SPORTAL

My zodiac sign is Libra, so I guess it's my job to bring a little balance to all these positive reviews. This game is the work of just two developers. When you launch it, before reaching the main menu, they tell you exactly that. There's even a cute pixel art of what I assume are the two of them sitting at their laptops, complete with DUSK stickers on the cases. Nice touch. For context, I absolutely love boomer shooters. I'm no stranger to the genre, whether we're talking about '90s classics or modern indie titles. I played the demo a while back (actually, the first demo I've ever played that even had achievements!) and thought, "Alright, this is promising. I want more." So, especially considering the asking price (just over €5), I bought it. Unfortunately, the thing that disappointed me the most was the almost complete lack of weapon impact. A good boomer shooter/FPS should make landing shots and using different weapons feel satisfying. Sadly, Sportal falls short in that department. Hitting enemies with the various sports-themed weapons just doesn't feel rewarding. They all end up feeling strangely similar, whether you're using a baseball bat or a golf club. I never felt encouraged to experiment with different weapon builds, and I wasn't excited to use any of the weapons because the hit feedback felt weak and underwhelming. I understand this game was made by only two developers. I've played plenty of games made by tiny team (even by a single develope) and I'm usually very forgiving. But Sportal falls short in this aspect, as well as in a few others. From the perspective of someone in their thirties who's been playing games for a long time, I think the game should have focused primarily on two things: making the weapons feel impactful and delivering a more memorable soundtrack that really gets your adrenaline going. A perfect example is Hotline Miami. It was also created by two crazy developers, featuring simple, straightforward gameplay paired with a soundtrack that's still stuck in our heads to this day.