Deadcore comes to us from 5 Bits Games and Bandai Namco Europe. An action-platformer with puzzles, stunning visuals, and a plot that’s more than it seems. Despite the name, Deadcore does not feature the dead. No, rather you start your adventure in a room and given but one simple goal. Summit. As you look up you see your room has no ceiling. Throughout your adventure you are guided by collections of words, vaguely spelling out the principles you must bear in mind. Jump. Climb. Ascend. They all flash before you as you approach your first block. Armed with your trusty jump key, you begin your adventure by jumping on boxes and ascending higher, higher until the floor of the room seems like a distant memory. The moment when you reach the top of your room only to find this is but the beginning.

It’s this grand sense of scale that gives Deadcore just as much depth and story as a plain and simple narrative. As you ascend you learn more and more about this tower and its secrets. All the while with the simple goal from the start in your mind. Summit. There is no dialogue or cutscenes, yet Deadcore manages to tell a story its own within the confines of this simple futuristic tower as you entire climb high above.

The lack of comprehensive narrative does let the game down when you’re left wondering where you need to go or what you need to do. Those that rush and miss the key hints will suffer the most in this regard. The majority of the game is gameplay, however the desire to seek the summit is the only driving factor. While hardly a strong motivation for a complex story like that of BioWare’s past games, for one as simple as Deadcore there is more than enough depth for the player to feel invested in their running and jumping endeavours.

Deadcore features a strong futuristic aesthetic throughout. On the higher graphical settings the views can be outright breathtaking with a draw distance that puts Sandboxes to shame. The use of carbon textures and bright neon colours is reminiscent of the classic Tron movies, the area you start in feels very much like a 1990’s rendition of Portal’s test chambers. The design of the tower is consistent throughout, but with variety that sets each level apart. Some areas are jaw-droppingly stunning to look at with clever design choices that help the player identify dangers, targets, and save points at a glance.

If you’re not a fan of the Tron-era sci-fi look you could find yourself quickly fed up of the view however, as there’s little in the way of variety. They do like their browns, their silvers, and their blues. The gameplay is where Deadcore gets most of its own identity. The game consists entirely of precision platforming and shooting. The game is broken up into levels. To get from one end of a level to the other, you need to utilise your jumping, dashing, and ‘not-a-portal-gun‘ gun skills. Various objects in your environment will react to being shot by with your gun. In order to progress you need to disable obstacles like doors, fans, and sentries. All the while dodging Material Emancipation Gr- I mean, laser grids of death.

The platforming is solid with highly responsive controls that stop as you stop, and go as you go. These allow you to make very precise jumps and in a game where timing is everything, this is a big credit to the game’s design. While the handling is solid, there can still be clipping issues when it comes to landing. Looking down does not reveal feet, making it very hard to accurately judge how much ledge is enough for you to land safely or when you’re a fraction too short of making a jump.

Even in death however, you are thrown straight back into the fray making each fail just a penalty to your total time elapsed. The game tracks this total time and displays it quite plainly in view, forcing you the player to be constantly trying to move as quick as possible. As you get further into the game speed and precision are required more and more. There is even a speedrun mode for the more hardcore gamers that enjoy setting and smashing records. Your gun is too, given a limited amount of shots which can make precision all that more key. Missing a shot can mean the difference between beating your record and starting all over again!

While fun, I personally felt that Deadcore was a one-hit wonder. There’s enough to keep it enjoyable to the final climax, but beyond that not much more. Those that enjoy similar rapid-fire platformers like Super Meat Boy will likely find a great deal of enjoyment to be had going back over old runs and beating their old scores, as well as competing online for the title of best time. However the run, jump, shoot formula can begin to grate when the environment remains ever constant. Moving back down to lower levels after the complex higher ones became boring. Never the less, there is re-playability to be had for those inclined.

All in all Deadcore is a visually enthralling platform adventure that lets you exercise skill and precision in a carefully crafted environment ripe for this type of gameplay. The pacing is splendid, and the mechanics solid. If you’re looking for a detailed story to get invested in, this is certainly not the place to look, nor the game to consider if you’re as co-ordinated as a baby giraffe. However for £7.99 on Steam, there are far worse experiences you could pick up and waste away an afternoon on.

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