Since the days of Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, the humble first-person shooter has flourished in myriad and complex directions. The genre has expanded in narrative and gameplay terms to include everything from sprawling sci-fi epics to dense objectivist allegories to multiplayer-focused military free-for-alls and practically everything in between.
Sometimes, though, you just want an excuse to shoot a bunch of weird little guys in weird little spaces.
Don’t get too close, now… they do bite.
Credit: Oddcorp
Don’t get too close, now… they do bite. Credit: Oddcorp
For those times, there is Oddcore, a new Early Access, roguelike boomer shooter that is a stark contrast to the more sprawling self-serious shooters out there. The game’s combination of frenetic, quick-moving action, semi-randomized scenarios, and well-balanced risk/reward upgrade system makes for a pick-up-and-play shooter that I find myself struggling not to pick up and play for a few more quick-hit sessions even as I write this.
Hold on for one more stage
Oddcore begins with a wacky, bare-bones narrative about being trapped in some incomplete theme park resort with an “infinite room generator” that is on the fritz. After the quick tutorial, though, that narrative just serves as an excuse to throw you into a series of off-putting liminal spaces that make you feel like you’re trapped in a corrupted PlayStation 1 disc. Each of these low-res polygonal rooms slowly fills with malformed black-and-white demons, most of which run at you with a fanaticism straight out of Serious Sam, threatening to bite at your ankles or floating menacingly toward you while launching slow-moving pink projectiles at you.
No, this is not a scene from a long-lost PS1 game.
Credit: Oddcorp
No, this is not a scene from a long-lost PS1 game. Credit: Oddcorp
This is not one of those shooters where you cower behind cover and pop up for a quick shot when it’s safe. More often than not, each “variant” arena is a more or less wide-open space where enemies can and will swarm in from every side. You’ll find yourself almost constantly backing away and strafing to avoid encroaching enemies while also keeping your head on a swivel to make sure there aren’t any new threats appearing behind you.
Oh, and did I mention that all this is happening on a tight five-minute timer that’s ticking down as you play? To extend an Oddcore session past that limit, you have to tap a button on your gun to create a portal to a weird shop dimension, where you can spend the souls of dead enemies for more in-game time. You can also spend those souls on a series of slow-machine randomized sets of upgrades to your health, attack speed, and assistance gadgets, or save up those souls to use as a quick health boost in the middle of a firefight.