Super Rare Games has partnered with Lateralis to realise their latest offering: a stylish, ultra-violent top-down shooter and psychological thriller
OTXO (pronounced oh-cho) is a frantic roguelite shooter with a simple premise: your loved one has been kidnapped, and you must assault a mansion in search of them. You’ll be met with scores of enemies in 150 randomly appearing rooms, and the 1-bit black-white-red aesthetic will ensure you’ll see all the carnage you’ll produce in vivid, visceral detail as you make your way from one side of the room to the other. Little flourishes like the muzzle flash from guns lighting up the letterboxing, give it this cinematic and high-octane j’nai sais quoi.
Aiding you in your rampage through the residence is a Max Payne-style slow-mo effect and the obligatory mysterious merchant who in this game takes the form of a barman who will sell drinks that can bestow you with upgrades. OTXO also promises the ability to unlock and customise your weaponry, so you can anticipate a decent amount of fluidity to the carnage. Judging by the trailer it looks like the meaty weapon feedback, score multiplier, pulse-pounding music, dynamic slow-motion kills, and Lateralis’ signature minimalist style congeal into a game that will legitimately feel good to play.
It also seems like there’s more to the game than just a violent shooter. The abstract imagery and enigmatic nature of the mansion all hint at something darker. OTXO will apparently be “an anecdote about abject misery and the cost of fighting against overwhelming odds” and a struggle against your own “inner demons”. Only time will tell whether the narrative will reveal itself to be a surreal Suda 51-esque journey full of plot twists, out-there references, and recontextualisations—or a more straightforward (but no less poignant) treatise on the consequences of using violence as a means to an end à la Spec Ops: The Line or God of War.
The game looks promising. Super Rare Games has garnered a reputation for quality, whether it’s for their physical releases (Superliminal, Last Day of June, Flynn, Sally Face, Dogworld, etc) or their so far immaculate Super Rare Originals catalogue (their first title, Grapple Dog, was released to critical acclaim). If you enjoyed Lateralis’ previous works (the previously mentioned and well-received Dogworld) or Hotline Miami, I’d recommend looking into this. A demo featuring 10 different levels and 12 weapons is now available to play on Steam for the storefront’s ‘Going Rogue” festival. Give it a go, if you’re feelin’ bad enough.
He/Him
A flamboyant ultra nerd, Dave participates in the Underlevelled Tournament both for the thrill of the fight, and to avenge the orphans lost in the climax of the previous tournament.
Born: London
Height: ???
Weight: ???
Hobbies: street dance, collecting manga volumes, reading, editing
Likes: short-to-medium walks on the beach, pointing out how things can and will be misconstrued as racism, fighting games, RPGs, anime, Hades, alternative hip hop, conscious hip hop, Mara Wilson, overly long bios, ice-cream
Dislikes: insincere media, his own uncanny resemblance to Richard Ayoade, mayonnaise
