Housemarque is a games studio synonymous with the twin-stick shoot-em-up genre of video games. Starting with the 1993 release of Stardust for the Amiga/ST and DOS, while the developer has dabbled in other genres, they have generally stayed inside what?s worked for them. Their latest game, Matterfall, however, strays outside of that a bit by being a mashup between platformer and twin-stick shooting that will likely push the bounds of multi-tasking gaming, and challenge many a gamer with what it has to offer. We were able to get our hands on the game while at E3 2017, and have a preview ready for you right here, right now.
Get Used to These Controls
The first thing I noticed while playing Matterfall is that its control scheme was unlike most any other platformer out there. The game is a sidescroller, but you use the shoulder buttons for a lot of your moves. R1 jumps/double-jumps, L1 phase shifts you through special blue walls, and temporarily freezes enemies caught in your wake, R2 fires grenades for area damage, and L2 enables a special kind of beam from your gun that can materialize platforms at certain locations, where matter falls into place. Get it" While you?re busy doing all this hopping and platforming, you?ll also be tasked with taking out enemies that look like they belong in a twin-stick shooter. Well, Matterfall also serves as that type of game ? the right stick allows you to shoot your main weapon, while you?re platforming. This takes some getting used to, ...