Release Date: 03/03/2016
Played On: Win
Available On: Win
Time Played: 1h 56m
Progress: Bit more than one campaign playthrough
Developer: Philip Bak
Publisher: Nine games
Oh how I love a good twin-stick shooter. The simplicity of the mechanics, the awe of the aesthetics, and the challenge of the moment-to-moment gameplay. All of these things make up one of the purest and most satisfying gaming experiences you can get, so why do people keep insisting on adding lore into the mix?!
Don't get me wrong, if you've ever read this blog before then you'll know how much I love a good narrative. I'm even one of those people who are happy to play the purest of walking simulators, just to get to a good story. The thing is though, I love narrative games because their entire goal is to tell a story in an interesting way, so they're fit for purpose.
I'm also pretty keen on discovering new ways that games can tell us stories and interact with us in interesting ways. In fact, the first time I ever played a so-called walking simulator, I was thrilled that someone had been able to create such an abstracted and simplified experience within the existing gaming landscape.
My point is that I love all that weird stuff that clever folks do to mess with our expectations and tell us interesting stories in unique ways. Change is always a good thing and it's often where the most mind-blowing and memorable experiences can be found. Then there's the rub; where simply adding in new elements isn't enough if it doesn't fit the format. Such is the case with Bezier.
Although, I have to gush a little at first, as Bezier is a fantastic little twin-stick shooter. It keeps things simple and does each part of the puzzle well. Not to mention it being quite the looker, as its contrasted neon/space aesthetic does a good job at looking awesome, as well as communicating gameplay as it happens. It might seem basic at first, but I always opt for understanding what I'm looking at, instead of being confused by a screen of highly detailed crumbs of minutia.
The game adopts a standard level structure, with each level existing within a large 2D arena that's populated with enemies and objectives. I really enjoyed how each level felt quite large, but not exhaustive. Having objective markers not only helps find your way around, but lets you know that there's more going on than you might casually bump into.
Each level throws up a certain number of objectives, which end up being some form of "find the thing and kill the thing". I'll get to the context and overall narrative later, but essentially this is a shooter where you destroy everything else around you to progress. The main objectives are a little more difficult to kill, but once you figure out how to do one, the rest are fairly straight forward.
What I really like about Bezier is the weapons system, which manages to balance some interesting and unique ways of killing things, while maintaining a useful bread-and-butter weapon to keep things moving. Other than your default pew-pew lasers, you can pick up special weapons that have limited use, but do some big damage. Some are what you'd expect, such as big lasers and homing things that need no aiming, but then there are the weird ones like a tethered ball that swings around your ship.
I actually didn't get into the special weapons all that much, especially the more interesting one. After all, I found that the default gun and an occasional homing weapon was enough to keep the ball rolling. So even though there's a decent amount of variety in Bezier, it doesn't end up being all that useful. I guess that's arguably true for most games with variety, as we tend to find what works for us and stick to it. Perhaps the upside is that there are a few different ways to play, so you probably have more chance of finding one that feels good for you.
Enemies are simultaneously what you'd expect, while being a bit unique in their own way. We've all played and seen every Geometry Wars clone out there that mimics the exact same enemy types, so it's always a plus to see a twin-stick that has its own pool of challenges to encounter. However, it's hard to avoid some of the standard tropes so there are still those that chase you, those that meander about, those that shoot you, those that avoid you, and so on and so forth.
Thankfully though, with the contrasting aesthetic and unique enemy designs, Bezier still manages to feel fresh and exciting. Not least thanks to having some tight and basic controls, which are perhaps the most important aspect of any twin-stick. This is basically a genre created on the back of a control scheme, so I'm pleased to report that this game controls as well as any twin-stick needs to, and that's no easy accomplishment. In fact one of my biggest gripes with the genre is when a game tries to make the controls a bit more complex and lose the twitchy essence inherent in the twin-stick mechanics.
Thankfully Bezier has a big tick in its box for classic responsive controls that feel good and don't get in the way. Coupled with the shoot-everything gameplay that both interesting and understandable, this is actually a mighty fine twin-stick experience.
Sadly, the game doesn't stop there.
Between each level, and even during gameplay, Bezier throws up some obnoxious story elements that make very little sense and add very little to the overall experience. I'm not even going to begin trying to explain what's going on in the narrative, as I'm still not really sure why there was some robotic narrator shouting at me every now and then.
All I can guess is that the level boss that shows up toward the end of each arena has some abstract role that feeds into other mini-bosses and perhaps even the enemies we're shooting. I honestly can't put together any more than that, which is why having someone yell at you while playing through such an abstract story is a little annoying to say the least.
I'm not joking when I say that the narrator yells at you either. The audio mix is a little strange as the voice overs come through incredibly loud and they've been put through that metallic filter that people love to use as robot voices. The dissonance from the filter and the straight up loudness of the narration lead me to turn off the game's audio altogether.
Now, I'm not against the notion of an abstract story, or shooters having any story at all for that matter. One of my favourite shooters is Jamestown, which is thoroughly draped in lore and story that only enhances the game for the better. What bothers me is when the addition of a story seems out of place and unnecessary.
Bezier is a fine enough game without any weird shouty narrator, or flimsy context for the weird space-face bosses that you fight at the end of each level. It would have been a perfectly enjoyable game for me if it stuck to shooty sound effects and background music. I know it's a subjective opinion about what I personally enjoy in my twin-sticks, but unfortunately I felt like this is one instance where the narrative felt shoe-horned in and ended up getting in the way of the whole "fun" part of the game.
Hence, might I suggest that if you find the shouty voices and nonsense narrative off-putting, turn off the audio and play some of your own music in the background. This is how I ended up having a much better time with Bezier, so keep it in mind if you're interested in checking it out.
If you're into the twin-sticks like me, then this game certainly has a place in your library. There's a lot to love about the mechanics and systems that have been tightly executed, so if you focus on the gameplay itself, this will surely entertain. Just maybe tweak some of those audio settings before settling in for the long haul.