Chumps Preview is a special kind of post where we unofficially preview games in Early Access, Beta, or are otherwise “unfinished.” This kind of preview is meant to be a first impression rather than a definitive review where we provide a rating to determine a game’s value. As such, we fully expect a game covered in a Chumps Preview to have room for improvement, some bugginess/incompleteness, and other features associated with similar games in the category.
There aren’t enough modern, fast-paced, and 2D platformers. I want there to be, but it pains me that there’s so few new ones as of today. I’ve been returning to play 30XX (for the roguelike fun) and Berserk Boy (for the classic Mega Man X experience), but I’ve been wanting something new. Super Alloy Crush from developer Alloy Mushroom seems to be a fresh take on one of my favorite gaming genres.
Super Alloy Crush has a demo out TODAY (as in, right this minute) on Steam. I’ve had a chance to play it for several hours prior to today’s release and I’m quite pleased with its current state. It features two modes (a single story level along with a roguelike gauntlet) that can be completed with the two characters, Kelly and Muu (No. 02). It contains just enough content to give me a good idea of how it plays, how it feels, and where I imagine it could go. Frankly, it’s a chunkier demo than I expected, as I kept coming back to the roguelike mode just to push the envelope in creating overpowered characters that could clear waves of enemies just as fast as they could spawn.
At first glance, Super Alloy Crush looks and feels similar to Mega Man X, which is one of my favorite games from the SNES era of gaming. There’s ranged combat, melee combat, some charged attack moves, directional special moves that rely on a secondary resource that’s replenished when attacking and slaying enemies, along with cinematic attacks that can clear entire waves of enemies and put big dents into boss’ health bars. Movement is just as fluid thanks to double jumping, running, and dashing (including air-dashing). Interestingly, there’s no wall jumping, but that may because most double jumps suffice for getting to higher ledges.
Movement and combat feel exceptionally smooth, just like how I remember playing Mega Man X with my rose-colored glasses. Basic attacks can be aimed along the X-Y axis, opening up attack combinations beyond simple attacks. This is especially true when playing as Muu, the melee brawler, whose attacks can be chained together into devastatingly long combos. Kelly, on the other hand, felt like a midranged sniper rather than a Mega Man-esque shooter that relies on charged shots. Kelly’s charge attacks don’t feel the most intuitive, especially because his bullets can only travel a short distance before disappearing. He can dash attack, though, which was something that pleasantly surprised me when I was figuring out how to best utilize his ranged attacks. I wasn’t able to acquire any new “powers” during the Story Mode; Kelly and Muu had several unique powers enabled by default.
The special powers could be activated at any time, so long as I had enough SP (i.e., mana) accumulated from attacking and destroying other robotic enemies. They could be assigned to any directional input (like up + Y), making the game feel like a traditional fighting game/Super Smash Bros. This makes combat feel consistently fluid while featuring a deep learning curve that rewards those who take the time to master the combat. I’m curious as to what the future updates will bring, as the combos feel so satisfying as of now.
I love the visual design of Super Alloy Crush because it steps away from the tried-and-true pixel art thematic that has leaned on futurism, rogue robots, and post-apocalyptic civilizations. Super Alloy Crush instead utilizes street art and urban motifs overlaid onto cybernetics, massive mechs, and anime-inspired protagonists. The street art pops out from the screen when I successfully land large attack combinations, take damage, and face bosses at the end of levels. The pixel art contains lots of fine details, looking similar to Metal Slug’s liveliness rather than the stark edges of Capcom’s platformers.
I’ve never considered Mega Man X as a lore-heavy game. For the case of Super Alloy Crush, this remains the case. There’s a quick little introduction at the start of the single story level, but it’s not enough for me to become familiar with Super Alloy Crush’s universe. Frankly, I’m not expecting nor wanting much on the lore side; I want the fluid and crazy satisfying combat.
Let’s talk about the roguelike mode (“Battle Frenzy Mode”), as this is where I spent the most of my-ingame time. Even though it’s relatively rudimentary in its current state, it has the “just one more run” hook of addictiveness that kept me coming back for more. Most of Battle Frenzy pitted me against waves of 23-25 enemies at a time. After clearing a wave, I could use the currency I had acquired to purchase upgrades in a little shop. Upgrades ranged from always beneficial stat boosts (e.g., constantly regaining SP/mana while I was on the ground), trade off stat boosts (e.g., gain some base damage while losing maximum health), to elemental boosts. The existing boosts contained some minor details which was enough for me to sort of understand what was beneficial and what was not worth the purchase, but some status effects needed more clarification. For instance, what is “Negation Damage?” Is that a poison status effect, or is that something else?
I’m sure that some of the this will be ironed out and/or make more sense when there are more levels, but the confusion doesn’t feel great. The Battle Frenzy needs some more variety in level design, too. Currently, the battlefields have the same layout, mainly horizontal. I’d appreciate some verticality along with hazards to raise the stakes of the roguelike and give me a sense of danger. Roguelikes have a steep mastery curve, often relying on consecutively losing while slowly getting stronger. I didn’t lose during this playthrough, as started out in a pretty powerful state to begin with.
This is a demo, so I’ll hold back on the rest of my criticisms. For a demo, though, there’s quite a bit of content that feels compelling enough to continue playing. If I was able to play it for several hours and still want to play it for more, that should tell you that Super Alloy Crush is on the right track. It’s too early to assign it a score at this time, but it’s in a great state for a game entering Early Access.
You should keep an eye on Super Alloy Crush. Its demo contains quite a bit of fun, fluid, and satisfying-as-hell combat that should hold you over until its eventual full release. I look forward to seeing how Alloy Mushroom evolves and refines the game through its early access period.
A review copy of Super Alloy Crush was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this preview.
