TEARED | PS5 Review

Like the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the wonderous arcade era of the 70's and 80's, Juan-Mod's "TEARED" comes at us vividly in a fever pitched spectacle as we tour through a sneak peek of a neo-dystopian arcade wherein lies a TEARED arcade cabinet, and a lone observer in the guise of a resident feline.

Through the feline's eyes we gain access to the storied intro of the fantasy game, and it does not disappoint. There's a Viking looking lad, a dragon, and skeletons in a war that almost seems like Medieval Armageddon. As all seems lost, and the Viking sinks to the bottom of the ocean from whence he fought he is resurrected by a mermaid and her shed tear. It is from this point that we become a player of this obscured arcade cabinet, and fight as humanity's last hope against the all corrupting army of evil.

Staying true to the arcade era of gaming TEARED takes on an almost "Ghosts & Goblins" type of gameplay mechanic with an act by act based boss run across 9 unique stages. All of which are done up in a modern day 2.5D/3D visual style with an optional CRT filter toggle. 

As the hero of the game you can wield and pick up a limited variety of throwing weapons including a dagger, lance, fire bomb, and javelin. If this sounds familiar you are not alone. You can spam these weapons preemptively, and take out any obstacles or enemies that spawn to the right or left of you. You can even throw the weapons into the background to hit special targets for certain boss fights, and secret point opportunities. There's also an evasive roll and a jump mechanic included in the mix to compliment combat and stage traversal. 

Being the arcade cabinet game that it is you will be collecting loot for points as you venture forth into the fray. These bits & baubles are dropped from enemies, and sometimes rain down from the sky after beating a boss. All adding to a potential high score. Besides the looting the goal in each of the 9 acts is to make to the end, and defeat the boss. One checkpoint at a time. The catch to this is that it's a one hit and you lose a life kind of deal. Thankfully back at the settings you can opt between three difficulties including EASY, NORMAL, or HARD to ease the overall challenge. You can even change the stock of lives from 3 to 5, and the continues from 9 - 90. All depending on how glutton for punishment you are.

With TEARED also being a modern game it does come with some added bonus objectives that entail collecting, and unlocking art for the main menu gallery. Something to strive for as you attempt a complete playthrough. Speaking of which, I strongly advise preemptively throwing weapon spam as the window to evade and deal the death blow is often times cut short quickly. Getting snared by a larger enemy or boss is always certain death, and when it comes to bosses they do have unique attack patterns that must be minded lest the arcade cabinet munch your quarters like it did back in the day.

The Presentation ...

TEARED has all the hype and cheese of an 80's era film or game. Everything from the arcade cabinet intro to the gameplay itself is epic in such a way. It holds true to the retro classics in the way of controls, and enemy attacks as well while taking on modern-day visuals to a moderate degree. Living up to a true arcade game it is brutally challenging and decked out with period accurate sounds as well as visual nods like that of the CRT filter. 

The Verdict ...

If you don't go into this expecting a mechanically modernized take on retro games you'll appreciate TEARED as much as I did. It's most certainly a throwback to arcade classics like "Ghosts & Goblins". Even the weapons are a nod to that series of games. Do keep in mind though that it's a one hit per life/death kind of ordeal, and you will be dying a lot until you learn the trick that is preemptive spamming. That and a slow pacing are the only means with which to make it to the end on a legit setting. If you fancy checking it out it is in the PSN Store as of today!