If you’re not familiar, there’s a genre of shooting games called “Boomer Shooters.” These are throwbacks to the old days of games like DOOM which were more focused on moving through levels, grabbing key cards, and blowing shit up. And since those ‘90s first person games were full of ridiculous nonsense, boomer shooters tend to be jokey and self-referential.
Got all that? Great.
Because Zortch basically feels like a Nintendo 64 game you never got the chance to play. It’s also $5. And worth a whole lot more. Like $5.50. Honestly, $5 is pretty much the correct amount of money for Zortch to cost. If it were $20? No. $15? Absolutely not. $1? I mean, the game is better than that. $5? Yes.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s a fun game (that’s available on Steam and Itch.io). But if you’re not nostalgic for Turok: The Dinosaur Hunter or, I dunno, Daikatana, Zortch might feel weird. As with most boomer shooters, it controls better than those old games did - but the visuals and the vibes are pure Nintendo 64.
It’s also not a super long game. That’s great for me! I love a short king of a shooter. But this won’t stretch your gaming dollar to the max. This is genuinely, and I want to say this from the bottom of my heart, a $5 game.
I just hate that I love this visual style so much.