Erzürnten Götter.
Being given the power of the gods can be a double edged sword. Sure, having that kind of bad-ass power can be cool. But normally the gods want you to put it to some sort of good use, which can be dangerous. This is what happens in Lichtspeer.
The ancient Germanic gods have picked you to be their champion against the dark forces and have given you the gift of the Lichtspeer, a magical spear that with immense power and the ability to regenerate once thrown. It’s the player’s job to throw these spears at an onslaught of various enemies, including zombies, giants, wizards and penguins! Each level is broken down in to waves, with each ramping up in difficulty. Standing on the left of the screen, the player will use the left stick and X button to aim and throw the spears; think Angry Birds, but with more blood. Each throw takes a second or so to line up, and it can get a bit hairy at times with the various enemies all throwing themselves at you from both land and air.
Platform: PC, PS4 (Reviewed)
Price: $9.99
Multiplayer: No
It takes quick reflexes and a good aim to land a perfect blow. Some enemies, such as the flying dogs and the zombies only take one shot to kill, but these enemies are fast and harder to hit. Enemies such as the giants are slower, but can take more shots to take down. When several enemy types are on screen at the same time, deciding which one to shoot at first can be a tough decision, and one that you only have a split second to decide upon. This resulted me in dying and being returned to the start of the stage many a time, and can get a little frustrating.
Now, you may think that this mighty spear is all you will need to battle through the hordes, but as the stages get harder, the spear will need upgrading. Player’s performance during the game will be scored with Lichtscore; the better they do, the higher the score. Players can then spend their Lichtscore between levels at the Licht Shop (can you see a theme developing) on enhancing and upgrading the Lichtspeer; bestowing it with new special power ups to aid on the quest. Because of the ease in replaying levels, going back to an earlier stage and using a newly upgraded spear is enticing and helps to push players’ names up the leaderboards.
Another thing that stands out is Lichtspeer’s design. Visually, it comes across as a cross between an eighties Commodore 64 game and an album cover from some prog-rock band of the same era; making Lichtspeer stand out from the crowd. As does the music and audio, with thumping 8-bit tunes and low-res electro sound effects. It gives the game its own unique sense of style, while at the same time paying homage to a particular time in videogames. Very cleverly done.
Lichtspeer is a fun distraction from the current avalanche of triple-A fall titles; one that you will be able to dip in and out of as you please, thanks to its simplistic gameplay and control mechanics. Never demanding a huge investment from the player, but rewarding them if they put the time in.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
