Stephanie Bendixsen: Ape Out a simple premise with staggering style and addictive as a drug

If I could write a chill beat-poem about Ape Out I would, it’s that cool. And like many indie titles it has a simple premise, but when built around excellent core design mechanics and executed with staggering style — damn, writes Stephanie Bendixsen.

Rhythm. Violence. Primal Energy. Art. Jazz. If I could write a chill beat-poem about this game I would — it’s that cool.

It’s called Ape Out — and like many indie titles, it has a simple premise.

But when built around excellent core design mechanics and executed with staggering style — damn.

It’s a near perfect game — and exactly the kind of inventive, stylish, morish gameplay that publisher Devolver Digital are known for.

READ MORE FROM STEPH:

DIVISION 2 AMAZINGLY TRUE TO LIFE

ANTHEM’S BEAUTY ONLY EXOSKIN DEEP

STEPH TO HOST GAME OF THRONES SHOW

In Ape Out you’re an ape, locked in a cage deep in some sort of facility riddled with armed guards.

Before you even get started, some seriously cool 1960s spy-movie-style opening credits set the scene for the visual delight and riotous rampage to come.

If you’ve played the likes of Hotline Miami, you’ll notice some similarities in its approach and graphic style. But Ape Out manages to be a much slicker attempt at this kind of pathfinding, repetitive rampage, being both easier on the keys and more cohesive in overall design.

There’s very little to set up in terms of premise. You’re an ape, locked in a cage deep in some sort of facility riddled with armed guards.

It’s bold and brash in its artistic approach, cleverly timed to it’s wild, expressive jazz soundtrack.

You have to bust out of your prison and basically smash your way through armed enemies to safety through a series of labyrinthine rooms and corridors.

The strategy comes from quick, decisive evasion — knowing when to retreat and hide — and when to just go for it.

You can only absorb a limited number of hits before you’re out for the count — and this is the kind of try-die-repeat gameplay that sees you right back to the start if you don’t make it through.

Great! No problem. Just like platformers from days of old, you learn from your mistakes, and when you reach that point where you died last time, you’ll know what to expect and be ready for it — right? Wrong.

Levels in Ape Out are procedurally-generated, meaning the level design, enemy placement and pathway through the map is completely different every. single. time. Brutal.

The game manages to be a slick attempt at a pathfinding, repetitive rampage.

Yet somehow … you’ll find yourself learning from your mistakes anyway. You learn not to hesitate.

With each attempt, you’ll find yourself making it just a little bit further — despite each attempt being in a different version of the map.

You’ll find ways to kite enemies around corners, or lure them into bottlenecks so you can grab one and, like a bowling ball, send him hurtling into the others resulting in certain death (and a clear pathway for you).

Speaking of pathways, your ape leaves a trail through the environment as a helpful marker of where you’ve trod before.

Likewise when you die, a map screen showing the pathway you chose through the environment pops up.

This can be helpful to not only see how infuriatingly-close to the end you were at the point of death — but you might also notice patterns in your own pathfinding attempts.

I tended to stick to the upper edges for example, seeking safety in corners and outer walls. But this often didn’t work in my favour, leading me into cavernous rooms with little to no cover and a herd of goons to deal with.

It’s frustrating, but brilliant — because you are actually forced to adapt on the fly, always kept on your toes.

As gamers we tend to rely on patterns of behaviour that ‘work’ for us, sticking to the same moves that serve as a strategy towards an easy win.

It’s that kind of complacency that leads to boredom, and good game design will find ways to force you into making new and different choices.

See? Simple premise, complex and clever execution.

The game changes as your progress and with each life you lose, adding to the intensity.

As you progress through each zone, environmental designs change, difficulty ramps up and goons find new and creative ways to keep you contained.

Some will throw explosives, and if you get too close while attempting your usual smash-n-dash, you’ll end up being blown to smithereens along with them.

It’s a real spanner in the works, because you have to take an extra moment to grab, aim and throw so they’ll combust at a safe distance.

The grab mechanic is used beautifully. It’s frustrating and a little unfair being a melee-only primate in a world of armed, ranged attackers — so you have to get creative.

Grab a goon, get him to fire off a shot at his friends before sending him hurling down the corridor.

Later, when faced with flamethrowers — use those to your advantage, too. Their weapons can be your weapons, if you’re quick enough to turn them around on your foes.

Ape Out is fast, addictive, repetitive fun. In ordinary circumstances ‘repetitive’ for me is a bad word. I hate repeating myself — if I can’t nail something in a handful of attempts, I lose interest — I’m just not that kind of gamer.

The exception is in a game like this, where the reload is so fast and each new attempt gets you that much closer to the end — that your fingers will be hungrily resetting before your brain can even catch-up.

I played this on both PC and Nintendo Switch — and while it’s great on PC, I must say it lends itself beautifully to handheld gameplay.

Just don’t miss your train stop — because this one’s like a drug.