Deathstate

Developer: Workinman Interactive, LLC.
Steam Release: Oct 2015
Hours Played: 4.3
Similar To: Book of Demons / Chronicon / Dungeon Souls / Overture
Rating: 2/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY

Like Riddled Corpses under the 2D Top-Down Shooter section this little known title by Workinman Interactive is not really a top-down shooter in the strict sense. Characters and enemies are rendered in side view and some objects are drawn isometrically but were they shown in plan-view this would be top-down all the way. Nevertheless, in saying that, Deathstate does have one noteworthy mechanic that makes it a little different and that is an auto-fire feature that targets and automatically fires at the nearest foe. In the words of the developers, this actually makes Deathstate a single-stick shooter where you only really need to take care of the movement and steering. Your task is to clear the dungeon of enemies, reach the glowing pink portal and to move onto the next one before being swallowed by the dark fog of doom.    

BALANCE & PACE
Before each run you'll start from your hub which is like a mysterious study for mages inhabited by unlocked characters you'll receive as you play. Trundle around this study with your levitating character, pick who you want to do the run with and dive in. You'll immediately be thrown into the first world of four and begin the first of its four levels - the last of each will be a fight with the boss. As you mow down the hundreds of enemies with missiles, you'll explore its nooks and crannies while looking for that portal. To liven things up each character has a special ability, and loot may be retrieved and equipped to help you out. Weapons, random potions, added special abilities and even the disgusting internal organs of fallen enemies can be inserted inside your body to boost stats and to help you fight your cause.    

PRESENTATION & DESIGN 
Your home-page doesn't really match the aesthetic of the main game, as a slowly spinning skull suspended in space stares out into the purple glowing stars of some far-away galaxy. Sinister music plays in the background and this eerie vibe carries on through into the main game. The graphics themselves are fairly simple and pixelated but not as blocky as the 16-bit style. The game boasts 80 enemies but many of these appear in very large packs and some are distinguishable only by their colour. However, the four world themselves are quite varied and many different special effects are projected onto the screen as you play. Like Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, the developers have gone for that blurry effect around the edges.
   

PROGRESS SYSTEM
Like the Binding of Isaac, Deathstate is not about becoming stronger and more powerful between runs - because there is no such thing as upgrades outside of the main game. It is more to do with learning from your previous mistakes, improving with time and collecting items as you go. Thankfully, unlike the obscure and confusing item collection system in Binding of Isaac, Deathstate stores your records inside various tomes at your hub or study. In all there are 80 enemies to tackle (to be viewed in the bestiary logbook), 80 unlocks and 169 items to discover; all of which can be perused at leisure in those books. On top of this, you have an unknown amount of characters to unlock plus the challenge of unlocking a total of 16 levels (four in each of the four worlds). 

CONCLUSION
For an added challenge a creepy figure at your study invites you to change the exit portal into a different colour, thus effectively switching all encounters into hard-mode. Overall, the game is solid and does what it says on the tin. It has plenty of character but as it can be a little repetitive is better in small doses rather than multiple marathon sessions. You'll also need to be advised that this is not a score-based game: this one is definitely about collecting items, ticking them off a list and ultimately attempting to catch 'em all as it were. Personally, what I think is missing are stats to show how well the player did with each character. At least a record to show how deep each character has clawed their way through the game would have added a little replayability.