TOGA, TOGA, TOGA, TOGA, TOGA, TOGA, RIOT!
Game: Okhlos
Developer: Coffee Powered Machine
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Previewed on: PC (Steam) (Preview code provided by publisher)
Seriously, can somebody check on me because one of two things has happened – Either I’ve gone insane and these are just the ramblings of a mad man or I’ve finally found a game that lets me release all of that stored up violent, face rolling, nerdy man-rage from all of the rage-inducing games I’ve been playing recently. Thankfully it’s the latter of the two and the irony of it all is that I’ve have found solace in a game called Okhlos, a rogue-like indie “angry mob” strategy game.
Okhlos is set in mythological ancient Greece, a land ruled by the all-powerful, take no crap, Gods of Olympus! One vile act of carnage leads to another and the gods do not seem to care for the well-being of the citizens of Greece. When the games randomly generated protagonist (known as The Philosopher) bears witness to the School of Athens and everyone inside being squashed by a godlike giant foot from the heavens, he ultimately decides enough is enough! Rocking nothing but the power of their voice and the clothes on their back (Toga and Sandals) the Philosopher declares war on the Gods, however this plot of vengeance can only go so far with one man alone…
The Philosopher has two main goals – convince their fellow man/woman and animal alike that the Gods of Olympus are no good for mankind and converge together to form a chaotic angry mob and then venture through eight procedurally generated worlds killing and destroying everything in their wake; inevitably taking down the boss God at the of each level.
As I mentioned earlier, you start out as randomly generated male or female philosopher and are greeted by a tutorial to give you a brief overview of the simple controls before being let rip into the world. With the all the carnage that happens on screen, simple controls are required and work really well. You start out with a maximum mob size of 25 and can recruit new anarchist Hellenes by being in their general vicinity and they’ll just flock to you. There are currently 94 regular mob types to recruit comprising of Philosophers which are your rabble-rousers, Citizens being your basic unit, Slaves who pickup and carry power ups/health, Defenders who raise your mobs defense, Warriors raise your attack and finally several different animal types that do not really have a use other than to make the mob look bigger and they do not count towards to mob count.
“But Damien, how do I add a hint of badassery to my mob?” Great question! As you travel through each of the worlds, the Philosopher will encounter several shops and merchants that they can trade with. Now this is where it gets a wee bit shady as you’re pretty much trading people for people. As far as I can tell thus far, there are two types of merchants. With the standard merchant you can make trades that consist of 5 x animals for 3 x Warriors or Defenders and so on and with the special merchant you can make similar trades but for Hero units. There are 123 hero units that you can purchase/unlock and each has a special trait. For instance Mithridates can poison enemies over time and will raise your mob size by 5, Andromache will permanently boost your defense by 25% and Deianira damages enemies overtime.
To add extra badassery, you don’t actually have to play as the basic Philosopher. Once you’ve unlocked a character that can be used as a mob leader (eg; Baron Munchausen who boosts a random stat by 40% and has marvelous travels) you can pick them as you’re playable character and even select up to three starting heroes to add to your mob so you get a helping hand.
With all of the above being said, Okhlos is a tonne of fun and I am sure it’s not supposed to be used as a method of stress-release, but it really works! I am looking forward to playing the full game when it’s released, however there is currently no official release date as of yet! Take a look at the video below for a brief look at the game play and tell me what you think in the comments section below.
