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jupiterswasphouse · 3 months ago

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Let's Talk About: The Isopod: A Webbed Spin-off Demo!

[Image ID: The steam header image for the game, with the text "isopod" and an isopod rolled up into a ball /End IDs.]

⚠️ The following post contains spoilers for the content within the demo of "Isopod: A Webbed Spin-off", if you're already sold on this game and would prefer to avoid spoilers, I would highly recommend playing it and then coming back to this post once you've finished the demo! There's about an hour of gameplay, up to two or three hours if you do everything there is to do, so it won't take long!

(Also apologies if some of these screenshots are blurry, I was playing on relatively low settings and things that aren't too close or far away from the camera appear out-of-focus anyway)

Finally, Isopod has a demo out! I've been eagerly looking forward to this one since the first reveal, as I really loved the developers' previous game, Webbed!

In this 3D platforming collectathon, you play as Winston, a union man with a magnet on his back and quite possibly the fastest isopod in the vast land of Australia; In his journey to stop the Fire Ant Conglomerate from destroying and polluting his home land, you will have to master curling up, rolling, boosting, spin-attacking, slamming, wall-jumping, and building momentum/swinging around via magnetism. This momentum-heavy movement system, admittedly, both brings the game up and pulls the game down somewhat.

The gameplay can be speedy and smooth; It's really a blast once you get used to it! Momentum mechanics are always welcome and you can get pretty creative with it, plus it doesn't seem like it's particularly glitchy either. It's a great system all things considered! Provided they iron it out a bit, as it takes a hot minute to get used to, and you can get flung all over the place, end up in the water, and get stuck in places in a heartbeat; and sometimes it feels a little bit clunky. There's also a few places where I thought the invisible walls weren't quite in the right spot—Although that's really only a problem if you're really thorough, as 80% of the time I hit an invisible wall it was on top of a wall, it's just that it was a bit too close to the edge of the platform and could have either been moved back to provide extra space so the player doesn't fall off or replaced with a respawn barrier off the other side of the wall. These complaints are by no means a deal-breaker, of course, can be fixed with updates, especially given the actual, full game isn't out yet!

Another thing that can be changed is, of course, the actual glitches! Of which, I didn't really experience all that many for something as early on and movement-based as the game is. One of them was literally just that an ant enemy somehow got into the water, and was just walking around down there, not too big of a deal, didn't impede any progress. When the other glitch occured, it was in the middle of a race with a tiger beetle, during which I boosted directly into the beetle—aaand the game crashed, no clue why!

Speaking of the tiger beetle, though, let's talk about the bugs you meet in the demo! Starting with your main allies, what appear to be bulldog ants! (Although, admittedly I'm not the best at identifying ants, and I did call these "trap-jaw ants" the whole time I was playing, whoops).

[Image IDs: Two in-game screenshots of a pair of ally bulldog ants, one in a soldier's uniform—saying "I think watching that pipeline explode is the most beautiful thing I've seen in my life"—and the other in a construction uniform /End IDs.]

A charming choice for allies for sure, and one that's native to Australia (Where the game takes place—as previously implied—and the homeland of the development team)! It's one of these bulldog ants, in fact, that straps the all-important magnet to your back. Super helpful bunch all around! Meanwhile, as previously mentioned, on the other side; You will be fighting against some ants as well.

[Image ID: Another in-game screenshot, this one taken from the game's store page, showing the fire ant enemies /End IDs.]

This specifically starts out with the standard melee enemies, which I can only assume are Solenopsis invicta, aka red imported fire ants! These, as you may expect, can only bite and sting. Soon enough, however, after making quick work of the pipelines pumping pollutants into your homeland's waterways, these are joined by their own allies, their long-range counterparts...

[Image IDs: Two in-game screenshots showing the yellow crazy ant enemies, one in going in for a melee attack, and the other preparing to spray acid /End IDs.]

Anoplolepis gracilipes, yellow crazy ants! This feisty, conveniently color-coded bunch can hit you with a melee attack, just like the fire ants, but these guys can actually spray acid on top of that; Something that they, surprisingly, can do in the real world as well! You may notice, too, that these are actually also both invasive species in the lands of Australia! I have to say, great attention to detail there, as is the case with the accuracy of the models themselves.

