Quick Look: Slain: Back From Hell

Interesting to see how this finally came together. All I know is that at the time of launch people said this game was kind of a mess.

Its pretty cool that they went back and made good. Not only that but reduced the Steam price after the update. Good on them.

Nice, I was in the mood for a 2D action platformer, and this looks really stylish. I'll probably use a controller, though.

How did they throw all these good ingredients in a pot and come out with something so bland. At 11 minutes into this QL I was already tired of the game. That first level was an utter slog of boring design, and the music sounded like it was on a 10 second loop. The constant text pop ups spelling everything out were distracting and unnecessary, especially for a game so focused on being a throwback to games that didn't have that. The most egregious was when they grabbed a big, obvious key, and the text appeared to literally say that a path had been unlocked. It's borderline insulting to the player. I was so on board with the aesthetic but even the visuals started to wear thin.

Is Alex the only metal fan at GB?

@gulinotm: Yes.

I was really excited for this game when I first saw the trailer for it last year. As the release grew nearer, I went from "buy immediately at release" to "wait and see" because the delays kind of put me off on the game. Early user reactions seemed to vindicate my caution, but after the dev came out and said they'd work on improving the game, I remained hopeful.

I'm glad to see they made good on it. It's on sale on Steam for 40% off, so I have to decide if I want to buy it soon.

I was so sad the release of this game didn't live up to expectations but I'm glad they are working to improve it nonetheless. Very good looking game.

Really glad to see that the developers were able to salvage this one. I got very excited for it based on the art style and early video stuff I saw on it, and was super disappointed to see all the feedback on how rough it was to play. Definitely going to pick this up.

Just me getting a huge Dream Theater vibe from the main menu?

Oh, neat. I made the first (and apparently only) thread for this back in launch and was ready to grab myself a copy, but all the user reviews pushed me away as well. Nice to see they reshaped it, though I imagine some might've been disappointed enough back then to not give this a second chance.

I wish they would have revised the graphics too. The sloppy graphics really put me off =/

Hot damn I was musing on why watching this gavee me an odd wave of nostalgia and when Jason mentioned Celtic Frost it all made sense. I think I'm gonna get the soundtrack for this even though I haven't really been a metal fan for atleast 8 years

I wasn't too into this, then Jason mentioned Celtic Frost.

For those of you that are curious as to which member of Celtic Frost did the soundtrack work, it is Curt Victor Bryant - whom played in the band from '88 to '93 (when the band broke up for the first time), so basically the Cold Lake to Vanity/Nemesis era of the band.

Cool, thanks duder.

It's been awhile since I last played a good metal-themed video game. Glad to see something like this pop up out of nowhere.

Of all the problems this game may have, "sloppy graphics" is not one of them. Damn fine pixel art.

CHUGGA CHUGGA CHUGGA

Celtic Frost reference in my GB. Happy (was just listening to their discography earlier - recommended)!

Pixel art is a tool, not a style. It's like saying that oil paint is a style when it's a tool that can be used to create various styles. The problem is that lots of devs use the tool as the style instead of a means to achieve a unique style. Pixel art that looks good is just art that looks good but happens to be pixel art (Shovel Knight, Papers Please, Nidhogg).

@cairnsythebeard: Well said.

I really like Hyper Light Drifter as an example where where they use pixel art, but combine it with other effects and fantastic art direction to create a beautifully unique and modern look.

I think that there is one specific form of pixel art, which is the super low-fi kind used in like Sword and Sworcery that I would not tolerate in any game going forward (I barely tolerated it at the time).

Pixel art and the soundtrack are super dope. Wish I was into this genre.

When will we get another 'Breaking Brad'? Getting desperate here.

A disappointing lack of Ukko...

Geez this looks incredible. I dunno about those bramble explosions but everything else, wow

More Jason QLs please! This was nice. :)

Reminds me of They Bleed Pixels!

instantly sold on the dumb Palm Muted menu!

man this looks good but seems a bit linear to my liking (even though id probably still suck at it)

I like the pixel art style for this game and the soundtrack also fits it pretty well. Might try this at some point.

I'm with you. Breaking Brad needs to come back soon. I'd even be okay with this game for the series.

That's a djent-ass title screen.

This game looks and sounds great. I'll have to check it out sometime.

Didn't think there'd be a Quick Look for this one, thanks guys!

Hearing the sound of Jason's controller is kinda annoying.

Now this is spooky.. Been listening to Triptykon before watching this Quicklook. Jason is A-Okay in my book!

If anyone else is looking for another game in this vein, might I point you to the following game:

Odallus: The Dark Call

i almost thought "none so good" was a cryptopsy reference too

heard brad mention salt & sanctuary (was meaning to try it a few months ago) and immediately bought it after this QL. not a single regret

PS. never thought i would hear a mention of Celtic Frost in any capacity at GB, its one of my favorite bands. also good to see that there are members of GB community who enjoy them as well.

Vinny you need to play this on a GBE playdate!

Got a really great Dethklok vibe from this :) Just humming Thunderhorse as Jason runs along crushing fools.

at some point they mentioned how this was trying to copy games of that era but there is no way a SNES or whatever this is trying to look like could have all these effects. imagine if metroid looked like this that would have been sweet! but all the colored lighting and other stuff came much later than the mid 90s

I was super-excited for this game, as the most metal game since Brutal Legend. But the impressions upon the initial release were so bad that I passed.

This time, I probably won't pass.

I'm waiting for its glorious return as "Breaking Brad: A Fighting Game"

This is pretty metal as fuck. Wish the combat was a little more dynamic, but still looks pretty neat.

The base game has some really well-made pixel art. This is definitely more akin to They Bleed Ponycorns.

Damn this game is beautiful.

I don't think games should release bad or broken, but there is something to be said about a dev redeeming themselves like this.

The metal fan in me is begging for this game.

@auzurafi: Yeah I totally agree...I kept waiting for something interesting to happen but it looked like you just kind of walked forward and slashed guys...