ALIEN SCUMBAGS Review for Steam

Quite the interesting game, Alien Scumbags, by developer and publisher Monster Finger Games. This game was unlike any other I had played. This crude game was a fun and exciting game, with an interesting storyline to say the least, and a comedic twist. This 2d-platformer combined a wide variety of games and was very fun to play. Players make their way through missions, hiding, running, and killing alien-like creatures. Believe it or not, Alien Scumbags can actually be pretty challenging, and one must be careful when playing not to get addicted.

Alien Scumbags opens with a crude pixelated image of a general. He yells at you, referencing multiple other video game characters that are “unavailable.” He calls on you, the Master Chief, to finish the mission and investigate a ship that your team has lost contact with. Any reference to Master Chief from the famous video game services Halo is always going to be funny, and Alien Scumbags’ reference proves it. As you select your character and difficulty level, the game insults you if you choose the easiest challenge. I enjoy the games that do this, as it serves as an incentive for players to play at a harder level.

Loading into the actual game, there are a few things that I want to talk about. The initial thing that I noticed was the graphics and camera angle. It is a third-person side view, and the game is a pixel-type game. Think Terraria. Surprisingly, the game runs pretty well and is pretty smooth, despite the rough feel it has with the retro vibe. As for actual gameplay, Alien Scumbags is actually pretty unnerving. With the horror-like lighting and sounds, players can become frightened as they do not know what will come next. SPOILER ALERT: The big reveal is that the ship’s crew seems to have been turned into monster-like creatures/zombies. One must fight their way through multiple missions and the ship in order to survive, it’s pretty fun.

Alien Scumbags was pretty fun, and there were new challenges and mechanics that players learned along the way. Players also had the chance to unlock different characters through capsules that they found around the map. For nine dollars, I think Alien Scumbags has plenty of content to make the game worth it. If one did want to try the game, it is available as a demo that allows players to try it without spending money. I couldn’t find any blatant glitches or problems for the game, so that was good.