Have you ever played a game that gets you excited practically every moment you’re going through it? I’ve recently encountered this phenomenon and it has emerged in the form of Voodudes, from Zombears, a group of graduate students from The Guildhall at SMU (the same school that produced Kraven Manor, you can see what I’m talking about here).
Voodudes was this group’s capstone project created entirely with the Unreal Development Kit. You play as Virgil, the most precious little voodoo doll with a patch heart, stitched butt, and button eyes. The evil Baron Samedi is wreaking havoc and it’s up to Virgil, with the help of Mama Mambo, to halt his reign of terror.
Mardi Gras and Voodoo Dolls
What awaits you is a vibrant world and community of voodoos with New Orleans flavor. Blasts of colors paint the buildings while bayous and cemeteries are eerie and dark. It’s the little things that make this game engrossing; for example, chairs and tables are the shape of human ribs while one of the unlockable skins is the most recent Doctor from Doctor Who.
The game design is very straight-forward and I have to say it’s rather refreshing. The format is simple and goal-oriented where four areas and mini-bosses must be cleared before tackling the final baddie. Additionally, each area has different musical themes that highlight the Louisiana pizzazz of the game, making it fun to listen to and exciting to progress. In a market where changing everything supposedly means “innovation” and traditional design tends to be forgotten, sometimes it’s all right to go back to some root formulas in games. In fact, Voodudes reminded me of Legend of Zelda in that aspect, so that may be a reason why I’m enjoying this game so much.
The fighting system is easy to get used to as well. You have the choice of three attacks and all are available outright. You can change them as well as switch skins and get accessories, or “hats,” from Mama Mambo’s shop—one “hat” looks to be Vegeta’s scouter from Dragon Ball Z. Awesome, right? Throughout the environment you’ll gather skull totems and defeat enemies for their buttons, which are used to buy Mama Mambo’s products.
Seriously, Check It Out
Voodudes is a joy and I highly recommend it to anyone has a fondness for quirky, colorful games. There are little blips here and there, but the overall quality is great and essentially professional. Like Demon Wagon Studios, the people of Zombears are extremely talented and I’m excited to see what else they’ll put out in the video game world now that they’ve graduated. You can download Voodudes for free from their website here!
