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BADLAND: Game of the Year Edition
PC (Steam)
Multiple Counts of Suicide
2/5 stars
“BADLAND” (Game of the Year Edition) is a multi-platform port of a game that initially released on the three mobile OS platforms: iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile. In coming to Steam, “BADLAND” had all of its more questionable mobile-centric conceits removed in favor of a pure Buy2Play experience. The MeltedJoystick Crew’s Nick bought “BADLAND” for $0.49 during a Steam sale not too long ago, and we were out of couch-coop games to play as a group, so it seemed like a good idea at the time. The moral of the story, however, is that impulse buys, no matter how cheap, are no substitute for research.
Presentation
“BADLAND” is yet another stylized Indie game with a limited color pallet – mostly limited to black – and quite reliant on silhouettes for its visuals. This style of visuals might have seemed striking and novel if “BADLAND” had released before other Indie darlings like “World of Goo” and “LIMBO,” leaving us, instead, with visuals that feel like the work of an uninspired copycat. Character and environmental designs are fairly generic, with the player(s) taking control of some round, hairy, indistinct creatures navigating through contrast-deficient environments that contain a mix of organic and mechanical attributes.
The audio is completely unimpressive. I can’t say that I recall even hearing any background soundtrack. Instead, the game is accompanied by the ploppy flapping sounds made by the playable creatures… as well as the player(s)’ own cursing.
At least “BADLAND” is a technically solid game, with native controller support and a complete lack of crashes, glitches, and other nonsense.
Story
I have no idea what “BADLAND” is supposed to be about. The game takes place over the course of two ‘Days,’ with roughly 40 stages in each. The player(s) take on the role(s) of 1 to 4 round, hairy lumps whose only distinguishable features are their eyes and a set of flappy, wing-like appendages. These creatures, seemingly in a nod to “World of Goo” are obsessed with reaching a vacuum nozzle of some sort in each stage in order to be sucked-up and… ? I have no idea.
Where “World of Goo” featured a very quirky and bizarre set of reasons behind the Gooballs’ search for pipes, “BADLAND” is simply blank. We don’t know what the weird creatures are called aside from ‘clones,’ which is more of a gameplay mechanic than an actual piece of lore. There is no real motivation for clearing objectives besides clearing the objectives for the sake of clearing objectives. Platformers and other pure Action genre games don’t always need a strong narrative, provided the gameplay is sound, but “BADLAND” is just a monochrome/psychedelic (yes, that is apparently possible!) mind trip that never makes sense. Maybe the title is trying to tell us something? The game certainly doesn’t take place in a region dominated by eroded sedimentary rocks, so perhaps it’s more like a comparison to Disney Land… and it’s BAD.
Gameplay
Remember a few years ago when, in 2013, a Vietnamese Indie mobile developer accidentally created an inexplicably addicting abomination? That ‘game,’ rather, ‘app,’ was called “Flappy Bird,” and the developer pulled it from the App Store due to a sense of inner guilt, presumably over both how terrible it was and how addictive it was to the brain damaged masses who actually think mobile games and quality are related in any way.
“BADLAND” is like someone took the Endless Runner out of “Flappy Bird” and replaced it with static level design. The controls are as simple as they are bad. The game autoscrolls without pity or remorse. The only thing that saves “BADLAND” from being as infuriatingly frustrating as the app that inspired it is the fact that most of the stages have numerous checkpoints. Of course, “BADLAND” loves to randomly throw-in stages that have NO checkpoints, leading to an activity that is reminiscent of beating one’s head against a wall.
To be fair, “BADLAND” is much more complex and interesting than “Flappy Bird” ever was. “BADLAND” is centered around a ‘clone’ gimmick and acknowledges that any given character is fully expendable. Picking up certain round, hairy power-ups causes the character(s) to replicate. In single player, the player controls ALL on-screen clones simultaneously, which is nearly impossible to do with any grace or accuracy. In co-op, the color of the player-creature’s eyes determines the player number, and any given clone power-up will produce clones of different colors. As long as a single clone manages to surpass an obstacle or puzzle and then reach a checkpoint, life goes on.
In addition to the clone mechanic, there are a number of other power-ups in “BADLAND” that are essential for navigating the linear, hazard-filled stages the player(s) will face. Some power-ups cause the clones to grow or shrink, some cause the clones to spin wildly, allowing them to roll along floors and ceilings instead of flapping through the air, and some power-ups cause the clones to become sticky (rendering them immune to spikes, but making them stick to walls and ceilings) or bouncy (also rendering them immune to spikes, and causing them to ricochet of walls and ceilings).
At no point while playing “BADLAND” with the rest of the MJ Crew did I ever feel like I was in command of the situation or performing well in any way. I felt like I was just along for the ride. And it wasn’t a fun one.
Overall
I have no idea how “BADLAND” won enough accolades from anyone to warrant a ‘Game of the Year Edition’ on Steam. This is mostly “Flappy Bird” mixed with a dash of “World of Goo” and “NightSky” without any of the narrative qualities of the latter two. For those who like frustrating, repetitive Action games that rely on just as much luck as skill, “BADLAND” might scratch some sort of itch. For those who prefer elegance in their Action games, “BADLAND” is just a frustrating annoyance. I’m glad it’s not in my Steam library!
Presentation: 3/5
Story: 0.5/5
Gameplay: 2/5
Overall (not an average): 2/5
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