Tesla vs Lovecraft Review
Reviewer’s note: this video game is Rated T for teens. I will review T rated games if I believe they can be enjoyed by parents and their teenage kids, just as I enjoy age-appropriate games with my kids.
Playing Tesla vs Lovecraft is like starting a trail run at the top of a descent with the thrill of keeping your wits about you while you run, navigating hazards until you see the end in sight, so the branches and rocks don’t cause you to land on your face. Only you start in a mech, bitchin’ rock music is blasting, and you have a variety of lethal inventions at your disposal to dispatch hordes of monsters. Maybe you’ll want to have a friend or three join you?
Tesla vs Lovecraft is a game on Nintendo Switch, from developer 10Tons. Right from the start, I realized they put some thought into the game with quote from namesakes Nikola Tesla and H.P. Lovecraft displayed on the load screen. As it loads and on into the main menu, there’s this intro song that is one of the better ways I can recall ever starting a video game. There’s even a loading indicator icon that looks cool. Then seeing the images of Tesla and Lovecraft on their respective steeds, everything just gets me hyped. But just why is this game featuring the names of two notable figures in history? An introduction informs you of why there exists such an adversarial title and then you jump in. You are Nikola Tesla, and you are fighting against the infernal creatures led by H.P. Lovecraft. With a writer and an inventor both wearing suits and neckties, science vs fiction might not seem like the most threatening matchup, but then you realize that one commands tentacled beasts and the other uses lightning rods to dispatch said beasts. This is a twin-stick arena shooter for one to four players, and it is just plain fun while not being plain in the slightest.
As a twin-stick arena shooter, you have weapons to use when fighting off the masses bent on your destruction and are best to stay on the move to avoid being overrun. There’s more to the shooting than just the weapons and more to moving than just the left stick, however. Along with the weapons, which are a mix of real and imagined, there are abilities and perks. Even more, there’s inventions that can be unlocked and upgraded with crystals. Tesla vs Lovecraft feels concise in that it clearly knows who it is, yet crammed full of content that is just what it needs – no more, no less.
There’s another aspect to this game that isn’t always something to address in a game aside from maybe a survival horror or RPG, and that is the atmosphere. The chilling music playing during the selection screen and sound effects that aptly fit the their applications make it worth putting on some headphones. The heavy usage of purple and green of the enemy contrasting the blue and red from the actions of your protagonist, add to the chaotic fun when explosions, projectiles, and slain foes are filling the screen. Sights and sounds throughout Tesla vs Lovecraft add a heavy coat of polish. Steps are taken further into fleshing out the atmosphere when arenas given interesting names, and monsters you encounter can be seen and read about in the Monsterpedia.
The weapons are unique and not something you should find yourself attached to, for good reason. Everything you acquire is temporary, so the shotgun you become quite fond of should be ditched in favor of the next weapon full of ammo so you can continue the fight. Abilities are secondary weapons that are limited but powerful, and help you when you need them most. My favorite is the Aether Disk. Perks picked up as you fight improve your firepower like by providing an extra barrel or increasing your rate of fire, improve your character like by increasing speed and health, damage enemies like with radiation or lightning clouds, or even provide all future powerups to your friends playing cooperatively.
Speaking of cooperative play, Tesla vs Lovecraft can be played as a single player campaign or in co-op mode for two to four players in local multiplayer. The game does not support individual Joy-Cons, or at least my kid and I weren’t able to get them working. But as a twin-stick shooter, not having well, twin sticks makes for an inferior experience and we had fun using the second controller. I did notice a bit of slowdown once in a while and wonder if it would be worse with three and even four players, but it is hardly noticeable and with all that happens on the screen I don’t fault the game too much. I did not experience any slowdown playing in the single player campaign. Cooperative play defaults to the player’s current profile but additional slots allow players to use a separate profile for cooperative if they choose. And after playing some local cooperative games I should say, if your partner succumbs to the fiends, that’s it. There’s no reviving here, so best to watch each other’s back.
Now I’d like to go back to those profiles. Go elsewhere in the options section and you will find more choices available than I expected. Full button mapping is offered. Dead zone manipulation is available, as well as the option to use aiming direction to teleport. The controls in Tesla vs Lovecraft are spot on, with even some additional options to tweak. Wait – did I mention teleporting? Like Nine Parchments, another fun multiplayer game, you can teleport to get around quickly. Perks can manipulate this as well. Choose whether you want to direct where you teleport or just zip in the direction you are facing, because how and when you teleport can determine your success. And things do get challenging as you go. You will need to decide how you want to level up your inventions as you go according to your playstyle, but things will get tough regardless. The world map shows three difficulty levels and opportunities to improve your inventions will continue beyond the first. Along with this, a survival mode becomes available (I’m currently #21!) and daily quests can provide crystals.
The arenas in Tesla vs Lovecraft do rotate through as you proceed, which to some might seem it is recycling levels. They have enough variety in each, however, that I do enjoy revisiting them. Something else that players might pick up on that is not featured in this otherwise feature-chocked game, is online multiplayer. As hectic as the game gets, I don’t know if it could support online play. Sure, it’d be fun, but I’m fine recommending this as a truly great local multiplayer title. Individual aspects of the game could be picked at but as a whole, Tesla vs Lovecraft brings a lot to the overall concise experience.
CONCLUSION
Tesla vs Lovecraft does what it sets out to do and more, and I am thoroughly impressed with the attention put into the game. It is a fine game to play through a few arenas at a time and keep returning to like a nightmare brought on by the disturbing creatures out to get you. Gameplay is electrifying, the eerie package feels complete overall, and fun can be had either in handheld mode in a chair with earbuds or on the couch in docked mode with friends. Pick up Tesla vs Lovecraft in the Switch eShop if you would like to go on a run with a solid twin-stick title.
Reviewed on Nintendo Switch on 13FEB18
Review copy provided by 10tons Ltd.
