Developer(s) – Infinite State Games
Publisher(s) – Sony Interactive Entertainment, Infinite State Games & Digerati
Designer(s) – Charlie Scott-Skinner & Barry Island
PEGI – 3
Developed by the small indie outfit Infinite State Games based in Bristol back in 2014, Dont Die Mr. Robot is an arcade game similar to the classic titles of the late 70s and most of the 80s. Which is straightforward to learn, but exceedingly difficult to master. I’ve sunk a ridiculous amount of hours in this game and for good reason. It’s just as addicting and as fun to play as the arcade games of old that it was inspired by.
Graphics – 7/10
The game takes place in a world known as the electro-abyss. Where flashing lights and darkness go hand-in-hand with one another. The settings are most reminiscent of Pac-Man complete with fruit and a yellow-colored main character. Where this game stands out, however, is in its surprisingly diverse variety of enemy designs. The variety gets a lot more apparent the more the player progresses as well. Different types of robots with different kinds of attack patterns are designed to throw the player at every turn.
Gameplay – 9/10
The concept of Don’t Die Mr. Robot is simple, as is what is outlined at the beginning of every game by the announcer. Get the fruit, and avoid the enemies. Fruit blows up when collected, killing almost any type of enemy within the blast radius. Bonus points can be attained by collecting the coins that enemies drop when killed. Or by merely brushing up lightly against enemies.
There are several different game modes to perpetuate even more variety, including a time trial and even a mission mode. What a lot of indie developers have done whilst having made games of the same ilk as the classic arcade titles of old is to add more than what can be expected in order to keep things fresh and give players more to play for past the satisfaction of exceeding a high score, and Don’t Die, Mr. Robot is no different; that’s part of why I like this game so much.
Controls – 10/10
The control scheme is perfect, presenting no problems to players with its simplicity in basic design. But at the same time, it also leaves a great deal of scope for players to hone their abilities and become as proficient at the game as possible, as more time will be spent trying to master the game as opposed to learning how it’s played. The learning curve involves finding out how to approach each game type and trying to develop specific strategies in order to take each stage as it comes; it’s especially hard, as in arcade mode, everything is procedurally generated and each playthrough presents a new challenge each time.
Originality – 7/10
An arcade game with as much variety in gameplay as Dont Die Mr Robot cannot be overlooked in terms of originality. It does indeed have its influences where its basic premise is concerned, but it’s just as wonderfully varied as most of every other modern arcade game I’ve played over the last few years, including Titan Attacks, Ultratron, Curses N’ Chaos, Pix the Cat, and Resogun. It’s always refreshing to see developers keep the classic way of playing video games alive, whilst at the same time, giving old and new players a new challenge.
Happii
Overall, Dont Die Mr. Robot is an innovative, addicting and exceedingly tense, and fun game to play. I highly recommend it to either old-school gamers looking for a new challenge, or to newer-generation players looking to get a glimpse into how we used to play games back in the day.