I have a special place in my heart for nerdy things related to old PC culture. I don't know what it is, perhaps it reminds me of an innocent youth in front of my 386DX messing with config.sys and autoexec.bat files trying to determine if I should include or not include himem.sys. Still with me? If you are, then I've got a game that plays to those emotions and memories quite well - best of all - the game takes inspiration from the classic PC game Descent with six degrees of freedom. The game is call Retrovirus, from indie developer Cadenza, and it not only features plenty of geeky throwbacks, but a two player co-op campaign.
In Retrovirus, you assume the role of an anti-virus program put into the inner workings of a PC infected by a worm. Your job is to seek out and destroy all of the nasty stuff left behind by the worm and ultimately take it down. Along the way you'll travel to different areas of a PC - email, web browser, desktop, etc. While all the areas look pretty similar, there's several little things that add character. For instance, while heading into the email program you'll see little "E" envelopes floating through the tubes.
Your ship is equipped with a pretty basic gun to start, it features a pair of lasers, but along the way you'll unlock shotguns, gatling guns, and a handful of others. All of your weapons are powered by "cycles" - so while there is unlimited ammo you can only perform so many cycles per second.
Retrovirus also features an XP system based on storage capacity. You'll be picking up bits, bytes, kilobytes and megabytes of experience from fallen foes working towards certain thresholds to upgrade. Once you upgrade there's a few dozen options you can unlock, customizing your ship, weapons, or the ability to scan.
Scanning is what sets Retrovirus apart from other shooters like this. It serves two purposes, the first is activated by holding the scan key, it will scan a large area pointing out infections and points of interest for a short period of time. The second purpose is actually a weapon modifier. By scanning quickly and then shooting through the scan you can create small gravity wells, stick explosives to enemies, or even "push" enemies around. You can also use the scan ability to interact with the environment.
I really love the look of Retrovirus. Cadenza has done a great job creating the inner workings of a computer, giving the levels muted clean colors mixed with hard edges. When combined with the organic looking viruses - which feature bright purples and greens mixed with their grotesque figures. Since you'll be picking off the damage from the inner workings of the PC, the contrast between the two make it really easy to see.
The game's story plays out in set levels each with their own goal. An "Oracle" will act as your guide and keep you to task and you'll meet some silly characters along the way - all are done with eccentric voice overs that are fairly entertaining. At times, I felt like I was in some offshoot of the world created by Valve for Portal. The music in Retrovirus is also very fitting, though, it could use a little more variety.
The entire campaign can be played cooperatively with another player online. It's very free form, players can pick any level to start from and jump in from the beginning. Completing levels in co-op unlock them in your single player game, and any unlocks you acquire for your ship stick with your profile as well.
Co-Op doesn't add a whole lot to the gameplay, though players can combine different scan and gun combinations to help defeat enemies. For instance one player could set up a gravity well on an environmental hazard while the other could use the push scan ability to send enemies flying into it. The challenge definitely seemed to go up in co-op as well, with more enemies to tackle. There's no revive mechanic, instead it uses a Halo style spawn system, respawning you to your partner as soon as they are out of combat.
The big thing that co-op can help with is navigating. The world of Retrovirus has a very old school feel to it - you'll be finding keys to unlock doors, traveling back and forth through levels to areas that were previously unaccessible. It reminds me of DOOM or Duke Nukem 3D - where keycards and trying to find the next door were part of the experience - and with the six degrees of freedom, it's part of the challenge of the game. Simply getting from A to B is never a straight line like it is in most modern shooters. Having a co-op partner to help find the next path or objective was a huge help - of course - when your partner simply says "I'm over here" - it's a bit tougher to know where to look in space.
So while part of the challenge is trying to find where to go, and co-op helps, in single player many times I found myself completely lost. There is a waypoint system in the game, but it seems to be hit or miss on if it actually works. We hit a few minor glitches beside this, which I'm sure will be patched in due time, but nothing that ruined the experience or caused lost progress.
There hasn't been a ton of coverage of Retrovirus, and after playing it, I'm really surprised the developer failed to reach their Kickstarter goals. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by with the game and how it played on nostalgia and geeky PC terminology. I forgot how much I really missed this style of game and the overall look and feel really brought me into the game's world. There's a solid variety of enemies to keep you on your toes, and while the game isn't difficult, it's just challenging enough to be fun. Retrovirus is a game I think that will surprise a lot of people.
Co-Optimus was supplied a build of Retrovirus for review purposes from the developer.