I have backlog of indie games that I need to play on my Switch. I still haven’t touched great-looking 2D platformers like Owlboy and Hollow Knight. But it looks like I’m going to be throwing another side-scroller on the pile soon.
Mechstermination Force was announced today for the Switch with the trailer above. It looks awesome. The gunplay is clearly inspired by Contra. You can even see shots that look like the classic Spreader gun from that series. And, hey, Contra is great. We see a lot of indie games inspired by Mega Man and Castlevania, I’m happy to see one taking cues from Konami’s run-‘n’-gun franchise.
But Mechstermination Force isn’t just a Contra clone or spiritual successor. Its battles focus on fighting giant robots. You have to climb up them and attack their weak points, which gives me a giant Shadow of the Colossus vibe. And just like with Shadow of the Colossus, Mechstermination Force is all boss battles.
Shadow of the Cuphead
Combining Contra with Shadow of the Colossus sounds like one heck of a hook. Of course, we’ve already seen a recent indie game combine run-and-gun mechanics and focus that gameplay on bosses. That was Cuphead, and it turned out to be a giant hit.
Now, Cuphead had a lot of help standing out thanks to its vintage cartoon-inspired graphics (not to mention a lot of Microsoft marketing). Mechstermination Force looks nice itself, but it can’t compete with all the hand-drawn animation that went into Cuphead.
But Mechstermination Force is going for something different. Cuphead’s bosses are more traditional for its genre. Beating them mostly depends on you dodging their attacks. Mechstermination Force looks to be going the Shadow of the Colossus route, which focuses more on problem-solving and platforming.
An indie pedigree
Mechstermination Force is the creation of Bertil Hörberg, an indie game developer from Sweden. Hörberg has experience making retro-style action games. In 2012, he released Gunman Clive, a Western-inspired side-scroller with a focus on platforming and shooting.
Gunman Clive and its sequel just came out for the Switch last month in a bundle. If you’re excited for Mechstermination Force, it might be a good idea to check that out first.
The game doesn’t have a release date yet, with Nintendo just saying that it’s coming “soon.” But I’m excited. I love the idea of taking something retro like Contra and combining it with a more modern experience like Shadow of the Colossus. Well, OK, I guess did come out back in 2005. Still, decades separate those two games. It’ll be fun to see a title smash them together.
Mechstermination Force has just jumped onto my radar in a big way.
The RetroBeat is a weekly column that looks at gaming’s past, diving into classics, new retro titles, or looking at how old favorites — and their design techniques — inspire today’s market and experiences. If you have any retro-themed projects or scoops you’d like to send my way, please contact me.