Developer(s) – Vile Monarch
Publisher(s) – Gambitious Digital Entertainment
Rating – N/A (Discretion advised)
Developed by Austrian indie outfit Vile Monarch, Oh… Sir! The Insult Simulator combines turn-based style combat with the layout of a fighting game to deliver a unique twist on both styles of play, and quirky humor to match. Whilst not having a great amount of replayability for a fighting game, it can make for hours of entertainment, and for the relatively short time it took me to unlock everything, I enjoyed this title.
Graphics – 7/10
Rendered using 8-bit graphics, the developers took influenced most notably by the Monty Python troupe in both its character and stage designs. As a fan of Monty Python myself, it was fun identifying where the references were placed; be that either the obvious ones, like the character of John P. Shufflebottom being an obvious caricature of John Cleese’s character from the world-famous dead parrot sketch or obscure ones like the trumpets being blown by their rear end in the background of the afterlife stage, reminiscent of a scene from Monty Python’s The Holy Grail. There are also references to other aspects of modern and classic thrown in for good measure, which enhance the game’s level of visual variety in terms of conceptual design.
Gameplay – 6/10
The object of the game is to string together the longest insults possible by picking from a selection of phrases and conjunctions in the best order to deal as much damage as possible to the enemy and deplete their health bar before they can deplete the player’s health bar. There are additional characters to unlock, as well as an additional stage, and then there’s also a multiplayer mode whereby people can compete online. For a fighting game, it doesn’t have a great deal of content, and I’m hoping that’s where the game’s upcoming sequel will come in; Oh… Sir! The Hollywood Roast. It’s not the most plentiful experience available, but well worth the price posted on Steam of £1.59. Stringing elaborate insults together feels satisfying, and it’s also rewarding to be able to identify an individual character’s weaknesses to deal extra damage.
Controls – 10/10
Issues with the controls are non-existent unless gamers have a problem with their mouse. It’s a simple point-and-click game typical of a vast majority of PC games and suffers from no problems in this respect.
Originality – 9/10
In terms of uniqueness, it stands out from any other fighting game ever made. It thrills me to see independent developers trying out new ideas never seen in gaming before, and making them work extremely well, like what has been accomplished with this title. The developers have promised a more plentiful experience with the next game, as well as it being much more open to modding like Civilization 5 perhaps, but the first game is definitely a standout starting point worthy of more attention than it has received so far.
Happii
Overall, Oh… Sir! The Insult Simulator, whilst having a fleeting single-player experience, makes up for that in its quality. It’s an entertaining, reasonably priced, and funny gaming experience and I would recommend it to all fighting game fans out there.
Score
32/40
8/10 (Very Good)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/512250/OhSir_The_Insult_Simulator/