Game Review: SUPER TIME FORCE ULTRA is a Very Unique and Radical Game
Have you ever played a co-op game and thought to yourself, "Man, I wish I could play this game without the help of this guy." If only there was some way I could play with myself...the game...play the co-op game with myself. Well, with Super Time Force Ultra (STFU), you can.
STFU is a side-scrolling platformer created by Capybara Games. It has you play as a small set of heroes trying to correct history by making it more RADICAL! The twist? Any time you die, you have a set amount of rewinds so you can go back in time and redo what just happened. But unlike other time-rewinding games, whatever you happen to do with your last life stays intact. So if you kill a monster and then die, you can rewind and fight alongside that last life and watch him or her kill the monster all over again and you can even save their life from whatever killed them, granting you an extra life. Sound confusing? Boy, is it! But over time, it makes sense.
My first play-through of the game, I had a difficult time making it through. I almost wanted to give up, because the game is unapologetically hard. The whole level is timed and you only have a set number of rewinds. As I tried, I viewed the rewinds more of an undo, like it is in Prince of Persia. After a while, I finally figured out the trick. I am playing multiple different characters with their own missions. I can send two over to get a collectable, while the other two shoot down enemies, making one more about who's job is to just follow in and take out what's leftover. Once I figured this out, things became a lot easier. Bosses in particular. I started out having a tough time with one boss, but then rewound a couple times and instead of just me fighting the boss, it was me, me from a few seconds ago, me from a few seconds earlier, and so on. And the damage stacked. Once I started to get the hang of working alongside previous attempts, I started finding strategies of how to work with myself. Suffice it to say, I shortly became addicted.
This game is amazing in so many ways. Graphically, it keeps the look simple with pixel graphics but still manages to capture the theme and style of each character and level. Speaking of levels, I feel like each one has a very unique feel and playthrough. There is a dinosaur level where you focus more on fighting off charging enemies, whereas the post-apocalypse wasteland has a lot of Mad Max-looking guys with guns. Each level is beautifully crafted and interesting to play with bosses with their own tricks and strategies to beat. The writing is very funny and childlike. It is a game that your younger self would just love with ideas and concepts that sounds like they came straight out of your imagination at recess. It is currently free for Playstation Plus Members, so go check it out. It is definitely worth every play and replay.