This conglomerate of ants is, of course, lead by some queens; Specifically including a crazy ant CEO, who I! Didn't get a screenshot of. But all you need to know is that this CEO came to the land in the humble name of progress... and the promise of a potential 400% increase in profits, but y'know, progress! I appreciate double-meaning here, teaching about the dangers of actual invasive species to a particular environment, while also comparing the rich decision-makers to them as well, displacing and oppressing the workers of the union... The bit may not be for everyone in their funny little Isopod video game, but I like it!

Still, those aren't the only species you meet! As already mentioned, you also meet Crash, the tiger beetle! I'm no beetle expert either, but with some light research, this may be Rivacindela hudsoni!

[Image ID: An in-game screenshot showing Crash, the tiger beetle, saying "It takes me 75 seconds to comete this course. Think you can do better?" /End IDs.]

This family, and species, would make a lot of sense for a character who wants to challenge Winston to a race, as tiger beetles are extremely fast! The fastest runners in the insect class. To quote a note from the honorable Wikipedia: "The fastest known species of tiger beetle, Rivacindela hudsoni, can run at a speed of 9 km/h (5.6 mph; 2.5 m/s), or about 125 body lengths per second"

The race can be quite difficult if you don't know your way around and aren't used to the mechanics yet, but it's a great way to figure them out! Follow the checkpoints around the area, and you'll be able to smash Crash's record in no time; just try not to get swept away by the river.

Finally for the species count in our initial area, we meet a fascinatingly freaky character! This one is based on a creature I've encountered myself, that I've wanted to see represented in video games for a long time... Optica, the junk bug! The larval stage of green lacewings.

[Image ID: Another screenshot, this time showing Optica, the junk bug, carrying their pile of "junk" around, with a curtain in front of their head, parted to either side /End IDs.]

You can see this odd little shopkeeper carrying around a pile of stuff, which notably contains parts of other bugs, some parts of it more distinguishable than others. This, again, is accurate to the real thing, as this group is often referred to as "junk bugs" due to the camouflage they wear on their backs, a heaping pile of bug parts (Typically aphid parts, though not necessarily exclusively) from other creatures they've killed and eaten. This makes it rather concerning, then, that the pile contains isopod parts—one of which being the face of a Cubaris species, ie a rubber ducky isopod—as well as those of some beetles, at least one possibly being a Coccinellid; and what appears to be Catacanthus incarnatus, the man-faced stink bug.

What, perhaps, makes it more concerning, is the fact that they either seem to speak for these parts as "masks", or the parts themselves actually speak. Especially with this line in particular:

[Image ID: A screenshot, focused on the man-faced stink bug part, labelled "Distrusful Mask", saying "Careful with that river. If our hero got swept away, I don't know WHAT we'd have to do..." /End IDs.]

... That said, we need not care about what our dear shopkeeper does in their free time! What we care about is those sweet, sweet cosmetics!

[Image ID: A screenshot of the cosmetic shop menu, showing the currency of Junk, as well as the Pridesopod, Dairy Cow, and Clown cosmetics, plus a mystery one as well /End IDs.]

That's right! Our strange friend is happy to lend us a new look for the low price of some of our junk—and how do we collect junk, you ask? Well, as our equivalent to coins or rings, junk can be found scattered across the map, in crates, or as a reward for doing certain things.

That's not the only thing you can collect, however! The game also presents you with pottery shards, which I couldn't find a use for yet in the demo but may be a rarer form of currency later on in the game; leaf litter, which functions as armor, for up to three additional hits; puzzle pieces, which are one of this game's more scavenger-hunt type objects, hidden in four places in the demo (Spoiler: Yep, that includes the classic spot behind the waterfall); loudspeakers, which are less of a collectable I suppose and more of a smashable, a couple of which certainly test your ability to handle the game's mechanics; and a video game cartridge, which I imagine will be joined by other various singular objects you find in the dirt, used for purchasing the Roly Lo-Poly cosmetic.

It sounds like a lot for sure, but I can promise you that it doesn't feel bloated or anything like that! Seems like just enough to test the player's collectathon'ing mettle and further get them used to exploring the world presented to them, in my opinion. Whether that will continue to be the case in the full game, that remains to be seen.

I could go on about the goals and sidequests laid out for you in the demo, but I think I'll save my remaining thoughts for when the full game comes out, and I can fully articulate them. For now, I leave you with a solid recommendation for this game, if any of this has you interested! It's not for everyone for sure, but it seems to be a great game for the bug lovers, momentum mechanics enjoyers, collectathon fans, and/or union members!

#Isopod game #Isopod: A Webbed Spin-off #Webbed #Bugblr #Wasp House Review

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