For this GLOG post I took an idea from a Game Design book that I have been reading. In the book it was mentioned that it’s sometimes a good strategy to play “bad” (used relatively) games and then write about things that I would add or change about the game. This got me thinking, cuz you can think of good games super easy but what about bad games? Instantly I found myself thinking about a game called Lethal League. Its an indie game that a while ago I used as an example of a bad game in an interview. So this seemed like the perfect opportunity to revisit the game and see if I would change my tune. As an added bonus I decided to make an accompanying video for GLOG 2 that will be coming out on my YouTube page at a soon, but later date.

Initial Release: August 27th 2014

Developer: Team Reptile

Now I may have been a little hasty in my interview in calling this a bad game. I will admit that I had played it once briefly, got confused on what I was supposed to do and then quit out. In the interview I went on to mention that I feel that the game would have benefited from a tutorial level to get players accustomed to the game. Again, ill be honest, that was quite ignorant of me. So this time around, I thought I would be 100% different than the last time and actually give the game a fair shot.

On the whole, Lethal League’s gameplay is fun and fast-paced and reminds me of the Disc Wars in TRON. The game oddly enough draws some inspiration from Super Smash Bros which is quite evident when you look at the UI, ending Game screen, and the character selection. 2-4 players can play at the same time. When the round or called “burst” starts the ball spawns and a player hits the ball to start play. Players then hit the ball while trying to avoid getting hit, the last player left standing wins the burst. While the ball is moving around players can hit the ball to change velocity and direction. With more players comes the opportunity of getting “multi-eliminations,” pulling these off leaves the player feeling like a bad ass, usually a double play (get two players out) or a triple play (get all three players out). Win the most bursts, you win the match. Simple enough. Once I got used to the game I figured I would try out the online, granted it’s a six year old game so I don’t know what I was expecting, but I found nothing but crickets when I searched.

The game features six unique characters to pick and choose from. Each character is unique and the variety of characters allows players to explore whats comfortable to them, as well as figure out who their “main” is. Raptor, a baseball themed character equipped with baseball bat and helmet. Switch, a robot skateboarder. Candyman, a cartoon-ringleader-look-alike. Sonata, is the only female character sporting a big ass hammer. Latch, is a crocodile with a mechanical tail and other enhancements. Lastly Dice, is a Ping-Pong master. Each character has its own “finisher” that can be triggered and is unique to that character. Candyman’s “Candy-Ball” finisher transforms the ball into a version of his head allowing it to phase through walls, while Latch’s finisher allows him to eat the ball and spit it out in any direction, almost Kirby-esque. Each character has a variety of “flavors” or skins that they can choose from. Players also have the ability to unlock more skins as they play the game and rank up.

In addition to unique characters, the game also features seven unique levels to play on. The Industrial Outskirts, the Underground Sewers, the Hammer Express (a moving train), the City Streets, the Abandon Pool, the State Manufacturing Facility, and Room 21 (a padded room in a psych ward). For the most part the levels are pretty self explanatory and resemble retro styles of yester-year. Each level also features a unique track to play ball to.

Which brings me to my last point, what would I change or add to the game? At first my mind jumped to features that instantly would push this game ridiculously out of scope. So I am going to throw out adding a story mode and adding more characters. Although adding more characters wouldn’t be as out of scope as adding an entire story mode, depending on the number of characters. To be honest, I don’t think a story would even help the gameplay. A story would really only give a reason for why all the characters are there (im kinda thinking how Street Fighter 4 did there story mode). In kind of the same wheelhouse is the idea of adding character bios. The bios don’t need to be a lengthy read, just a quick little blurb about them and could be shown on the character selection screen. I think environmental hazards to the game would be a fun element that could make the gameplay even more interesting. For example, in the State Manufacturing Facility having the doors on the sides of the level open allowing the ball to pass through it to the other side. Another example would be on the City Streets map, a taxi could pass through quickly with the possibility of hitting players and the ball. I also think adding a variant or two of each characters “bat” and various balls both with different effects. On the lesser side, I believe the game would benefit from more clear instructions in the tutorial, especially when players plug in a gamepad. I find that joystick button 1, 2, etc isnt very clear on which button to press. An on screen notification with some sort of SFX for getting a double and triple play would make those moments stand out more. The last suggestion I had was to perhaps map the finisher button to a different button, that way its kind of differentiated from the rest. I also feel like successfully hitting a players finisher should be some sort of spectacle (again, drawing some inspiration from Street Fighter).