It’s truly amazing that in the age of motion capture, ray tracing, and near-photorealistic graphics, we can still sit back and sigh nostalgically when games made out of pixels come to market. I’ve thought about this before, using terms like “with a retro twist,” and I’ve written about how indie games in particular often take us back to a time when 2D pixel graphics games gave us entertainment. simple but fantastic. Because when you play games, especially indie games, this happens a lot. They remove much of the visual elements and let the game mechanics shine. I don’t complain and I don’t get bored. Instead, I think it’s quite nice to leave behind the huge open worlds I enjoy so much and allow the pixels to contrast nicely with the polished sheen of triple-A games.
Like my colleague Måns, I often delight my taste buds with caviar, mussels and snails in garlic, but then almost cry with happiness when I’m served something as simple as meatloaf. This comparison to food can also be described as the comforting sense of simplicity and familiarity that permeates these pixels. It’s the graphics we grew up with and the games we had so much fun with.
I hope you understand, Wild Dogs is as simple as a game can get. It’s a chaotic collection of games like Mega Man, Gradius, and especially Contra. It’s a run and gun with monochrome graphics where the character Frank and his trusty dog shoot through hordes of enemies, mini-bosses and bosses.
At first I sighed a little and thought, “Well, but I’ve played this many times…” However, it only took a short time, some mini-bosses and surprising gameplay moments for me to appreciate the original character of Wild Dogs in its perception, appearance and game mechanics. Holding the X button and running forward, dodging shots, and double jumping demonstrate the understated simplicity of the game design. It’s quite entertaining when the game itself is well made and the action ramps up.
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Lasers, flamethrowers, and missiles pave your way through enemies, and the wide variety of mini and main bosses in the game make dodging shots difficult. For a veteran of this genre, this will hardly be a real challenge, but personally I think it’s a reasonable level of difficulty. If you die and use up all your lives in a level you’ll have to start over, but hopefully you’ll start from the beginning of the level. Although it only consists of four levels, they are very extensive. This feature can seem a bit counter-intuitive given the game’s simplicity, but there’s enough variation and surprise included in the moment, and at just the right amount, to keep it from becoming too monotonous and add a bit of variety.
As mentioned, Frank is accompanied by his dog, who is the hero of the day in certain sequences. The game here is all about dodging obstacles and dangers, which is what some of the slightly weaker parts of the game consist of. Luckily the sequences are quite short and there are also some where the dog is right in the middle of the action, but I don’t want to say more about that because it was one of those moments that surprised us positively.
So much for the pixels. “Wild Dogs” is designed as an action classic from the 90s and is quickly completely captivated by its charm. One of the advantages of today’s technological advances is the smooth gaming experience, despite the large number of enemies and explosions on the screen. It’s something I really appreciate both visually and in terms of the game’s action. The only thing I have to say about the game’s graphics is that the use of monochromatic colors blends everything together a bit too much. Enemies, explosions, gunfire, and backgrounds are all blended together using only shades of the same color. Fortunately, the menus offer options for selecting different graphics modes, such as simulating a CRT TV or displaying in 4:3 format. These alternatives are fun for those who want to add an even more retro feel to the game.
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The combination of visual style and action makes the game simple and extremely entertaining. It’s amazing how wildness can have incredible charm while being easy and fun. With a reasonable level of difficulty, you won’t find it frustrating, yet you’ll have to strive to dodge enemies’ attacks to save life for the most intense moments. The music is also very nice, the soundtrack complements the levels perfectly, however, it can get a bit monotonous and monotonous at times. Nevertheless, the overall audiovisual package frames the overall experience in a really nice way.
For those looking for a fun and easy-to-play Contra-style action game, Wild Dogs is an obvious choice. The game faithfully captures the classic essence, both in its looks and in its gameplay. It can get a bit monotonous over time, and after several hours of gameplay, the action experience may no longer be memorable. However, the potential downsides of this style of gameplay quickly disappear once you hold down the X button and realize how easy and fun it is to blast your way through the levels. Wild Dogs is a safe bet for fans of this action game genre.
