for the PC/Mac/Linux release of Halloween-themed RPG adventure, Costume Quest 2. Two pre-purchase options are on the table. A payment of $14.99 includes the game and exclusive bonus costumes from the original quest, including the Robot, Unicorn, Eyeball and Pumpkin. Spending five bucks more upgrades to the $19.99 bundle featuring the first Costume Quest and its Grubbins on Ice DLC campaign, plus the same set of four bonus costumes.

In addition to Steam, Costume Quest 2 is scheduled to launch this October on PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Check out the new gameplay trailer premiering this weekend at PAX Prime in Seattle!

The next big thing coming from Double Fine Productions is Hack ‘n’ Slash, the puzzle adventure game about a young elven hacker who cheats and reprograms her way through a classic action/adventure game similar to the old top-down Legend of Zelda titles. Which makes it all the more appropriate that the game’s new trailer throws back to the hilariously awful 80s “Zelda Rap” commercial for the NES Legend of Zelda.

Although no such mention is made in the trailer, the title and description point out that Hack ‘n’ Slash will be available soon on Steam Early Access for PC, Mac, and Linux. A date isn’t specified, but in a PAX East update over on the Double Fine website the release window is narrowed down to within “a matter of weeks.”

Adventure games are one of the classic genres that I’m a total sucker for.  Old school adventures are what I cut my gaming teeth on, with titles like Day of the Tentacle, King’s Quest, Full Throttle and Grim Fandango helping to form my love and frustration with pointing and clicking on things. Not many other game types allow for such rich detail of character interaction and unique humor, yet at the same time puzzle logic in many adventure games more often than not slants toward the random and obscure mixture of mash everything together with the hope that eventually something sticks together and solves the problem.

Returning once again to the genre is Ron Gilbert with a team from Double Fine Productions to create a new take on adventure gaming with The Cave.  The premise: seven distinct personalities are in a talking cave and gamers must take three of the seven through a series of tunnels, revealing each character’s personal story along the way.  The cave itself is one massive level that can only be accessed by unique powers that each of the personalities possess.   Playing only three of the characters in one run through means that if someone wants to see how each story unfolds, the game must be played through three times.

Sadly, I couldn’t muster the desire to replay the game that many times. I could only make it through one time in full and about halfway through another trip, but I couldn’t bear to continue any farther.  It’s not that I don’t want to discover each character’s tale, but rather I don’t want to slog through the same puzzle sections more than once. The Cave is designed such that all areas can be accessed but only if certain powers (from specific characters) are being used at the time a new section is encountered.  For instance, the Knight has a special power that makes him invincible and as such the only way to unlock his story puzzles is to drop through several sections of the cave, avoiding damage from fire (and the fall itself) to unlock passage for the other members traveling with him on that particular playthrough.  The Twins have an ability that allows them to be in two places at once for a short period of time, so for example they can activate a lever or switch as a shadowy form while their physical form slips past a door.  And the Monk can use telekinetic powers to move objects into his hands, a useful ability for when an object is on the other side of a set of immovable bars.

One playthrough is relatively fun because each of the general puzzle areas that precede the character-specific puzzles have their own unique challenges and are interesting the first time you encounter them. However, upon a repeat visit I found myself suffering a bad case of déjà vu.  Sure I knew how to solve the puzzles, but what hampers the fun is the amount of backtracking that is required to complete even the simplest of tasks. Each character can freely move throughout any section of the current puzzle area and switching between the characters is handled by mapping each character to a button on the D-pad.  But actually moving through each section feels overly time-consuming.  An object such as an undamaged fuse may be in a panel two or three stories above where it is needed to activate a crane or a fortune telling box.  Navigating the area to get to the fuse, traveling back down to where it is needed to solve the puzzle, and then discovering that the fuse is needed once again to be used back in the original location feels like unnecessary busy work.  Especially if you select a character to carry the fuse back to the original location and then realize that that character needs to be in a different spot to use their special power once the fuse is back in its intended location. Backtracking for items is one of the more frustrating design limitations of the game, particularly when each character can only carry one object at a time.

