Recent reviews by TKATCH

Described by the developer Secret Tunnel Entertainment as “WarioWare meets Hotline Miami”, Shapes of Gray had some pretty impressive shoes to fill. I happy to report that with its tight controls and frantic timed battles, it lives up to it’s description.

In Shapes of Gray you play as a little gray blob with three lives and a sword in a top down circular arena. The game controls like a simplified Hotline Miami: one stick to move, one to turn and a trigger to swing your sword. The level count starts at 50 and your little gray blob descends the tower, floor by floor. Each stage gives you only seconds to take in your surroundings, defeat the new enemies set forth to destroy you and proceed to the next level.

There are three bosses within the tower (at levels 35, 20, 1). Each one feels unique and takes some time to figure out the trick to defeating them. I particularly liked the 3 stage style of the boss at level 1 and found its classic “video game boss” feel very charming. A defeated boss acts as a checkpoint, and you will start at the level immediately after the boss if you die, or fail to complete the level within the time frame.

Both bosses and minions are highlights in Shapes of Gray. Some enemies will shoot at you, some will charge, some will even bounce around the stage, all with the intention to deplete your 3 Lives to zero before you reach the end of your 50 level gauntlet to the end. There are many systems in the game to use enemies against each other, and use their attacks against them, but I will let you discover those for yourself.

OK. I lied.

Those moments were some of my favorite in the game. I have to tell you about the time I batted an exploding enemy into another enemy a second before my time expired. AND the time I found a ninja star power up and went on to ninja the crap out of the next couple stages till I ran out of bad ass ninja powers. AND THE TIME.. no no.. YOU need to discover these things. The sense of discovery in a circular arena was a surprising plus.

It took me about 2 hours to clear the first 50 stages in order to open up the rest of the game. But that isn’t because the stages were long or boring. Quite the opposite. The stages are quick and brutal, but take skill and understanding of the in game systems to conquer. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to throw the controller many times, but I also wanted to kill that stupid bullet spraying star shaped thing into submission and prove my gladiatorial prowess. ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!! It is safe to say I intend to sink many more hours into Shapes of Gray.

After completing the initial 50 stages you unlock the main menu as well as a whole new 50 stages to defeat. While the first level set, or tower as I have begun to describe it, feels defensive the second set is very offensive. This change, along with its completely new enemies types force you to charge at your enemies and brave into battle. A random thing I love in the second set of 50 stages besides the utter difference in strategy is the fun sound the new bomb-like guys make. It’s this “Booommmmmshsshshshshsssssssshhhhh” sound that I can’t write, but believe me it’s super fun.

You also unlock an arcade mode for the first tower (and the second tower once you conquer its 50 levels). The arcade mode adds a score system and coin grabbing mechanic to the game which adds even more randomness to each level and drive to play again and again. There is also this other little gray dude that heat seeks toward you that you can continue to bat away to multiply your score. He follows you through the levels until you inevitably screw up and let him finally commit suicide on your body. It’s not as gruesome as it sounds. An impressive debut for Secret Tunnel.

The technical issues for the WiiU version are gone in the PC release, but even those were quite minor when you consider that this game was built a one-man development studio. The head of Secret Tunnel Entertainment is Trent Steen, a game game jam winner and GDC 2015 Platinum Award winning writer. After you play Shapes of Gray, or while you eagerly wait to get home from work to boot it up, head to secrettunnelentertainment.com. There you can read his Narrative Analysis of Metal Gear (metal….. gear?) or check out his other projects (Like Candy Poop Butt Game). You should also listen to my interview with him on The Cardboard Box Podcast where he discusses indie game development and working with Nintendo.

Shapes of Gray is difficult–but never cheap. “WarioWare meets Hotline Miami”? Shapes is as addicting as its spiritual parents. This is a great first game and has cool and interesting game systems that keep me coming back for more. I also want to just hear that bomb guy’s sound some more. I look forward to the next title from Secret Tunnel Entertainment, but will continue to enjoy this one until that day inevitably comes. This game deserves your attention.

A copy of this game was provided to CBxCasts by Secret Tunnel Entertainment.