We previously reported on the announcement of Silver Bullet, the latest release from the indie retro publisher Flynn’s Arcade, who’s previous releases such as Flora & Fang, Freddy Farmer, Super Spy Raccoon, and Skies Above we have enjoyed very much.
So, with Halloween creeping around the corner, we’ve loaded up Silver Bullet, the new spooky shooter from publisher Flynn’s Arcade and developer 1CC Games.
As with so many of the games published by Flynn’s Arcade, Silver Bullet looks, plays and feels like a classic arcade game from an alternate universe that’s somehow fallen through an inter-dimensional rift and landed in our universe. The arcade authenticity even extends to a simulated PCB boot screen on beginning the game, which may only be a superficial cosmetic touch, but it’s this level of attention to detail that really helps to make the game feel like you’re playing a classic arcade game.
Visually, Silver Bullet also very much looks very much like an 80s arcade game, with suitably spooky, but colorful, cartoonish and cutesy pixel art graphics.
Yes, Silver Bullet is somewhat on the cutesy side, despite the game being based around Van Helsing hunting down undead nasties. You see, in this case the undead nasties take the forms of cartoonish ghosts and vampire bats, and the like, rather than anything too nightmare-inducing, what’s more, Van Helsing is joined by his loyal canine companion, Silver, and their quest is to hunt down Reggie the vampire, who has been kidnapping puppies! Awww!
So, then, In the horror stakes, Silver Bullet is certainly more towards the Scooby Doo end of things than The Exorcist! And in keeping with the cutesy horror theme, amongst the items Van Helsing can collect are the very Halloween-appropriate candy apples!
As for Silver Bullet’s gameplay, the game draws inspiration from 1980s arcade shooters such as Cabal, insofar as you directly control the crosshairs of your weapon, however, as well as controlling your weapon’s crosshairs with the right thumbstick, you can also move Van Helsing himself using the left thumbstick, firing your weapon with the right trigger (or as it’s called on the Switch, the ZR button). These controls are simple and intuitive, and they complement Silver Bullet’s arcade shooting gameplay perfectly, and to add a bit ofwitc variety and longevity to the game, you’ll also encounter a number of challenging mini games throughout Silver Bullet.
Overall, Silver Bullet is another slice of retro-styled arcade fun from Flynn’s Arcade, and it’s frightfully good fun to play, making it the perfect game for any old-school arcade shooter fan to sink their fangs into this Halloween, which makes its release date of the day before Halloween (October 30) the perfect time to pick up Silver Bullet – if you dare!
The game will be released on both Steam and Nintendo Switch (version tested)
