After having played through the entirety of 'Let Them Come' into a second playthrough, and having sampled it's two bonus modes I can honestly say this game is quite the unique indie adventure. From the trailers you've seen you've no doubt concluded it's a shooter with waves of enemies, but what you might not realize is this game is more akin to a tower defense style game than a shmup. The premise is quite simple, and the story fairly straightforward. As a mercenary for hire, and the only one left surviving after facing an alien infestation on a space freighter you are the only hope standing between a galactic takeover, and the death of the human species. At your disposal in your last stand you have a mounted rail gun with a variety of different ammo types as well as secondary throwing weapons, and add-ons that will help you withstand the seemingly endless barrage of creatures which will continuously advance towards you and your makeshift barricade. Much like the protagonist from Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy' films you also have a boombox which plays the several mixtapes you'll earn along the way. Through unavoidable death, and upgrades via score based currency you will upgrade your arsenal options, and face multiple waves of aliens before facing five intermittent epic bosses as you rock your 80's style tunes in style.
Much like a tower defense game 'Let Them Come' has the enemy coming to you. Since the game is a 2D corridor shooter this means that you're at one end of the hall, and the approaching threat at the other. Initially you'll start off with only your rail gun which has limited up and down aiming as well as an exhaustion gauge the pauses your infinite rapid firing when said gauge overheats. The enemy waves heading your way will start off slow, and introduce different types of alien variants in a gradual intensity that will have to be dealt with in different ways. Whether it be with your gun, or your secondary weapons. The catch is you will die several times over as you face the hordes of aliens, and it's not always going to be your fault. It is by design. The game always pushes you forward wave by wave despite your death, and holds your place in progression regardless, but in dying allows you to shop for the tools necessary to advance with the coins that are earned by racking up combos with the combo meter.
The tools of destruction and defense I speak of come in a decent variety that includes add-ons for weapon buffs, armor, and health. There's also explosive, and melee style secondary weapons used for clearing the crowds as well as stopping aliens that get a little to close for comfort. Even further still you'll find different bullet types which go along with your only primary weapon. Buying, upgrading, and equipping these tools is a strategic operation in that certain weapons, and add-ons will help you out more in specific waves. When you die, and you will, the shopping option will be made available for you to spend your ever stacking cache of currency in.
The combo meter which I also spoke of earlier is a gauge that builds up, and does not break in building the chain. The more aliens you shoot down the more the meter will build, and the more currency you will earn. Along with that currency the meter, once filled, will offer up the choice of three random perks that offer assistance of varying types. You'll find bots that shoot alongside you, health recovery perks, score/currency multipliers, and damage boosts among other things. With these pop-up perks comes a significant catch though. You'll have to press 'X' before the perk icon fully fills in order to reap the reward. The closer it is to being full before you press 'X' the longer the perk will last. You'll know how well you did by the words that pop-up after you've pressed the proper button. Getting a "PERFECT!" is the best result while "OVERSHOT" will leave you with only half a second of help. You will always get the perk, but it's your timing that will determine it's duration. It should also be noted that multiple perks can be in play at one time.
When it comes down to the modes of play, and the experiences therein they are limited, but the game does have it's replay value. In 'Let Them Come' you'll find in place three modes of action packed mayhem. This includes the 'Campaign', 'Rampage Challenge', and 'Boss Challenge'. The 'Campaign' features over 100 consecutive waves of increasingly aggressive aliens, and 5 bosses that come complete with their own attack patterns, and weaknesses. The waves in the campaign are a simple matter of survival, and weapon/add-on management. When it comes to the 'Rampage Challenge' though it is a wave based leaderboard challenge in a similar vein without boss battles in which you are gifted 2,000 coins up front to choose your loadout for facing a potentially endless onslaught of lesser enemies. When you die it's game over, and supposing you make the top 10 listing you'll find your name listed when you revisit the mode. Lastly the 'Boss Challenge' mode is a mode that plays out kind of like 'Rampage Challenge', but only has you facing harder versions of the 5 bosses. This mode includes the 2,000 credit loadout startup like the previously mentioned mode, and limits what you can carry into each boss challenge. The boss challenges are individual in nature. Something else worth noting is that there is more campaign action after the campaign is finished to be had. You'll find a 'new plus game' option at the main menu which changes the waves of enemies to be more challenging while allowing you to carry over all that you've unlocked in your previous playthrough. The added fact that the game features three different difficulty settings that equate to easy, normal, and hard will give you enough reason to soldier through it all multiple times.
The presentation ...
Graphically 'Let Them Come' is a pixel indie on steroids. It's a fine example of quality pixel animation. The piled on pixels bleed beyond the aliens, and the protagonist into every detail of the background. The screen display is very narrow though, and kind of mimics that claustrophobic feel movies like the 'ALIEN' series utilized. Possibly making the massive amount of onscreen pixel action less of a stress on the PS4 hardware. There's tons of blood, guts, and gore involved in the frantic fight for survival as well. Even the protagonist's 'Wolfenstein' inspired avatar gets gored gruesomely upon death, showcasing bloody wear the more he takes damage. Along with the visuals comes a gradually unlocked series of mixtapes that house 18, 80's style tunes done up by more contemporary artists. The mixtapes are earned as you progress, and can be selected, and included in your own personal track listing for listening to while you play. Beyond the music there is also an alien bestiary with alien species on display that includes side text letting you know a little more about them. You'll even find messages, emails, discs, and letters explaining away the finer details of the story that were not included in the initial, and ending cutscenes.
The verdict ...
