Super Mutant Alien assault

“Super Mutant Alien Assault”
Reviewed by: Elias S. Lutes
Platform: PS4/Vita/Steam/Switch
Developer: Cybernate
Publisher: Fellow Traveller

Super Mutant Alien Assault is a frantic shooter spanning across three galaxies. A loose title-screen story is all we get, but in all honesty its all we really need. With procedurally-generated rooms and a multitude of weapon upgrades, each level is more chaotic than the last, and every run unlocks new characters, levels, starter items, and difficulty settings -- as well as more enemies to destroy!

The tutorial levels do a good job of easing you into the play environment: grab weapons, shoot aliens, keep your wits about you, and die often. Each level is a single room on one screen, making it easy to stay focused and use the terrain to your advantage when kiting aliens around yourself to stave off death. Items can be found in crates around the rooms, and new weapons are frequent throughout your journey.

I found myself having a lot of fun with progressing through each level, the amount of things I unlocked would grow more and more, which kept me feeling rewarded for my efforts. The play style reminded me a lot of my first slog through Metroid on the NES, and the boxed in feel of the individual rooms made it really easy to keep my objective clear -- there's no getting lost, and there's plenty of carnage.

Levels will all have differing goals, and the primary and secondary weapons allow for pretty customizable load outs, making gameplay fun and exciting when trying new customizations.

While there isn't a huge story investment, I found myself playing often enough just for new stuff to wreak more havoc, which was more than enough for me. A bigger surprise was the ability for local couch co-op play, which made a huge impact on the game. If either player dies, the level restarts, making it more important to cover your partner's back and strategically share resources.

Overall: 8.5/10

Super Mutant Alien Assault has a lot to it for such a small game. The amount of unlocks keeps you hooked, and shooter fans would be unwise to sit on this one -- especially at such an affordable price point on the Switch.