Backtracking wouldn’t be as frustrating if the characters didn’t move with such plodding imprecision.  Jumping doesn’t always feel accurate and climbing up objects (either ladders or boulders) feels overly weighty and slow.  Using objects is also a hit or miss proposition at times.  Picking up one object drops whatever a character may be carrying.  Fine, but what if a puzzle trigger in the world is also next to an object that has been dropped?  Pressing the Square button to interact often times leads to picking up the object on the ground instead of using the object in hand with the trigger in the world.  The ability to easily choose which item you want to interact with is inconsistent and frustrating if too many interactive objects are close to each other.

For all my griping about the mechanics of the game, I can still honestly say that I enjoyed most of my time with the journey.  The spoken narration from The Cave itself is dark, wry and mostly damn funny.  The character stories and specific puzzles are also clever and fit with the narrative.  I absolutely loved the Twins backstory. Their home shows a mastery of level layout and design, consisting of subtle environmental details that flesh out their story while also providing a satisfying puzzle challenge. Sadly, I can’t say the same for the Knight, or the Monk.  While the dark and grisly ending of the Knight’s puzzle section was freaking hilarious, the amount of backtracking soured my time in that part of the cave.

My second attempt at playing the game led me to choose the Hillbilly, the Time Traveler and the Scientist.  Unfortunately, even their initial backstory panels couldn’t keep me invested in slogging through the same puzzles long enough to unlock the story beyond the Hillbilly’s unique section.  Movement, confined inventory/object management and the constant backtracking removed all of my goodwill toward playing through a full second time. If the game had nine characters instead of seven, and didn’t require replaying large swathes of the same sections over again and again, I could easily see myself playing through the game three full times.  If there were some way to bypass the general puzzles that tie each character puzzle together (once it was solved the first time of course), the game wouldn’t feel like such a chore. And if inventory was handled in a shared magic bag (if a cave can talk why can’t there be a magic bag that all characters have access to?) the game would feel a whole lot less tedious.  Of course, these “ifs” would likely break the balance of the game, but they wouldn’t necessarily need to be made available until after the game was completed once.

Humor in games is tricky, but The Cave offers a dark view that is genuinely funny. Unfortunately, the game mechanics drag down the pacing of the game such that the timing of the humor has almost a delayed reaction.  While each selectable character has an interesting story to discover, there are too many obstacles to make that discovery as enjoyable as it could and damn well should be. Even with its flaws, though, The Cave should be experienced at least once, if only to see just how crazy the layout of one gigantic level interconnects to tell the humorous stories of seven different characters.  Which characters are best to take on the first run through is hard to say, as I can’t bear to put myself through two more full sessions to find out.

Pros:
+ Dark humor
+ Puzzle solutions seem natural, not random and forced
+ Multiple playthroughs are an option

Cons:
– Too much backtracking
– No shared inventory
– Movement can feel too weighty and imprecise
– No option to skip previously solved puzzles

Game Info:
Platform: Reviewed on PS3 via PSN, also available on Steam, XBLA and Wii U eShop
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Double Fine Productions
Release Date: 1/23/2013
Genre: Adventure
ESRB Rating: Teen
Players: 1
Source: Review code provided by publisher

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From the crazy mind of Ron Gilbert and his wacky compadres at Double Fine Productions comes The Cave, a charmingly oddball side-scrolling puzzle adventure game that could only be the brainchild of the creator of games like Maniac Mansion, The Secret of Monkey Island and, more recently, DeathSpank.

Sega is publishing the digital download title for release on PC and consoles in early 2013. Get your spelunking gear ready, folks, and don’t forget to pack your sense of humor.

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Happy Memorial Day weekend, friends and readers of VGBlogger!

