Developer Pixelbomb Games’ philosophy of cobbling together ‘kick-arse, adrenaline inducing gameplay experiences’ is definitely firmly embedded in the DNA of the upcoming Beyond Flesh and Blood; a mech-powered, bloody action-platformer that pays as much homage to Mortal Kombat as as it does old-school 80s films and anime. We found this out first hand after spending some time with the game on PC and PlayStation 4 last week, where PSU was given a look at a couple of stages from a very early build of the upcoming title, which will also be compatible with PlayStation VR.
Taking place in a post-apocalyptic future where earth has been evacuated following an extraterrestrial attack, Beyond Flesh and Blood plonks its mech-sized feet in the ruins of overgrown Manchester—not a shock in the least as it’s Pixelbomb’s home city—in the midst of a struggle between three factions: Aliens, UGR and Rebels. The alien race are the prominent Big Bad who you’ll battle against as earth’s UGR, although those who have decided to stay beyond in the aftermath of the attack have formed their own society, albeit now forge and unscrupulous living as trigger-happy rebel forces.
Pixelbomb’s Senior Character Artist, Jimmy Condliffe, told PSU that the team essentially took their beloved Manchester (we didn’t get to ask if they prefered City or Man U, sadly) before destroying it in as meticulous detail as possible. It definitely shows too, and as we ventured through the dilapidated buildings, deserted hallways and crumbling walkways, it became apparent that Mother Nature had indeed claimed Manchester for herself once again; think Midgar during Final Fantasy VII’s epilogue sequence and you’ll have a good idea of what to expect.
Still, it’s clear that Beyond Flesh and Blood’s main appeal is in its combat, and it wasn’t long before Condliffe got us stuck into the action. Strapped into your mech, we were quickly put through our paces against alien lifeforms (which included some Facehugger-like critters that exploded satisfyingly into a bloody mess with a few shots), with foes attacking us from afar and ducking behind cover, forcing us to go on the move to hit back. The catch here is that you cannot take cover yourself; rather, you must go on the offensive, which adheres neatly to Pixelbomb’s description that the mech-combat romp is very much a ‘fast-paced’ affair.
Firing back is a breeze. You have your basic firearm that can be used to pretty decent effect against common grunts, although for the meatier bad guys (hulking chaps wielding chain guns and other health-draining delights) you’ll need to whip out the big guns in the shape of homing rockets and ground-pounding behemoths. It’s a simple as tapping the R1 for your rockets and firing in the usual manner with L2 & R2; whack both shoulder buttons simultaneously for a special attack. We managed to fare pretty well, although this intro stage gave us access to all the best equipment and some of the enemy AI hadn’t yet been implemented at this early stage; one poor bugger simply stood there and let us unload rockets into his face before exploding into bloody chunks.
Speaking of gore, the visceral side of combat is palpable. Pixel Bomb clearly wants you to have a bit of fun unleashing hell upon your victims, and as such there’s all manner of ways you can dismember, explode and generally splatter the walls with your foes’ innards. Hit Circle in close proximity and you’ll perform a gruesome melee attack, ripping your foes apart, while headshots and other hard-hitting weapons will blow limbs and chunks off your opponents in spectacular fashion. It’s certainly satisfying to see, and makes your efforts all the more rewarding to boot.
As mentioned you cannot take cover, although aside from going on the offensive, there’s a handy dash button to make use of, letting your mech evade projectiles and other attacks with a quick flick of the analogue stick in conjunction with Square. Also instrumental in your limb-ripping exploits is the ability to slow down time, allowing you to alleviate some of the fire you are taking and use these precious ten-seconds or so to cause some significant damage to a boss, or dispatch a group of lesser foes. It works surprisingly well too, and I have to admit I didn’t find myself lamenting the lack of a cover function all that much.
Delving into some other stages, I found myself stripped of the meatier armaments and thus having to make do with some rudimentary weapons. This obviously presented a greater challenge, forcing some tactical thinking; it also becomes vital to use your evasive skills to the maximum, as I found out the hard way by soaking up too much damage and ending up a bloody mess myself. There’s also some perfunctory platforming to be had, plus a few environmental tasks, such as hacking terminals and power nodes to restore some much-needed juice to tram cars and other devices. If these can punctuate the action in the full release, then Pixelbomb should be on to nice balance of gameplay for the final version.
Of course, you’d expect a third-person shooter like Beyond Flesh and Blood to be multiplayer friendly, and Condliffe informed us that this is indeed on the cards, mentioning a horde mode that will make it into the final build. PS VR compatibility is being lined up for launch day too, and Pixel Bomb says it’s going to be among the first companies to support Sony’s ambitious new gaming headset when it finally turns up. They’re also aiming for a buttery-smooth 60fps on Sony’s console; it was clear they still have a way to go on this from the PS4 build I played (the PC version featured hardly any stutters in performance, I’d like to note), but they emphatically stated this console version was still in its infancy.
One aspect of Beyond Flesh and Blood that I wasn’t able to soak up much from the preview was the narrative, although Pixelbomb made it clear they were aiming to differentiate from other mech-related gubbins in this area. While not elaborating on the matter, they teased that their latest endeavour will inject some originality into the mech concept, with character development being of paramount importance. Quite how they go about this is anyone’s guess, but it should add a compelling take on what is otherwise an enjoyable, albeit mechanically familiar gory blast-’em-up.
Beyond Flesh and Blood is currently without a concrete release date and will hit stores on PS4, PC and Xbox One at some point this year.