SuperEpic: The Entertainment War from Undercoders and Numskull Games is a fun and humorous Metroidvania on Nintendo Switch. Learn more in our SuperEpic: The Entertainment War review!
In SuperEpic: The Entertainment War, it’s the year 2048, during which a single video game company is all that remains in the world due to some hostile takeovers here and there. Only one company reigns supreme: RegnantCorp. The company has been using mind control algorithms disguised as video games to be able to keep everyone in check, making people addicted to free to play games, as their finances are slowly drained by way of microtransactions. All people are educated from an early age to do things one way and one way only: Work, play, spend. As you can imagine, this is far from ideal for having a proper, functional society, which is why a small group of rebels is set to make things right. After receiving a message from an anonymous rebel, our hero pair – a llama an a raccoon – set out on an adventure.
The raccoon, wearing a mask and a cape as it rides on the llama, will have a set of fast-paced melee weapon at its disposal, being able to attack from above with the A button, from bellow with the X button, and straight ahead with the Y button. Your weapons will include your grandma’s umbrella, an old broom, and plunger. Each of the weapons will have different stats for speed, damage, and range, which you’ll need to keep in mind. Along with these, you will also have a scarf that the raccoon’s grandma knit for him, and a lucky charm with a ton of sentimental value. The llama will have a blanket on its back so that you can ride it, as well as a horseshoe as a lucky charm.
When you pause the action with the + button, you’ll get to check your stats (health, stamina, attack, rage, defense, how much progress you’ve made in the game, the number of kills, and how many times you’ve died), as well as the relics you’ve collected, the keys you’ve obtained, the special rage attacks you have unlocked, and the special items that have somehow fallen into your hands. There’s also a larger map for you to review, which expands on what is shown on the mini-map in the upper right corner of the screen.
Since this is a Metroidvania, you’ll be getting new abilities to be able to get to places you previously could not reach. The first one of these abilities will be the always handy – and classic – double jump. Being able to jump again once you’ve jumped into the air will allow you to reach higher higher. And then once you get access to your stamina bar, as well as dash ability, which allows you to dash left and right by pressing the L and R button, quickly getting you out of harm’s way when things are too hectic.
The game takes jabs at the current free to play model that a lot of video games take part of, microtransactions included. But it takes things one step further by including some stuff for you to do outside of the game to be able to solve some puzzles. I found myself in front of a number pad, with no idea of what the number was to deactivate the laser in front of me that was keeping me away from a safe. I was then told that perhaps the code on the wall had a clue… which was a QR code!
After scanning it with my phone, I was taken to a website under the Regnantcorp name where I had to play the Flappy Pig $tory free to play game and get a high score of five to be able to unlock the code needed for the number pad. When I lost after managing to avoid crashing into two pillars, the game over screen told me what my score was, reminded me of the high score, and then had two big green buttons for save score and for continue, each with a $4.99 price tag. So much for free to play, right?
I did eventually manage to beat the high score after I tapped, tapped, tapped my phone’s screen t make the pig flap its wings, “the system” ended up “crashing,” so the game was shutdown. Luckily I managed to get the error code which I needed for the number pad… on a page that showed the costs for verifying system damage, sending an error report, and fixing the device memory set at $1.99, and buying RAM to prevent future malfunctions and adding blast processing priced at $4.99. As for my reward for going through this side-quest thing? A $50 pre-paid card! This is not the only QR code you’ll find in SuperEpic, and each new game does a great job at taking a jab at the many free to play releases of ages past.
You’ll be collecting a lot of money during this adventure, from the enemies you defeat and the aforementioned pre-paid card thing. You can put this extra cash to good use by purchasing upgrades for your characters, such as a health boost or a stamina upgrade, purchase new weapons, new and more powerful armor to boost you defense so that you can withstand more damage, or buy single use items like, say, the energy drink cans that can help you recover 25 health points in a second.
Another option will be to visit Migjorn, who you can pay to upgrade your weapons. The first update will be on the house, and he’ll boost your plunger up to level 2, increasing its damage output. As long as you have enough money on you, you’ll be able to upgrade your stuff, up to a specific level set as the limit. Oh, and do keep your eyes open and remain on high alert so that you can spot the second type of currency used by RegnantCorp. If you’ve taken a free to play game for a spin, you will probably know what this second type of currency is going to be.
SuperEpic: The Entertainment War is a charming, funny, and entertaining Metroidvnia that pays homage to classic 2D action games such as Mega Man, Metroid, and Castlevania, with a lot of references to other games that in some gamers eyes are not going to fit into the Metroidvania genre – see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles on the Nintendo Entertainment System. As commentary on the free to play model and how microtransactions are running gaming in general, and what the world would look like if a single company controlled all of the video games… and said company is all full of pigs. As in, pig the animal – see the game’s trailer. This is a solid Metroidvania on Nintendo Switch for $17.99, and one you should definitely check out!
Disclaimer
This SuperEpic: The Entertainment War provided by Numskull Games.
