Sins of the Flesh (XBLIG): "A Haunting Story Told With Shmup Style Gameplay"

This year has brought with it some really impressive XBLIG titles from some equally impressive developers. I'm definitely glad to have got to review such creative indie game masterpieces in the short time that I have been doing reviews. Silver Dollar Games is among the most impressive developers that I have had the chance to review for, and they have yet to let me down with any of their releases. Whenever I see that 'Silver Dollar Games' has released a new XBLIG title I do not hesitate in contacting them about reviewing it. This was definitely the case with their recent release of 'Sins of the Flesh'. When I first looked at the cover art of their game it was a serious "WOW!" moment. I wanted to see what the game was like immediately, so I downloaded the trial. What I found was a very cool story driven polarity style shmup (Think 'Ikaruga'). The demo itself didn't even touch base with what the full game offered. I found this out after securing a review token of the game, and doing a full playthrough of it ...

 Sins of the Flesh combines some very impressive voice acting, a haunting afterlife story, and brilliantly applied shmup gameplay. The story follows the tale of a man who was a victim of a car crash due to the fact that he was tinkering with the radio while he was driving. He hasn't led a good life, and must now fight to make it back to the realm of the living to set things right. When the game starts you find the man walking through the afterlife which is made up of black, and grey silhouettes. A young girl's voice greets you as white, and black demons try to drag you to hell. She discusses your predicament, and warns you about it as you walk along the straightforward path defending yourself against constant attacks from demons. The devil also chimes in trying to persuade you to give up on your journey back to life. He tries to trick you into making bad choices that will either complicate or end the game prematurely. You will not only face the small demon types in your struggle to regain your life, but you will also face boss demons/angels along the way. Your choices in the game greatly reflect how your story goes.

Gameplay in 'Sins of the Flesh' features dual thumbstick controls with polarity (black, white) shots. The main character in the game isn't controlled at all, but you must fire the appropriately colored shots (black, white) at the demons of the same color in order to keep them from dragging you to hell. The boss battles work in the same way, except you will still encounter swarms of smaller demons as you try to destroy them. If I remember correctly there are about four different bosses in the game. The bosses themselves aren't really that hard to face, but what complicates the process is that the smaller demons are constantly trying to drag you to hell as you attempt to defeat them. Gameplay is pretty intense in 'Sins of the Flesh' but it matches the overall narrative tone of the game.

The graphic design of 'Sins of the Flesh' is truly amazing. The game is presented in a 2D sidescrolling view with multiple background layers. The background, and path that the main character walks upon are done in multiple layers with an eerie black and white effect. The overall look of the game had an otherworldly appearance to it that suited the story that was being told. The path that the main character walks upon is decorated with creepy trees/plants, and is actually double sided. The developer made it have the appearance that there was a world below the path, and one above it (a sort of mirrored look). The angels, and demons also have a unique look to them as well. For the most part the demons, angels, and bosses in the game have an abstract sort of appearance. I actually liked the look of everything in the game. As an artist games such as 'Sins of the Flesh' always hold my attention if they are done right.

In the end I was thoroughly impressed by 'Sins of the Flesh'. The narration, and voice acting were amazing. The story itself was told in a manner that had me deeply involved in the gameplay as I tried desperately to save the main character from the eternal damnation he was facing. The shmup style gameplay itself was executed very well, and I definitely like how 'Silver Dollar Games' applied it to this game. The difficulty of the game mirrored the intense struggle that was being experienced by the main character, and offered a nice challenge. I'm definitely glad I was able to complete the game, because it got pretty serious as the story progressed. I have to say that the optional ending that I chose was very satisfying, and I'm going to play it agin to see how the game would have went if I had made different choices. I definitely think this game is worth the asking price. It offers a great story, superb narration/voice acting, and deeply involved shmup style gameplay.