I’m pooped after a long day of spring cleaning, which mainly consisted of about three hours of vacuuming in high humidity 90-degree heat, so I’m going to keep things short and sweet and let you proceed to browse the latest edition of Screenshot Saturday while I kick my feet up and catch up on some gaming for the rest of the night (after watching the end of the Sixers Celtics game 7, if it’s not over already). Datura and Jam Live Music Arcade need finishing up, but those require too much effort for my lazy mood right now. So, I think I’m going to dive into some Starhawk multiplayer and then sneak in some time with Max Payne 3 or Future Soldier. (Or maybe both!)

Check out all the new screenshot galleries and enjoy the remainder of your long holiday weekend!

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (PS3, Xbox 360):
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LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (PlayStation Vita):
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LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Nintendo 3DS):
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DmC – Devil May Cry (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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Sleeping Dogs (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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The Cave (PC, PSN, XBLA):
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Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (Nintendo 3DS):
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Mass Effect 3: Rebellion Pack (PC, PSN, Xbox Live):
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KickBeat (PlayStation Vita):
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Jet Set Radio (PlayStation Vita):
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Resistance: Burning Skies (PlayStation Vita):
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Hitman: Absolution (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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Dead or Alive 5 (PS3, Xbox 360):
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XCOM: Enemy Unknown (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz (PlayStation Vita):
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Of Orcs and Men (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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Krater (PC):
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Ys Origin (PC):
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PlanetSide 2 (PC):
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Bullet Run (PC):
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ShootMania Storm (PC):
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Spec Ops: The Line (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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Gungnir (PSP):
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Bang Bang Racing (PC, PSN, XBLA):
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Dungeon Defenders – Summoner Hero Class DLC (PC):
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Auto Club Revolution (PC):
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Pro Cycling Manager 2012 (PC):
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Check Out These Links:

• Ninja Theory’s Devil May Cry Slated for January Launch
• KickBeat Brings Breakdance Kung Fu to PlayStation Vita
• LEGO Batman 2 Introduces Open-World Gotham City, Talking Minifigures
• Deathmatch Goes Portable in Resistance: Burning Skies
• Square Enix Reveals North American Kingdom Hearts 3D Collector’s Edition
• Get Ready for Square Enix’s Nintendo 3DS Summer of Fun
• Hitman: Absolution’s Special Edition is for Professionals Only
• Updated Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Infographic
• XSEED Games Now Publishing Ys Series on Steam

EA Twitter Page [Twitter]
Brutal Legend Soundtrack Release Rubiks Cube Challenge [YouTube]

Tim Schafer’s epic, Jack Black-starring metal action game Brütal Legend just got even more epic. EA and Schafer’s Double Fine Productions have confirmed the game’s final soundtrack today, a soundtrack that features over 100 hard-rockin’ songs from 75 bands and took years to compile.

”This soundtrack took years to put together as we wanted to represent every genre of Metal, and also have the perfect music for every epic moment in the game,” said Tim Schafer, President of Double Fine Productions. “It’s designed to be loved by Metal fans, and for those who are not, it will either convert them or make their heads explode… or both.”

“It would be a grave disservice to merely use the term ‘Ultimate Heavy Metal Soundtrack’ here,” said Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music and Music Marketing for Electronics Arts. “Instead, what we’ve unleashed is without question the most mind-blasting, face-melting, skull-shattering alliance of Classic Metal, Thrash Metal, New Wave, British Metal, Black Metal, Power Metal, Doom Metal, Death Metal, Hair Metal, Goth Metal and Industrial Metal ever decreed by The Gods Of Metal. Its very existence will condemn your soul to eternal brütal damnation. Yes, it’s that good!”

Without further ado, here is your complete Brütal Legend soundtrack, metal heads!

