Metroidvania…now there’s a term we don’t hear as often as we used to. Before the roguelike came along to make gamers’ lives far more difficult than necessary, the Metroidvania genre was doing a very good job of it all on its own. In fact, the notion of starting you with virtually nothing and making you work for every last bit of any chance at success may well have been something the roguelike borrowed. So…guns, back-tracking (lots of it), exploration, and hard as nails things wanting to stop you doing the aforementioned. It’s called Outpost Delta and it’s reminding us why Metroidvania was a really clever thing to be part of.
Setting you into the role of Delta, an emergency defense drone located on the outpost of a research station, Outpost Delta will task you with defending the station’s secrets from a bunch of invading aliens called The Klaath. Said lifeforms have invaded the station in a bid to steal its secrets. If you do your job properly, they won’t be stealing anything or leaving, for that matter.
Outpost Delta is a twin-stick shooter with teeth. On top of the run and gun, you’ll encounter some interesting physics-based mechanics. Delta has the ability to control gravity, meaning shooting helpless, floating enemies out of thin air, or bludgeoning them to death with the ground are both very viable options.
It wouldn’t be a Metroidvania without bags of things to find, upgrade, and unlock. Outpost Delta has no shortage of unlockable, upgradable weapons, and armor that can be customized to the player’s liking. Just remember the gun is only half the battle. You’ll need skill and good aim if you’re going to complete your mission and stop the invaders from succeeding.
Outpost Delta released this week for Steam and all major consoles, so you shouldn’t have any issues getting involved if you’re feeling the need to obliterate a few aliens. If you’re new to the Metroidvania style of play, this could definitely be an interesting place to start.
