Indie Game Spotlight: Beep Boop Bot

By: MithrandielGame: Beep Boop BotDeveloper: Psycho Robot Studios (@PsychoRobotStu - Twitter)Beep Boop Bot is described by Psycho Robot Studios as an "isometric arcade type robot shooter", and when you first fire it up, you may feel like you've been transported back to 1995. The edges are pixelated, the atmosphere is a bit rough to say the least...but you also immediately get a sense of child-like mischief and fun when you start blowing up renegade robots.The story is simple enough: robots have  gone crazy, and so you're tasked with controlling the only reliable drone and using it to take out the other robots. Along the way you acquire power ups, both temporary and long-term, to help you dish out robot justice and make the environment safe for humans again.The game utilizes a classic WSAD control scheme: using the W, S, A and D keys to move forward, backwards, left and right respectively. Your left click fires the main weapon, and right click fires your alternate weapon, which you control using your number keys. This game has no problem with dropping you right into the action with a brief tutorial, as there's not a lot of depth to explore on that front. Still, keeping it simple is an accomplishment in and of itself these days, as some game developers take it upon themselves to pile on complexity where it's not needed for the sake of "sophistication". From the start I understand that Psycho Robot Studios knows exactly what kind of game it wants to make.The demo, available on their facebook page, features three levels, each with its own unique boss. Level one functions well as an introduction to the game, providing even pacing and a simple boss encounter that draws the player in and gets them excited for more. Level two, however, takes the difficulty up a 90 degree slope and then proceeds to drop the player off a cliff while laughing as they fall screaming to their deaths. Okay, maybe it's not that dramatic but there is a pretty staggering difficulty jump from level one to level two, and it largely has to do with the environmental hazards that it contains.I am all about games that feature a challenging difficulty. I painstakingly sought after and acquired a platinum trophy in Bloodborne after countless hours of shouting incoherently at inanimate objects in my living room. However, there is a difference between using environmental hazards to enhance encounters, and having so many hazards that the entire level basically just turns against you with little recourse. That's not to say that the concept isn't great: the idea of using random factory assembly robot arms to shrink the usable battlefield and/or give the player another element to think about is certainly a good idea, and can serve to enhance the overall boss fight. I would just suggest that by the time it gets to the final version there be a draw-down on the number of spawning arms or spawn rate of enemy robots, as it was far too easy to get overwhelmed.If you are able to brave level two and make it to the final level, you have quite a treat in store with their final demo boss battle: Mortdecai. I don't want to spoil too much, because I do honestly believe you should give this game a try. What I will say is that compared to level two, I found this level to be much more evenly paced in terms of difficulty.Here are some things I thought the game did well:+ Great pick-up-and-go controls+ Restraint in design and special weapons makes it accessible, but still varied enough to keep things interesting+ Appreciated the various enemy robot types. Obviously thought was put into the various attack-bots and keeps things fresh with each new levelThings I would look forward to in the final version:- HP bars for regular enemies. This could play into gamers' strategies when engaging with robots. If they see a fast enemy approaching, maybe they stay still if they know they can take their HP bar out in time. Maybe if they see a more resilient enemy approaching they guide it around the stage more purposefully.- Clearer communication of objectives. I wasn't sure if I was waiting on a timer or if I needed to destroy a certain number of "nests" first.- More balanced difficulty. As it stands I could see a lot of players losing interest on level two, and would be concerned that similar mis-matched difficulties could find their ways to later levels in the game.Overall I really enjoyed this game. What struck me the most about it was its possibility as a great mobile game. I could see a great port of this with a two-thumb control scheme similar to the Halo games on iPad and iPhone. Ultimately that's up to Psycho Robot Studios, but I'd be happy to pick it up if I saw it in my local app store. Give the demo a try (PC Demo, Mac Demo, Linux Demo) and make sure to submit your feedback to Psycho Robot Studios!Interested in having Mithrandiel or one of the staff review your game? E-mail mithicalentertainment@gmail.com with a press kit or demo!