Extreme Exorcism

Genre: Arcade / Action-Platformer

Players: 1-4 Competitive / Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Extreme Exorcism is an Arcade-style Action-Platformer released on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Wii U in 2015.This game puts players in the role of one of several heavily-armed ghost hunters blasting away ghosts in a haunted mansion, with this game’s signature gimmick being that each round of combat has you fighting the ghosts of your moves and attacks from prior rounds.

The presentation here is good, featuring decent pixel art visuals with a fun synthesized soundtrack. Nothing extraordinary, but it works well enough for the game.

However, what’s really special here is the gameplay. The single-player and co-op play really make you think through your moves – you can’t just go in blasting or you make every subsequent round harder. There’s a rotating supply of wacky weapons too, meaning you’ll frequently find yourself having to do things differently based on the weapons available… and also the weapons being used by your ghosts.

While co-op play requires some degree of calculation, competitive play rewards you for spamming attacks, since even if you’re not taking out the opponent with them now, they might connect in a future round. The more area you can cover with these attacks, the less wiggle room opponents will have in all future rounds. Though, of course, you also have to make an attempt to actually take out your opponent directly, since you won’t be able to depend solely on your ghosts.

While there’s a lot of fun to be had here, there are a few issues as well. The core gameplay is a bit simple and doesn’t have the nuance of something like Towerfall, and it would have been nice to have a bit more variety in game modes.

However, while there are certainly areas where Extreme Exorcism could do with some improvement, overall this is a phenomenal game that feels like an outstanding addition to your Party Game rotation. The core Action-Platformer gameplay may not be anything special, but the was players’ ghosts shake up the formula is absolutely inspired, and makes for a ton of fun, especially with friends to join in on the experience.

tl;dr – Extreme Exorcism is an Arcade-style Action-Platformer where each round of gameplay has players fending off the ghosts of their gameplay from former rounds. It’s a clever gimmick that makes for a delightfully fun time, especially in multiplayer. This game is well worth including in your Party Game rotation.

Grade: A-

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