3 Inches of Blood – Deadly Sinners
3 Inches of Blood – Destroy The Orcs
Accept – Fast As A Shark
Angel Witch – Angel Witch
Anthrax – Metal Thrashing Mad
Anvil – March of the Crabs
Anvil – Tag Team
Apostasy – Sulphur Injection
Bishop of Hexen – A Serpentine Grave
Bishop of Hexen – The Somber Grounds of Truth
Black Sabbath – Children of the Grave
Black Sabbath – Symptom of the Universe
Black Sabbath – Never Say Die
Brocas Helm – Cry of the Banshee
Brocas Helm – Drink the Blood of the Priest
Budgie – Breadfan
Budgie – Zoom Club
Candlemass – Witches
Carcass – No Love Lost
Cloven Hoof Nightstalker
Children of Bodom – Angels Don’t Kill
Coroner – Skeleton on your Shoulder
Cradle of Filth – Her Ghost in the Fog
Crimson Glory – Queen of the Masquerade
Dark Fortress – Insomnia
Dark Tranquility – Cathode Ray Sunshine
Deathstars – Blitzkrieg
Def Leppard – Rock of Ages
Dethklok – Mermaider
Diamond Head – Am I Evil?
Dimmu Borgir – Progenies of the Great Apocalypse
Dokken – Mr. Scary
Dragonforce – Through the Fire and Flames
Emperor – Thus Spake The Nightspirit
Enslaved – Frost
Enslaved – Loke
Firehouse – Overnight Sensation
Girlschool – Bomber
Iced Earth – When the Night Falls
Iced Earth – Pure Evil
In Flames – Goliaths Disarm Their Davids
Judas Priest – Battle Hymn
Judas Priest – The Hellion/Electric Eye
Judas Priest – Leather Rebel
Judas Priest – One Shot At Glory
Judas Priest – Painkiller
Kabbage Boy – Girlfriend
KMFDM – Free Your Hate
KMFDM – Rip The System
King Diamond – Cremation
King Diamond – Welcome Home
Kiss – God of Thunder
Lita Ford – Betrayal
Marilyn Manson – Beautiful People
Manowar – Die For Metal
Manowar – The Dawn Of Battle
Mastodon – Crack the Skye
Mastodon – Oblivion Instrumental
Megadeath – High Speed Dirt
Megadeath – Tornado of Souls
Metal Church – Metal Church
Michael Schenker – Group Assault Attack
Ministry – Stigmata
Ministry – Thieves
Mirrorthrone – So Frail
Motley Crue – Dr. Feelgood
Motley Crue – Kickstart My Heart
Motley Crue – Live Wire
Motorhead – Back at the Funny Farm
Motorhead – In the Black
Motorhead – Marching Off to War
Motorhead – We Are the Road Crew
Nitro – Machine Gun Eddie
Omen – The Axeman
Ostrogoth – Queen of Desire
Overkill – World of Hurt
Ozzy Osbourne – Believer
Ozzy Osbourne – Mr. Crowley
Ozzy Osbourne – Diary of a Madman
Prong – Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck
Quiet Riot – The Wild and the Young
Racer X – Technical Difficulties
Racer X – Y.R.O.
Ratt – Lay It Down
Riot – Road Racin
Riot – Narita
Riot – Swords and Tequila
Rob Zombie – Superbeast
Rotting Christ – Ad Notics
Running Wild – Riding the Storm
Sanctuary – Battle Angels
Savatage – Hall of the Mountain King
Saxon – Wheels of Steel
Scorpions – Blackout
Scorpions – Holiday
Skeletonwitch – Soul Thrashing Black Sorcery
Skid Row – Youth Gone Wild
Slayer – Metal Storm/Face The Slayer
Slough Feg – Warriors Dawn
Static-X – Love Dump
Tenacious D – Master Exploder
Tenacious D – The Metal
Testament – For The Glory Of
Testament – More Than Meets The Eye
Tvangeste – Birth of the Hero
UFO – Rock Bottom
Whitesnake – Still of the Night
Wrath of Killenstein – Ignisis Dance