In The Weaponographist, a witch curses you and convinces you to go monster hunting for (especially her) charity. The game is a top-down dungeon crawler that doesn't really stand out. The game uses a fast pace and offers tough challenges. Add to that a wide variety of monsters and weapons, weapon and skill gimmicks, and plenty of old-fashioned cartoon charm.
Doug McGrave
A big part of the game's appeal lies in its refusal to take anything seriously. In the solo campaign, you play as Doug McGrave, a demon-slaying stallion clad in shining armor. As he wanders the landscape in the opening sequence, looking for new challenges and new sources of profit, he encounters a witch who asks for help to eradicate a demon plague. She's broke, however, so Dougie isn't interested -- at least not until she casts a curse that annihilates vitality and weapons, and soon convinces him that he should try to kill for charity. There are no multiplayer options in the game other than the ability to compare your timed scores with other players online.
The retro charm in The Weaponographist
All of this is played as an evolution of the traditional RPG epic, with The Weaponographist's Doug looking like a cartoon superhero right down to his big, bumper-like chin. The visuals are straight out of an old cartoon. Both the cutscenes and in-game graphics feel like lost clips from the 70's cartoon clips.
The sound
The audio is just a shade softer than the beeps and bloops of the 16-bit era, adding even more retro appeal to the game. Image and sound combine to create a light, carefree mood that adds a lot to the overall experience of exploring underground dungeons and murdering all the residents. The writers don't try too hard either, so you don't have to deal with groaning puns or the obnoxious, unfunny jokes that are all too common in games.
Gameplay
The gameplay of The Weaponographist isn't quite as entertaining as the setting and story. The Weaponographist sticks to the traditional hack-and-slash RPG formula. Doug ventures into multiple dungeon levels - the Deeps - each filled with numerous tight spaces that serve as battle arenas. Each depth has a few save points that allow you to save progress midway through and then again before the final boss fight. Rooms generally work like this: you go in, the door closes, and you don't come out until you've killed dozens of creeps.
The opponents
The wide-ranging villain gallery in The Weaponographist is made up of demons in all sorts of strange forms. There are lions with whips dressed up as circus lion trainers, goblins with deadly yo-yos, Dark Elf archers, Ents with slingshots, and more. Each depth offers a handful of new creatures with new weapons. All weapons can be picked up and used against the villains, livening things up as you delve deeper and deeper into the underground labyrinth of evil. It's all more than a little surreal, but the creatures are too broadly drawn and colorful to be creepy. A bit more mature art direction would have made this a disturbing, nightmarish experience.
The curse
As mentioned above, the witch's curse reduced the durability of Doug's weapons and his skills as a warrior. Every sword, whip, machine gun, spear, etc. in The Weaponographist has a lifespan that counts down on a gauge on the lower left side of the screen. When your weapon crumbles, you need to get hold of something else as soon as possible. Magic weapons can be equipped to launch powerful attacks. Rings of fire, for example, can be summoned with the magic staves left behind by slain wizards, and the tubas dropped by marching band goons can be used to fire Death Star-like laser beams.
The speed
Speed is also of the essence in The Weaponographist. Doug's curse makes him weaker when he's not killing monsters, with his strength displayed on a combo bar. When his lust for murder subsides, the bar begins to drain quickly. When it's completely depleted, Doug starts losing experience. So it's imperative to keep going and steadily slaughtering your way forward. As you do this, Doug gets into a rhythm of regularly leveling up and staying one step ahead of the increasingly tough mobs of villains that fill each new dungeon chamber. As you redden behind on the kill, things quickly get harder and harder, with the end result being overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies.
what weapon do you use
Both elements in The Weaponographist have a major impact on combat, turning it into a fitting mix of speed and strategy. Constant running and killing is key to everything, although you also need to be mindful of which weapon you pick up. Some just don't work very well against certain enemies, and others are grossly underpowered or poorly suited when dealing with large numbers of enemies. The chainsaw, for example, is practically worthless in swarms of monsters because it moves so slowly. On the other hand, weapons like the Swift Whip are almost too powerful considering how quickly you can dish out damage while dashing around.
The luck factor
Again, some luck is part of The Weaponographist, as in some rooms you can get stuck without a good weapon for so long you might as well lie down and die. Enemy buffs that speed up monsters or bounce balls of deadly slime through rooms can also show up, making life even harder. A combination of these seemingly random special effects and bad ones can end Doug's dungeon campaign in a hurry even if you keep your combo meter up.
Replays from the dungeon
However, the action repeats itself. Combat is all about doing the same thing over and over while slightly adjusting your approach to deal with different types of enemies. The Weaponographist's dungeons are difficult at first, which means you'll have to repeat rooms regularly. In the first few rooms of each depth, you will die a few times to trigger a respawn in the village center, where you can spend demon slime acquired from defeated enemies on buffs for weapons, magic gear, etc. So you'll have to build Doug at pretty much any depth this way and die at least three or four times before you get strong enough to overwhelm the enemies. Be prepared for lots of reps.
Conclusion
Despite its reliance on a familiar formula and some repetition, The Weaponographist is a fun arcade game due to its fast pace and interesting concepts governing weapon use and abilities. This is one of those friendly games that almost everyone enjoys launching for short gaming sessions every now and then, especially those who like their dungeon crawlers with a sense of humor and a retro flavor.
The developer of the game is Team Puuba.
Here it goes to Game website