Was it good? Extinction
by Spencer Wakefield
Extinction: the complete and total annihilation of a species. While humans have been responsible for numerous species dying out, they themselves have never been the victim of such tragedy. The premise and title of developer Iron Galaxy’s new IP, however, is just that; humanity on the brink of extinction due to the actions of a much stronger race of creatures. These creatures are known as Ravenii, fifteen story tall ogres with regenerating limbs that can only be killed by one group of people: a secret society known as the Sentinels. In Extinction, released on April 10th for Xbox One, PS4, and Windows, players control Avil, the last Sentinel.
Despite the premise being interesting, at the very least, the execution is lackluster. The Kingdom of Dolorum, the last human stronghold in the world of Extinction, is made of empty levels dotted with hardly enough to do. While the large environments do lend themselves to fighting the Ravenii, who wear armor with different weak points and dangers, they do not lend themselves to the smaller scale combat against Jakals, the Ravenii’s smaller cousins. The small scale combat though, is interesting to say the least.
Iron Galaxy is known for their work on the DLC for Killer Instinct, a fast paced fighting game that rebooted the classic Rare franchise in 2013 on Microsoft hardware, as well as Divekick, another fighting game that parodies the mid-tier strategy of fighting game players that lock their opponents in combos of jumps and kicks with a surprising amount of depth. Extinction’s combat is similar to that of a fighting game, with move cancellation, advanced combos, and the like. Despite this, though, the single button combos that rely on delayed presses have variable mileage between players.
Extinction’s story has promise, with a stellar concept and surprising twists throughout, but like the gameplay, it falls flat in many places. The art style and flair of the whole game, though, make up for the floaty controls and flawed gameplay. Overall, Extinction falls as a solid 6/10, not worth ignoring entirely, but not worth full price. A flashy, cartoony, gory affair, with a lot of heart, but not enough substance to keep players happy for long.
Despite the premise being interesting, at the very least, the execution is lackluster. The Kingdom of Dolorum, the last human stronghold in the world of Extinction, is made of empty levels dotted with hardly enough to do. While the large environments do lend themselves to fighting the Ravenii, who wear armor with different weak points and dangers, they do not lend themselves to the smaller scale combat against Jakals, the Ravenii’s smaller cousins. The small scale combat though, is interesting to say the least.
Iron Galaxy is known for their work on the DLC for Killer Instinct, a fast paced fighting game that rebooted the classic Rare franchise in 2013 on Microsoft hardware, as well as Divekick, another fighting game that parodies the mid-tier strategy of fighting game players that lock their opponents in combos of jumps and kicks with a surprising amount of depth. Extinction’s combat is similar to that of a fighting game, with move cancellation, advanced combos, and the like. Despite this, though, the single button combos that rely on delayed presses have variable mileage between players.
Extinction’s story has promise, with a stellar concept and surprising twists throughout, but like the gameplay, it falls flat in many places. The art style and flair of the whole game, though, make up for the floaty controls and flawed gameplay. Overall, Extinction falls as a solid 6/10, not worth ignoring entirely, but not worth full price. A flashy, cartoony, gory affair, with a lot of heart, but not enough substance to keep players happy for long.