Albacete Warrior | PS4 Review

In a melding of 2D pixel sprites, and 3D polygonal stages EastAsiasoft's, "Albacete Warrior" comes at you with comedic cock slappin' content. Featuring an unlikely anti-hero in the form of a blonde haired Westerner named Benito who likes to get drunk on the regular at the local Spanish pub. In a twisted tale of revenge, and Asian absurdity that spans the globe this chosen one ventures forth with his pecking prized chicken Pepito in hand ready to dish out bloody justice one bandito at a time. 

As fate or destiny would have it in this sordid affair our anti-hero Benito, the drunken foul mouthed resident that he is, picks a fight early on only to find himself escorted out, and rescued thereafter from the garbage bin by a Buddhist monk named Paco. Through Paco-sensei Benito learns the ways of the ninja as the supposed chosen one. Befriending his fellow monastery bros, and ultimately winning a prized chicken at a celebration that he then names Pepito. A chicken he wields like Krato's chain blades, no less. Shortly after obtaining the peculiar Pepito, Benito finds himself facing off against a band of knife wielding bandits who are attacking his sensei's temple. Resulting in 'carnage a la cock' the fight at hand finds Paco-sensei beheaded, and in turn his talking head guiding Benito on his destined journey to collect sacred gems, and restore Paco-sensei's body. Whether or not this is all a drunken delusion brought on too much alcohol consumption or reality is up to you to find out ...

As Benito your journey to the West is one filled to the brim with hilarious storytelling via character interactions, combo centered combat, and puzzle platforming. Through the training afforded to Benito by Paco-sensei we learn the ropes of said combat as well as the Metroidvania style 3D platforming. In hand to hand combat Benito can perform basic, and extended melee combos. Resulting in alternative attacks according to chained button presses. When paired with Pepito the combat potential becomes more varied and weapon based. Pepito, as a result, acts as a God of War style extension to Benito. This coupled with an evasive parry dash, dash evasion, and monk shield allows Benito and his cock to survive mobs, and bosses as they dish out bloody beheadings on the fly. Movement options in tandem with offensive and defensive measures allow for jumping, double jumping, wall jumping, and air dashing. Enabling Benito to traverse the various landscapes.

Oddly enough Benito's descent into madness and mayhem can be taken on solo or in multiplayer, locally. Multiplayer allows for a sort of co-op brawler-like experience whereas solo is more traditional for this kind of game. As of the time of this review I have not tried Multiplayer.

The Gameplay ...

As an innocent looking game you'll find that "Albacete Warrior" is anything but that. It contains cussing, blasphemy, and bloody finishers. Offset by a brand of humor akin to what we see in adult Kung Fu comedies. Benito himself comes off as a kind of anti-hero like Deadpool with a similar brand of brash humor as that Marvel character. There are plenty of cock jokes, and puns as well as Monty Python-esque self-aware shticks that are good enough for a laugh. 

Gameplay itself is sectional with lots of textual dialogue, and minimal amounts of combat scenarios and puzzle platforming elements. In each section you face off against mobs, and bosses between puzzle platforming and exploration segments. In all of this you are graded on performance through a point value system. The points earned through combos used, items acquired/exhausted, and health left are tallied into a total, and end with an alphabetical grading after each stage's completion. Of course perfection and mastery is the point of each playthrough as health items like beer, and ham are a limited commodity. Leaving you to utilize the combos, and Pepito assault in the most efficient way possible. In the way of platforming things do feel a bit stiff though, and traversal is more 2D Metroidvania-like than proper 3D despite the stages being setup in a 3D manner. It takes some getting used to, but it is doable. 

The Verdict ...

I fell in love with Albacete Warrior's brand of humor from the start. It's the perfect blend between Monty Python, and the Asian Kung Fu comedies that a lot of us have enjoyed watching. It doesn't take itself seriously at all in this regard, and in not doing so makes for an entertaining slapstick adventure filled with mature themes. It's combat is alright as well, and a bloody sight to behold. Leaving the platforming and sense of direction to be a little off putting. Benito's jumping is weighted in-game, and hard to precisely land due to the blending of 2D pixel sprites, and 3D elements. That aside this is a budget indie, and for the price as well as the comedic value it still earns it's cost. Do go in knowing that platforming can be a struggle though. If you can muscle your way through this isn't much of a problem as stages are short lived, and platforming puzzles, not too numerous.

Visit my YouTube channel for gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k46yLYdpOp8