But none walk that line as precisely as Bounding Box Software’s Prodeus.
But as Nintendo demonstrated, a shooter doesn’t need to be violent to be satisfying.
The shotgun has clearly been iterated upon obsessively, with a bassy default fire that never fails to satisfy.
Although well designed, there’s nothing especially radical within Prodeus' weaponry.
The effect is that you passively intuit the function of these locations as you violently redecorate them.
One highlight is ‘Hazard’, which takes place in a yawning canyon containing a lake of toxic sludge.
Later levels are more ambitious still.
This radically changes the rock’s topography and climate, setting up the final act of the game.
Yet Prodeus makes one crucial mistake in implementing this feature.
The intent here is to encourage you to replay levels, with your weapons and equipment all carrying over.
The double-jump isn’t the only thing Prodeus leaves until late in the game.
Beyond the halfway point, weapon acquisition slows considerably with few new enemies introduced until the closing stages.
