Slain: Back from Hell – Just another kind of Hell?

Slain: Back from Hell by Wolf Brew Games was pitched to me as a “metal Castlevania game”. On the surface, that sounded about as bad-ass as I could have asked for in the days before Halloween. So I got my hands on a copy of it for Xbox One and sat down to play. Within an hour or so, I was ready to throw my controller through my TV and smash the console with a hammer just to make sure I’d properly killed it. I’m told that this revamped version is a vast improvement over the original release of the game. Having not played it at launch, the current version doesn’t benefit from any hindsight comparison in my experience. The problem is that I thoroughly enjoy nearly everything about Slain besides the combat. WHY IS THIS COMBAT SO BAD???

Slain: Back from Hell is a retro-style 2D action game that tries to capture the feel of old-school Castlevania games. Platform gameplay that pulls out all the general tropes of the genre abounds in this title. If I never have to jump on platforms to cross a pit of spikes again, it’ll be too soon. As the first part of the title might imply, Slain greatly emphasizes the regularity and variety with which you’ll find your character rent asunder and reduced to paste. Some of this is by the minions of darkness that roam each level, but much of it is purely environmental. Thankfully, there are respawn points about every ten feet. I’m sure there are people out there that can speed-run Slain, but I will never count myself among their number.

Visually, I love Slain. The retro graphics are pixelated and have just a limited enough color palette that they evoke that sense of nostalgia without being cumbersome. Yet, even while casting that spell of games from long ago, the lighting and particle effects are fantastic. Mid and end level bosses are really well designed; they convey menace and awesome in just the right proportions. The game is unquestionably stunning–screenshots will never do it justice. I love the whole gothic aesthetic from Bathoryn, our doomed hero, to every denizen of Hell that gets thrown at him. Just look at this trailer:

The soundtrack for Slain: Back from Hell is a metal onslaught recorded by Curt Victor Bryant, former member of Celtic Frost. Each pounding metal anthem fueled my journey for as long as I was able to actually continue moving forward. Unfortunately, even the best of soundtracks is bound to get repetitive after a half hour of death and resurrection in the same area. Since I tend to get a little testy when confronted with a loop of failure and frustration, I did end up turning the volume off a few times until I was finally able to get past certain challenges.

Then there’s the combat system. Slain: Back from Hell uses a combination of melee and magical combat. Both of these styles are augmented by the elemental weapon options that become available with progression. What I found from a practical standpoint is that magic is virtually useless outside of the big area attack that requires a full magic gauge to use. Normally, magic does nothing more than send a weak projectile hurtling forward. Even when charged, the fireball is barely capable of charring one bad guy. Give me holy water, boomerangs, or even a dagger any day.

I thought that a Castlevania-style game would be all about close combat, but useful melee combat consists of only two moves. The first is to knock projectiles back at certain foes while the second is a combination of a perfectly timed block and riposte. Slashing repeatedly at bad guys is an option, but a rather poor one. However, missing a perfect block can, in some cases, result in instant death. So most of my game time is spent standing in place and waiting for an attack in hopes that I time my block just right and deliver a powerful counter. To me this is the most boring and tedious way to play a 2D action game.

Unfortunately, as much as I love the visuals and soundtrack of Slain: Back from Hell, I can’t stand the combat system. After trying for eight hours over the course of several weeks to get into a groove with it, I’ve finally decided to give up at 76% and uninstall it from my Xbox One. There are plenty of positive reviews on Steam and Metacritic, so it’s possible that it’s just my personal dislike of these specific mechanics. However, I find myself unable to enthusiastically recommend this game based on my experience with it.