Slam And Roll Review (Xbox Series S)

Summary

The game boasts a charming, almost 16-bit graphical style that evokes nostalgia while maintaining a modern edge. With a manageable download size of 547.7MB and a full 1000 Gamerscore, it offers plenty of achievements to chase. The game includes its own in-game achievements and a variety of visual options, such as particle amount levels, visual effect modes (including CRT), and HUD adjustments, allowing players to tailor their experience. The five controller layouts provide flexibility, and the action platformer gameplay is both engaging and challenging.

One of the standout features is the optional, repeatable tutorial, which helps players get accustomed to the screen-clear-based gameplay loop. The game supports online leaderboards, adding a competitive edge, and offers twelve unique characters to unlock, each with distinct abilities and stats affecting bullet drop, range, rate of fire, bullet strength, and explosion type. The 2D game world is brought to life through four game modes: Tour, Arcade, Chaos, and an unspecified mode. Tour mode serves as the story mode, featuring world locations to unlock, save points, and mission selection, with players earning one to three stars per mission based on performance.

The core objective is to clear all enemies as quickly as possible while collecting drops. Combat involves hitting a ball into enemies to stun them, then continuing to hit them until they turn into a ball, which can be smashed against walls to kill other enemies or ridden for additional attacks. The game’s arcade presentation and local co-op multiplayer support enhance its appeal, and the simple controls make it easy to pick up, though mastering it requires time and practice.

The game exudes a modern retro feel, with fantastic animations that add to its charm. It feels like a more brutal version of Bubble Bobble, with Tour mode offering 112 stages and Arcade mode featuring 53 stages with limited credits and continues. Chaos mode includes 20 challenges, with new ones added every ten days, and players can collect timed power-ups throughout the game. The immersive experience is so vivid that you can almost smell the arcade cabinet it would belong in.

However, there are a few drawbacks. The unspecified game mode remains a mystery, and the pause button being mapped to the back button instead of the start button can be confusing. While the game is easy to pick up, optimizing your runs takes time. Additionally, there are no online game modes, and the leaderboards cannot be filtered, which might frustrate competitive players. The power-ups take some getting used to, and the limited time to collect pickups and power-ups can be challenging.

In summary, the game offers a delightful blend of retro aesthetics and modern gameplay mechanics, with a variety of modes and characters to keep players engaged. While it has a few quirks and limitations, its charm and depth make it a worthwhile experience for fans of action platformers and arcade-style games.