Screencheat Review

I’ll be honest; when I first installed Screencheat by Indie studio Samurai Punk, I had no idea what I was getting. I’d managed to miss any info about it, adverts, whatever, even though it’s available on myriad platforms and is garnering overwhelmingly positive reviews across Steam, XBL and PSN. No-one on any of my friends lists was playing it. I didn’t notice it.

Well, I’ve noticed it now, let me tell you. From the moment the menu screen loaded and the muted-but-colourful arena-style maps burst forth in all their Timesplitters-esque glory, the 16-bit music got my fingers tapping and the often-amusing victory or defeat messages had me whooping or cursing, I knew this was something a bit different.

The premise of Screencheat is simple; kill your enemies – either A.I bots for solo-playing sad pandas or your friends and frenemies locally or online – across 9 different modes, with the first player to hit 5 kills crowned Ultimate Bad Ass (until the next round, at least) What makes this game different though, is that all other players, human or A.I bot-controlled, are invisible. Yup,you heard me. And you can see what everyone else is up to all the time because the game takes place entirely in 4-way split-screen. Hence the name Screencheat, an idea no doubt taken from golden-era goodies such as Goldeneye on the N64, Timesplitters and Halo Multiplayer – ‘Stop looking at my side, you cheating smegging b’stard’ is what I’d call it but luckily, I don’t make the games.

It takes no time at all to realise though, that this is a genius idea. And Samurai Punk has run with it and made something that’s simply just good. Due to the colour-coded segments of each map, it’s possible to get very good at identifying where someone is based on what colour their screen shows. There’s also handy landmarks, ranging from the mundane to slightly ridiculous – ‘Yeah, I see you pal,behind that naked statue/woolly mammoth/frolicking deer’ – so you can gauge where someone is before unloading in their face. Or not because, y’know, invisibility.

On the subject of weaponry, you have 10 to choose from, that are randomly assigned and even more randomly designed. From the Blunderbuss that fires huge, rebounding projectiles to a precise but limited-ammo revolver, to melee weapons like a hobby horse and wooden sword to the candelabra, each weapon has it’s own and benefits and drawbacks. The ‘tell’ of a weapon when it’s used helps narrow down an opponent’s location far more easily, a melee weapon is obviously more difficult to pinpoint and requires the up close and-personal touch. When you kill or are killed, the ‘body’ becomes visible, with multi-coloured corpses cheerfully littering the battlefield ( and the textures reminding me, weirdly, of that carpet – Hessian) no doubt to remind us all we’re mere mortals. Earning XP unlocks new ‘Ragdolls’ – character skins, fun but pointless really as only you can see them – until you die at least.

I mentioned the game modes and there’s plenty to choose from, with My First Deathmatch being exactly what you’d expect to Capture The Fun which maybe isn’t what anyone would expect – hold onto a confetti-spewing party Pinata for as long as possible before someone kills you and steals it.Murder Mystery is brilliant; a mansion and a set of objectives – Red with the candlestick? You betcha! – and someone is going to die. Party mode keeps the screen rolling with randomly-generated shenanigans and this is where Screencheats is the most fun – with friends. Aww, check them warm fuzzies. It’s fine to play online (the A.I is effective but not too much fun except to hone your skills and memorise those maps) but having your buds round to play together like in the days of yore is THE most fun you’ll have with this game. The on-screen messages upon a kill/death are varied and plentiful enough to not get the same one twice for a couple rounds. And some are downright funny – ‘Smoke me a kipper, I’ll be back for breakfast’ being an unexpected delight for yours truly and if you don’t know what that’s from, I’m too old/sad/geeky/delete as applicable.

Gameplay is of your garden-variety MultiPlayer FPS – point, shoot, run around a bit, hide, peek around a corner, say goodbye to your face (or not, again because invisibility reasons) Like everything else, it works and that’s really all that matters. The maps have some nice touches, like a round-corners zero-gravity affair that reminded me of when you use the Mag boots in Ratchet and Clank, to the futuristic Helix.

Graphically, it’s not the prettiest game I’ve ever seen from an Indie developer – ‘basic’ is maybe a bit unkind but not untruthful. ‘PS2 era’ springs to mind (I just keep thinking Timesplitters – but that is obviously in no way an insult). Textures are limited and the maps feel a little ‘empty’ and bland, with a bright but muted palette. But, as my Momma used to say, ‘It ain’t all about the graphics, you ungrateful little brat’ and the gameplay mechanics are solid enough to shine through and it pretty much doesn’t even matter.

The music can only be described as ‘16-bit funk tronic 80’s throwback’  but is varied by map and some tracks are reminiscent of, amongst others, that tune from the Casino Night zone in Sonic II. Like the rest of the game, it just goes and that’s about it.

So. Should you invest your hard earned coin in this game? If you like to play with other people locally, and to a slightly lesser extent, online, if you loved the games referenced above, if you’re competitive and looking for something that is quick and easy to pick up and load, if graphics don’t necessarily make or break a game for you, or you just want to kill someone with the Chefolet ( a car engine that fires out ricocheting energy balls,) then I’d say ‘Go for it, Ace!’

At £10.99 on Steam (and a Deluxe Upgrade available for £6.99 more of your Earth pounds) and £11.99 on Xbox One (reviewed version) & PSN for PS4, it’s a cheap thrill with plenty of replay value. In all honesty, I would probably not play this too much on my own (or even with online friends)  but, again, a Friday night round your mate’s house with a bevvy and a pizza and you can prolly bet you’ll not get much else done that evening. And, for just over ten quid, it’s not going to break the bank. Now. Excuse me. I have a pressing engagement with a teddy bear stuffed with explosives in a museum containing naked headless statues.