PixlBit

I was excited when I first saw Capsized because at first glance it reminded me of the classic NES game Blaster Master, specifically how you could pop out of the cockpit of your buggy and run around the area in your white jumpsuit, armed with a pea shooter. This impression led me to expect a standard run ‘n’ gun action game common amongst indie titles. What I found was a rewarding evolution of the genre   that not only stimulates the senses with its stellar graphics and ambient sounds but demands some fancy finger work, too.

Capsized is a console port of the 2012 indie PC title which puts you in the role of one of a handful of space-farers who narrowly avoid their demise as their ship gets destroyed. Their escape pods crash land on an alien planet filled with lush greenery and savage inhabitants. You must traverse the jungle-like terrain and caverns while fighting off the primitive but powerful natives and freakish plant life to find your lost shipmates and return them to safety… if they’re still alive.

Your progress is impeded by obstacles like rocks and branches you can clear out with your weapons and grapple hook. The loosened debris can be used to protect yourself from attacks or hurl them as projectiles to save  precious ammo.  Each level starts you with just a little blaster gun but weapon power-ups like rapid fire or lasers are quickly available. Walking and aiming uses dual analog stick controls, one moves your little dude while the other gives you 360 degree aiming – quite the departure from the Blaster Master clone I expected.

There are a surprising number of different ways to move around. On top of your standard run and jump, there’s the aforementioned grapple hook to swing around, a jetpack to fly freely with limited fuel, then an antigravity power-up to fly around freely for a limited time. If that’s not already enough mobility, you can wall-jump, too. One thing is for sure, if you find yourself stuck in the bottom of pit, you are doing something terribly wrong.  The grapple hook is the most fun and fans of Bionic Commando will feel right at home.

Some of the more complicated areas will have you tripping over the controls, though. Holding the left trigger to grapple, while aiming with the right analog, while tapping the left shoulder to lock on the target, while firing with the right trigger, while trying to switch weapons with the face buttons all at the same time is a true test of your game pad mastery.

The 2D environments are a pleasure to behold; the intricate detail of the ground, foliage, and network of caves make good use of HD visuals. The same theme song plays throughout each level but adds to the atmosphere perfectly and is quite catchy. I found myself humming the base line long after I  stopped playing. The combat is the main focus of the game, the puzzle aspects seem more of an afterthought that simply give you an excuse to play with the physics and fully explore the areas. Hit the switch to open the door and lift this rock-not that rock are about the extent of it. There are no sanity-stealing mind benders here.  

There is an assortment of unlockable arcade modes and a multiplayer mode, but the single player campaign is where you’ll be spending most of your time. Story narration is handled in a minimal fashion with comic book style graphic panels that give you the gist of what’s going on, but still manage to invoke an emotional attachment to your little crewmates and nameless protagonist. After you’ve completed the story once, the leaderboards let you compare your prowess with your friends and the achievement list requires you to fully explore and replay the entire game before your completionist desires will be satiated.

At ten bucks, this one is a no-brainer for fans of action platformers that are looking for an original challenge and don’t mind a little puzzle solving. I personally love that we can still find new things to put in older game styles like this. Capsized could have come out in the 16- or 32-bit era, but it requires the updated visuals and control scheme of today’s consoles to make it what it is. We are seeing more and more titles like this these days; I’m not complaining. Capsized is a pleasure to play despite its more difficult aspects, but I consider it a contender for one of my favorite indie games of late. I don’t know how I missed this one on the PC, but I’m glad IndiePub brought it to consoles where I could have the pleasure of experiencing this original and charming title.