Headlander

From the moment Headlander starts up it is obvious that Double Fine wanted to recreate the visual style of a 80’s space opera. Between the synthy musical score and very distinct visual look of the space stations you’ll end up exploring it does a excellent job recreating that style. So it may have some groovy locations but does the game manage to use that to create something fun to play? By the end of the review we shall know that answer but first let's go into the plot that sets up this wacky adventure.

Possibly the last human alive has been found yet he/she is only a head that is attached to a rocket booster. After being awoken from stasis by a mysterious voice he/she ends up joining up with a resistance to fight an oppressive AI named Methuselah. In order to succeed in all the missions the Headlander will need to swap bodies to access new areas along with some new skills. Which brings up the fact that the player has two different types of forms. As a head you can fly around areas dodging shots and pulling off robot heads with a vacuum. On the other front every robot body can shoot lasers and slide around to dodge opposing shots. Also getting new different colored robot bodies is important since the entire game is about going through different rooms by getting access to a new level a color code. Either by bypassing them by busting open side areas that the Headlander could fly through.

As the game goes along it adds new abilities that you then use to unlock new areas. Yet that area is a bit lacking especially if you like getting access to new items that Some of the early upgrades are cool like getting a shield to block shots. If only the upgrades seemed like they were worth using. Other than the passive boosts I never felt like it was worth using any of the other buyable upgrades like turning a body into a turrent. None of the encounters are very long other than a few unique rooms so most of the upgrades are pointless. Which is to bad since this is an exploration based game so it would have been cool to see some upgrades that changed up the gameplay a bit.

Even though the upgrades aren’t that great each of the areas you’ll have to go through look really distinct. Whether it looks to be a 60’s paradise or a chess themed area the game keeps showing you new stuff to look at. Along with a few bosses that make great use of all the abilities the Headlander has access to. One point even uses a robots unique skill to defeat a boss in a way I didn’t expect. At the same time they really don’t show up that often. Most of the focus is on collecting upgrades while traversing through different environments. Which is done well if a bit simple most of the time. Feels a lot like Guacamelee with a simpler combat system.

Still only being able to shoot lasers is a bit limiting. Whenever I was in a body the combat got boring after a while. It was much more interesting when I had to fly around as a head. Deflecting shots back at enemies with a shield or flying circles around them with a boost. If it wasn’t so easy to die as the Headlander I think it would have been a better game if I didn’t have to use bodies to get around. Oh well even if the gameplay isn’t always that great it still kept my interest for the 8 hours I spent playing this game.

Overall the presentation is the strong point of this release. While the gameplay doesn’t keep it compelling the entire time it was still an enjoyable game to play through. By the end of the game I thought it was worth looking past the bland gameplay elements to see that it was a game worth playing.