INVERSUS Review

Ecstatic, Dramatic and Monochromatic!

Game: Inversus
Developer: Hypersect
Publisher: Hypersect
Reviewed on: PlayStation 4

(Review code provided by publisher)

Before we get into it; it seems that over the last year or so my taste in games has changed. I mean I still take pride I knowing that I have the ability and love for all genres (I’m not a massive “gamist” – if that’s even a term used) but I have been immersing myself into games that require quick thinking and so on but my brain doesn’t seem to have the capacity to handle them at first and they take a while for me to warm to them. Never the less…

Let’s say you’re browsing the internet; at first glance Inversus might look like a simple game that isn’t up to much cop – but seriously don’t let that fool you. There is so much more to this game than meets the eye. I’ve been looking forward to getting my hands on this since the preview at E32016 and now that I’ve finally played it I can honestly say it’s pretty damn good. Inversus is one of those games that you can’t just have one round and put the controller down/turn it off. I lost three hours of my life last night just trying to beat my high score one of the arcade maps and thankfully for my sanity and my neighbor’s peace and quiet I managed to do it before major table-flippage ensued.

Inversus is an extremely fast-paced, monochromatic, negative-space strategy/shooter developed and published by Hypersect set to be released on the 16th of August this year. Now, I don’t know too much about the five thousand or so year old strategy board game “Go” that’s Inversus is based off but I can see the similarities in the sense that they both have simple rules but are highly complex, yet fun games to play.

The game comprises of two different game modes; Arcade mode that can be played solo or with a co-op partner and Versus mode played solo or with up to three other players. Arcade mode pits you against incoming waves of enemies of increasing numbers and ever increasing difficulty. Player movement is constrained to the opposite colours of the black and white grid. Every shot that is fired by a player in return flips the tiles on the board enabling you to move, block and trap the opponent and move in for the kill. There are currently 6 maps for arcade mode to master and sink your co-operative teeth into and try and place on the leader board for each. The boards are in constant change, enemies spawn in different locations at different times to ensure a fresh experience each time you load up. As I mentioned earlier, at first I struggled to get to grips with how fast paced and how much quick thinking was required – the fact that I was playing at 3am didn’t help either. I did however eventually get the hang of it and managed to get into the game hence the loss of the aforementioned three hours.

Versus mode shares some small similarities to Arcade mode but is also rather different. First of all you have the option for 1v1 or 2v2 and bear in mind that you’re no longer up against the computers AI – You’re playing with and against other human players meaning that they are trying to block, trap and attack you with similar tactics that you’re using and depending on your opponent, it can be even more difficult. It’s a vastly incommensurable experience that I didn’t get to spend much time playing because of the 40 or so minute wait to find a multiplayer partner. Don’t let that last comment put you off, obviously the wait time will drop immensely the once the game released and it’s just being played by the reviewers. One other difference to Arcade mode is that there are a whopping 27 different maps to reign down carnage on the opposition and curse words at your comrade when you inevitably get killed repeatedly.

VERDICT

Nine times out of ten, I’ll play games that aren’t story driven with my headphones in and listening to whatever music I am in the mood for that day; however it’s impossible to do this whilst playing Inversus. The upbeat, electronica-esque style music by Lyvo weirdly enough helped me concentrate on playing the game and you’d expect it to get a bit repetitive after a while but it doesn’t, so that’s a plus. I guess whilst taking all of the above into consideration and my own personal learning curve I wish to revisit my earlier comment and reinforce how good this game really is. It’s simple – the more and more you play it, the better and better you get. The shots that you fire off take an insane amount of accuracy and timing, and that just makes the game a bigger challenge than it already is. Its hard to pick faults at a game like this but if I had a tiny bit of constructive criticism it would be more maps for Arcade mode to rival the amount for Versus. If you’re anything at all like me then you’ll find yourself silently or violently swearing to the high heavens, throwing your controller about and mentally back-flipping when you beat your personal best. Inversus is an addictive work of pure genius and well worth a;

8/10