{Review} Subvertigo

"Subvertigo" by xVirtu
Another Game Maker game, and once more I see my own unused opportunities mirrored here. Even though I did not spend a huge amount of time with "Subvertigo", that time was enough for it to present its particular brand of charm.

Story
You are a pod with amnesia. I think. Well, you are something technological and there is a big heart on you. Your surroundings look slightly biological, but if they are, then the colour of some levels makes me worried for the organism's health. Also there are cups of coffee, basketballs and ladders strewn about the levels...
I definitely get a "The Fantastic Voyage" vibe from the game. So I move around a bit, until a small green spider-being appears, minding its own business. My pod muses "I'm not sure, what to do with it..." Well, since you showed me how to fire and this is a video game... EAT STARRY DEATH, SPIDER-SOMETHING!
Interestingly, the number of enemies is represented by a biohazard symbol. I'm not sure, I feel more like the villain in this particular tale. Everything else is just minding its own business, while I zip around and spray bullets/stars/energy pulses everywhere. And really, when has anyone who ominously talked about "Father's plans" turned out to be the good guy?
That is mainly it, you traverse the labyrinthine levels and shoot everything that moves with your growing collection of weapons. Growing in this case is absolutely the right term.

Mechanics
When you kill something, it may drop another weapon. Move close enough and hardpoints light up on your present weapons and your ship. Then you carefully maneuver around to get the newcomer where you want it to go, and presto. You have cannibalised another being, made its strength your own and decorated yourself with its remains. That sounds more gruesome than it actually looks...

Behold, I am become Death. Cluttered, very unorganised Death.

I would have liked a way to reorganise my configuration, though I have to admit that the "no-backsies" system of permanent weapon assimilation makes for an interesting aesthetic.
One reason I didn't spend more time on it is that the strafing system drives me insane. The A and D keys make you strafe to your pod's left and right. So more than once I forgot my pod was looking down, pressed A, only to strafe right into  hail of angry bullets. Strafing is also incremental, which feels slightly off to me. So that kills a lot of the flow and enjoyment for me.

Presentation
If the Super Mario Block on meth in the upper right corner of the screenshot didn't tip you off, "Subvertigo" is confident in its own presentation. The levels may look a bit flat sometimes, but your eye is mostly on the enemies anyway.
What I really like are the music and the voice of the pod. Even though I suspect it will murder us all once it has strapped enough bits to itself, its voice reminds me of a cybernetic puppy that just wants to please (think Doctor Who's K-9, but with big googly eyes).
For completeness' sake, I have to mention that I experienced some weird tearing.

On the whole...
An interesting take on the top-down-shooter. Not something I see myself spending hours on, but it embraced the growth theme well. In that and its enemy design, it is very creative.
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Link: http://contest.gamedevfort.com/submission/615#.VdBUMvntlBc

Dev: xVirtu

Time Played: 20 minutes

Got My Vote? Close call, but yes. Its creativity, voice and interesting weapons mechanic outweigh my resentment of the movement system.

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