Riddled Corpses EX Mixes Old School Mob Brawlers With Shmup Mechanics

Complete with two co-op score based modes, and a cooperative story mode with five stages of progression CowCat Games, and Diabolical Minds challenges the gamer or gamers to take on one of the most grueling fights for apocalyptic survival ever! Whether you love the oldschool appeal of the side-scrolling wave filled brawlers, or the arcade shoot' em ups of old you will find tons of replay value in this story driven fight against the evil of all evils. A furious fight against an evil which has, and continues to resurrect the dead in order to destroy all of humanity. Through a character upgrade system that alters gun play Gradius-style, and unlockables in the form of other characters and weapons with their own unique combat offerings you will face wave after wave of the undead in an attempt to best the true prince of darkness. The ultimate end goal being a complete story playthrough, or an arcade mode playthrough. Each with a different way to experience the trek through madness. That and one of the most difficult static survival modes to ever grace the shmup genre!

Simply crafted, but formidably so, you'll find that "Riddled Corpse EX" and it's three modes of play will challenge your mettle as a true arcade game master. Taking a hint from arcade classics of the 80's, and spicing things up to the modern pixel era the developers introduce a grind for gold that will have you unlocking the game's many options gradually while affording you an experience that remains challenging, but increasingly more doable as you upgrade, unlock, and play as one of six playable characters. Whether you play through the story mode, and it's five stages of multiple waves each, or do the same in a more score oriented arcade-like version of the same playthrough in arcade mode you will find that the few power-ups that drop as well as the gold items left behind will be what gets you through to the end.

In the story mode you'll be able to select, and play through each of the five environmentally different stages that scroll onward as you clear wave after wave of the undead and evil. Initially, at the starting menu, past the story mode selection menu you will happen upon a character selection screen. At first you'll only have Jon as a choice, but as you earn gold in-game you will be able to either upgrade his shot Gradius-style or unlock one of three additional characters that each come with a base set of stats that effect their gameplay performance. Your goal as the selected character is to twin-stick shoot your way through constantly advancing hordes of evil minions. You'll find that along with your characters' basic shot attack and multi-directional movement comes a few helpful power-up items in the form of a freeze timer that briefly freezes enemies in place, a screen clearing explosive charge, and medkits that give you one extra hit. Of course survival is king, and all characters have a set amount of hits they can withstand. These hits or lives can be taken away if you run into hazards or enemies, so minding your surroundings and the bullet hell as well as the attack patterns of certain enemy types will be imperative. When all hits/lives are spent you will face the dreaded "Game Over" screen, and be taken back to the main menu where you can spend collected gold on upgrades, characters, or the costly weapon add-ons that make gunning down baddies easier. Thus improving your odds at completing the stage at hand.

As far as stage clearing goes in story mode, and arcade mode you'll find that clearing set waves of enemies per meter indicator will cause the landscape to auto-scroll, and push you towards the next wave of enemies that must be cleared as well. After clearing a certain amount of waves you'll reach a boss battle in which bullet hell, and minions are used against you. Like the waves before you'll find a large health bar at the bottom of the screen for the boss, but damage to said health bar will be boss specific instead of multiple minion kill focused. Defeating the boss will award you a drop of several gold pieces. Thereafter you'll be taken to the "Ghost & Goblins" inspired side view map where you can either select the next stage to play through or the previous one you already completed. There are five stages in total with different enemy types as well as terrain themes, and environmental hazards. Everything is set in given pattern with only the gold drops, and power-up drops being truly randomized.

Also to note is the combo meter which comes into play on all modes. By killing enemies without getting hit you will fill up the combo meter. Once it starts flashing your character will glow blue indicating that they have a momentary damage output boost. This helps in clearing the more hectic mob scenes when you don't have a freeze timer or a bomb to clear the screen of enemies.

When it comes to the arcade mode offerings there is a slight difference in the way the five stages play out. By this I mean you now have a leaderboard score counter with new arcade-like score drops (food items, etc.), and a new way to level up your shot. The latter feature happens by clearing out a certain number of enemies. Once you reach that number a special floating power-up avatar will fly around the stage until it situates itself at a random location. You'll have a brief moment in which to run through, and collect the upgrade before it disappears. Along with all these new additions you also gain freeze timers, and bombs from the start. Making the playthrough slightly easier, but still challenging in the sense you are trying for a highscore.

The last mode of play that is survival pits you up against an ever-growing, and ever-advancing mob of evil baddies that are situated within the confines of a static arena stage. As with the arcade mode you will get a leaderboard score counter for obvious reasons as well as score item drops. Shot upgrades are also carried over from your story mode playthrough. The biggest difference between this experience, and arcade mode though is that you will face off against increasingly difficult enemies along with all the bosses as you continue to rack up your combos, and earn score. The greatest challenge in this particular mode comes in the form of the tight combat space, and the non-stop introduction of new enemies.

For those of you looking for extras you will find them in the form of two additionally unlockable characters hidden behind play through requirements. That, and optional graphics tweaks that allow for an interpolation, crt tv, and scanlines effect. Giving you visually different ways to play the game. In addition to all of that the game also has global leaderboards for both co-op, and solo playthroughs of each score based mode. Detail I forgot to mention ... The game can be played alone (solo), or in the company of a couch co-op friend. Unfortunately there is no option for online co-op.

The Verdict ...

This game gets right what a lot of arcade score based indies don't. It not only gives you a story mode, with a plot background (lightly applied), but it also gives you two modes that offer decent replay value. The fact that it has co-op that can be experienced with an at home friend or partner extends somewhat upon said replay value. Also to note I found that the graphic design, along with the easy to pick up and play gameplay came together in complimentary way. My only complaint, if any, is that the solo mode fairly much guarantees that you will die until your characters' shot is properly upgraded. There's a lot to mind within each stage, and getting hit is made easier when you are going at it alone. Perhaps, a truly skilled shmup player could beat the game though without the upgrades in story mode?

Moving onto my verdict ...

This game, with all things considered, gets a passing grade from yours truly. It has a fun factor to it that is undeniable. It's a true retro style arcade experience that would have been at home in arcades of the 80's. Even with my complaint about the intial solo grind I think that particular downside is countered by the fact that follow-up playthroughs can be done with a fully upgraded character, and more easily so. Summing it all up ... If you fancy an arcade experience that blends the mob brawler, and shmup genres in a competently cohesive manner I think you'll enjoy, "Riddles Corpses EX". Definitely give it a go if you do! Do note that this game is cross-buy with the PS4 and PS Vita meaning that you get both versions for one price. It's a hell of a deal, if you own both consoles!