I’m a big fan of nostalgia, so when Hermit Games hit you with the shrilled beauty of the Spectrum loading screen before starting Leave Home, you get a feeling that this could well be a lot more than expected.
Like, I’d suspect, most of you out there, I hadn’t even heard of this game. Only through reviewing this do I know it exists and thank the Gods of vectors and pixels that I got to have a look at this because it’s quite easily one of the best indie titles out there (yeah, I know that kind of stuffs the rest of the review, but I can at least give you multiple reasons as to why it’s so good now).
First off is the really quirky blend of 8-bit remembrance and neon induced funkiness that culminates into one of the smallest files on the Xbox roster. When you first look at the download screen you will think to yourself that you’re not going to get a lot for 5 MB of data. All I can say to that is the old phrase “Sometimes the best things come in small packages.”
Leave Home is a throwback to the shooters of old, but with a twist of the modern. It has the R-Type left to right feel, but there is also a hint of speed which is usually only reserved for the Treasure school of shooters (Ikaruga, Radiant Silvergun, etc). The beauty of this particular title is that it never plays the same way twice, mainly because it has a dynamic difficulty level, which moulds itself around the way you play, rather than keeping it set to an area between a rock and a hard place.
The other selling point is the time it takes to go through it. Hermit Games have set this to be a small experience of about 5 or 6 minutes, as the main objective is to rake in points and beat your score, unlocking extras along the way. This really does work very well, not least because you just don’t think about how long the game actually is when you’re enjoying the very colourful explosions smacking your retinas like a dominatrix during happy hour.
It’s the visuals that really grab your attention though. It’s all done in the same vein as Geometry Wars and all those other vibrant arcade shooters, but the main difference here is the sheer amount of what’s going on. As the timer for each section draws to a close, the enemies and screen change to form another fresh canvas for your ship to paint it’s bullets on. There are some lovely touches, like the aforementioned Spectrum loading noises being accompanied every so often by actual loading screen borders around the battle area. There is so much going on and it all looks so damned pretty that it can take a long time to have everything sink in.
The music and sounds are very apt for this particular style of game. Fast paced, drum laced tracks give you a bit of extra drive to get along the stages and try your best not to die, although with infinite lives it doesn’t really become a problem anyway. Retro sounds are everywhere, but then I’ve mentioned it enough times that you’d think I was sponsored by Sir Clive himself, so I won’t go on. You can have custom soundtracks, but who would want to?
Gameplay wise this has a nice mix of basic enemies, bosses (who I have to say have had some thought put into them, especially the fan based one who has to be turned by your blaster to reach it’s heart) and some really fast paced “fight for your life” bits. It can be hard to dissect each section when you consider how much is being crammed into the timeframe, but it’s on reflection that you start to piece together just what you’ve played.
If I had to criticise it in one place (and it seems to be happening to a lot of the indie games as I do feel like I’m repeating myself) it’s a lack of online leaderboards. For something so dependent on high scores and replay value, you would think of this as an automatic inclusion, but I didn’t see anything to show this as being present in any way. It’s such a shame that it’s not there, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s more a case of not allowed to, rather than not able to put leaderboards in.
For anyone who has wanted to have a quick 5 minute blast on something will have found the perfect thing in Leave Home. This really does put a fair few of the commercial XBLA titles to shame. The reason is simple. This is gaming in its purest form; a good bit of fun with simplistic, easy to pick up gameplay and it is this vital ingredient that a lot of other titles lack. Whether it’s because of deadlines or putting graphics over and above all else is unknown, but you never feel that way with this. It’s an ideal example that shows it can sometimes be a really good idea to go back to a (ZX) basic idea that works really well and being able to leave your own stamp on it without endangering the core elements.
I really do hope Leave Home gets the recognition is so richly deserves. Some Indie games don’t usually have a replay value, but this one simply implores you to do so. It has gameplay addictive enough to put you into rehab, as well as more shiny things than a magpie’s basement. My hope is that a big company sees this and gives these guys a chance to shine on the XBLA stage, as with some extra time, money and online leaderboards (stop going on about them.. Ed.) who knows what Hermit Games could come up with? The whole package is just an almightily impressive achievement and also gives us a rather cute irony. When you’re playing this, considering the name of the game, why would you want to leave?
VideogameUK verdict: 9/10
Download Leave Home to your Xbox 360 here.
