"Australia Did It": Well-mixed genre cocktail
An indie veteran is finally doing something new again: "Australia Did It" mixes simple but whimsical ideas at the bottom of the former Atlantic.
(Image: Mystic Forge)
Why was Australia to blame? Anyone who thinks about that for too long will lose. Indie game veteran Rami Ismail has devised a silly, trashy future scenario for “Australia Did It”. The Atlantic has dried up. Freight trains race through the new wasteland and have to push back giant insects and killer robots for a handful of combat rounds at every station. Between stations, they shoot from the wagons in real-time.
And Australia offered itself as the villain because it's not on the Atlantic itself and usually doesn't have to play the antagonist.
Specialist for playable earworms
Together with a small development team and indie publisher Mystic Forge, Rami Ismail is finally developing a new game again. Ismail is a familiar name to gamers of a certain age: he was one half of the Dutch indie duo Vlambeer, which produced several hits and cult classics. “Super Crate Box,” “Ridiculous Fishing”, “Luftrausers”, and “Nuclear Throne” were all games with simple ideas that were implemented convincingly.
“Australia Did It” is also being developed by a small team and has earworm qualities. Whether the idea is more complicated this time is debatable. At least the two halves of the game are rather simple. At train stations, the survival struggle is reminiscent of Tower Defense, “Into the Breach” and chess: a few units have to defend a small area for a few game rounds. From the station wall, they shoot in turns at an escalating brood of enemies that spawns at the edge of the playing field. Everything is presented in a whimsical pixel art style.
„Australia Did It“ angespielt (9 Bilder)
Mystic Forge
)Before it gets too much, the units hop into the train and drive to the next station. The genre changes during this. The graphic style mixes a grainy backdrop and high-resolution insect bloodstains on the go; it still looks vaguely retro, but less convincing. However, the train drives by itself and only takes two minutes. During the journey, you can choose between two units in each of the three wagons, aim for short distances, and if things get dicey, you can trigger an ultra-attack. Almost more important than the few button presses on the way, however, is the question of which units you have developed in turn-based mode and put on the train.
After this short breather, various difficult track sections are chosen for the onward journey and a bonus for the rest of the game, before tactical decisions can be made again for about ten minutes. Every run follows this rhythm. The team calls the idea “Tactical Reverse Bullet Hell”. While this is true, it doesn't cover all the references. It skillfully samples numerous influences and finds surprising synergies.
Make one out of two
For this article, we could only play a preview version, but the game is fun from the first minute and already possesses a deceptive tactical depth. Everything is decided during the turn-based waiting periods at train stations, when there is time to think. The battles here are as clear as a board game, and the train and shooting ranges are short. The trick lies in the simple but clever way units are bought and developed.
Every defeated enemy yields a few “Cindermint”. We can only buy three different, weak units with this currency: the Radshot shoots far and its radiation damage doesn't occur directly, but only at the end of the round. The Gunslinger is responsible for direct damage. And the Nomad is the shotgun unit: hits multiple fields nearby, pushes enemies back.
However, the game doesn't have three units, but thirty. To create a new one, you simply have to move two units of the same level onto the same field. This way, they level up and, from level 3 onwards, also combine into new units. Initially, obvious types like the rocket launcher or a lightning thrower appear, but at level 5, crazy and powerful units await. Planning which specialist team you would like for later levels is mixed into the survival struggle.
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Play guitar, summon the dead
We rarely reached the final development stage, as the number of train stations per run in the preview version was a bit too limited. But precisely here lies a juicy little tactical game: From the very first stop, we constantly mix new units to achieve specific effects, hit distant enemies, or deal more damage. Even the six new units from level 3 onwards offer numerous tactical possibilities. And this on a very small, clear playing field.
Each station measures only five by five fields, so a conveyor belt wall is erected on which units can move back and forth. In front of the walls are another five by five fields in each direction, where enemies can spawn and advance. The area is small enough to always remain as clear as a board game. Every step of movement and every field of shooting range counts.
The turn-based tower defense sections play smartly and smoothly because we can always plan a full turn completely and only have to confirm it afterward. Only when we are sure do we execute the turn. Besides the catchy pixel art, this is a main reason why the game here is reminiscent of a more casual, faster “Into the Breach”.
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Perhaps the difficulty level is a matter of style, perhaps it still needs to be adjusted correctly. In the preview version, even the harder of two levels never led to major problems. When it got close, it was only because obvious mistakes were made – beware of shooting Demon Bears!
The train journey works as a diversion between stations but feels even less polished. It's not always easy to understand why a particular unit on the train was hit in the chaos of effects. Sometimes the train was almost destroyed, sometimes it came through almost unscathed, without us really understanding why. However, the issue might be smaller than it sounds. Firstly, the action sequences are short, and secondly, a little more clarity here would make many things better.
An Atlantic crossing might be worthwhile
The balance doesn't seem quite right yet, but the game still has some time. There is no official release date yet. It already looks very promising for everyone who isn't looking for the next masterpiece, but wants ten to thirty minutes of flawless fun and feels comfortable between chess, roguelites, and digital board games.
Interest in the Atlantic or Australia, on the other hand, is less important.
(mki)