At first I was a bit frustrated dying not five minutes into the game. I thought the start was too abrupt, and my first death equally as so. The more I played 'Let Them Come' though the more I began to enjoy the game. In fact I enjoyed it so much I completed it in one sitting while chatting with my friend. I liked that the game had replay value in both the leaderboard based modes, and in the main campaign. Visually, and thematically the game was pleasing as well. As I said at the start of the review this is a unique indie experience. As far as my recommendation goes I think it's worth it if you are looking for a different kind of shooter within the sea of clones. Just know it's not a huge game, and that though it does hold some replay value it will no doubt grow old after you've played through it a few times.
Much like a tower defense game 'Let Them Come' has the enemy coming to you. Since the game is a 2D corridor shooter this means that you're at one end of the hall, and the approaching threat at the other. Initially you'll start off with only your rail gun which has limited up and down aiming as well as an exhaustion gauge the pauses your infinite rapid firing when said gauge overheats. The enemy waves heading your way will start off slow, and introduce different types of alien variants in a gradual intensity that will have to be dealt with in different ways. Whether it be with your gun, or your secondary weapons. The catch is you will die several times over as you face the hordes of aliens, and it's not always going to be your fault. It is by design. The game always pushes you forward wave by wave despite your death, and holds your place in progression regardless, but in dying allows you to shop for the tools necessary to advance with the coins that are earned by racking up combos with the combo meter.
The tools of destruction and defense I speak of come in a decent variety that includes add-ons for weapon buffs, armor, and health. There's also explosive, and melee style secondary weapons used for clearing the crowds as well as stopping aliens that get a little to close for comfort. Even further still you'll find different bullet types which go along with your only primary weapon. Buying, upgrading, and equipping these tools is a strategic operation in that certain weapons, and add-ons will help you out more in specific waves. When you die, and you will, the shopping option will be made available for you to spend your ever stacking cache of currency in.
The combo meter which I also spoke of earlier is a gauge that builds up, and does not break in building the chain. The more aliens you shoot down the more the meter will build, and the more currency you will earn. Along with that currency the meter, once filled, will offer up the choice of three random perks that offer assistance of varying types. You'll find bots that shoot alongside you, health recovery perks, score/currency multipliers, and damage boosts among other things. With these pop-up perks comes a significant catch though. You'll have to press 'X' before the perk icon fully fills in order to reap the reward. The closer it is to being full before you press 'X' the longer the perk will last. You'll know how well you did by the words that pop-up after you've pressed the proper button. Getting a "PERFECT!" is the best result while "OVERSHOT" will leave you with only half a second of help. You will always get the perk, but it's your timing that will determine it's duration. It should also be noted that multiple perks can be in play at one time.
When it comes down to the modes of play, and the experiences therein they are limited, but the game does have it's replay value. In 'Let Them Come' you'll find in place three modes of action packed mayhem. This includes the 'Campaign', 'Rampage Challenge', and 'Boss Challenge'. The 'Campaign' features over 100 consecutive waves of increasingly aggressive aliens, and 5 bosses that come complete with their own attack patterns, and weaknesses. The waves in the campaign are a simple matter of survival, and weapon/add-on management. When it comes to the 'Rampage Challenge' though it is a wave based leaderboard challenge in a similar vein without boss battles in which you are gifted 2,000 coins up front to choose your loadout for facing a potentially endless onslaught of lesser enemies. When you die it's game over, and supposing you make the top 10 listing you'll find your name listed when you revisit the mode. Lastly the 'Boss Challenge' mode is a mode that plays out kind of like 'Rampage Challenge', but only has you facing harder versions of the 5 bosses. This mode includes the 2,000 credit loadout startup like the previously mentioned mode, and limits what you can carry into each boss challenge. The boss challenges are individual in nature. Something else worth noting is that there is more campaign action after the campaign is finished to be had. You'll find a 'new plus game' option at the main menu which changes the waves of enemies to be more challenging while allowing you to carry over all that you've unlocked in your previous playthrough. The added fact that the game features three different difficulty settings that equate to easy, normal, and hard will give you enough reason to soldier through it all multiple times.
The presentation ...
Graphically 'Let Them Come' is a pixel indie on steroids. It's a fine example of quality pixel animation. The piled on pixels bleed beyond the aliens, and the protagonist into every detail of the background. The screen display is very narrow though, and kind of mimics that claustrophobic feel movies like the 'ALIEN' series utilized. Possibly making the massive amount of onscreen pixel action less of a stress on the PS4 hardware. There's tons of blood, guts, and gore involved in the frantic fight for survival as well. Even the protagonist's 'Wolfenstein' inspired avatar gets gored gruesomely upon death, showcasing bloody wear the more he takes damage. Along with the visuals comes a gradually unlocked series of mixtapes that house 18, 80's style tunes done up by more contemporary artists. The mixtapes are earned as you progress, and can be selected, and included in your own personal track listing for listening to while you play. Beyond the music there is also an alien bestiary with alien species on display that includes side text letting you know a little more about them. You'll even find messages, emails, discs, and letters explaining away the finer details of the story that were not included in the initial, and ending cutscenes.
The verdict ...
At first I was a bit frustrated dying not five minutes into the game. I thought the start was too abrupt, and my first death equally as so. The more I played 'Let Them Come' though the more I began to enjoy the game. In fact I enjoyed it so much I completed it in one sitting while chatting with my friend. I liked that the game had replay value in both the leaderboard based modes, and in the main campaign. Visually, and thematically the game was pleasing as well. As I said at the start of the review this is a unique indie experience. As far as my recommendation goes I think it's worth it if you are looking for a different kind of shooter within the sea of clones. Just know it's not a huge game, and that though it does hold some replay value it will no doubt grow old after you've played through it a few times.
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