ScreenCheat: Unplugged

Genre: First-Person Shooter / Party Game

Players: 1-4-Player Competitive (Local Splitscreen)

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Review:

ScreenCheat: Unplugged is a First-Person Shooter with Party Game sensibilities, where the unique twist is that players cannot see each other – they remain invisible until they’re killed. To take down opponents, players must look at the other screens on the split-screen to judge where they are on the colorful map.

It’s an interesting concept, and the game does what it can to try to compensate for the lack of precision aiming here. Weapons have unlimited ammo and either cover a wide area or have aim assist so your shots don’t need to be 100% accurate. On top of this, the levels are all extremely colorful, and sectioned off into colored sections, so it’s easier to look at someone’s screen and see where they are on the map. And every time someone fires off a weapon, it creates a telltale sign announcing where they are, adding an element of risk every time you attack. The game does a good job gradually introducing new game modes, maps, and weapons, and largely succeeds at filling the “party game” vibe… for a while.

The thing is, ScreenCheat is clearly a game built around a gimmick, and truth be told, I found the gimmick to be getting a bit tiresome before too long. It’s frustrating to be tasked with shooting enemies you can’t see, frustrating to have to keep your eye on multiple screens at once, and it wasn’t long before I found myself wishing I was playing just a normal splitscreen multiplayer FPS.

This feeling extends to the game’s presentation, too. The game has a distinct look with steady framerates (and the Nintendo Switch version even gets exclusive upgraded graphics and interface not present in other versions), but the need to color-code levels in the way the game does really limits the variety here. If you’ve been in one green section, the next green section in a different map will feel much the game, save for the differences in the actual layout.

Still, as a novelty, ScreenCheat is a fun idea. It’s not likely to be the big hit of your next party, but it could at least be a fun distraction.

tl;dr – ScreenCheat is a FPS where players cannot see enemies and must “cheat” by looking at other players’ screens on the splitscreen to figure out their position. It’s a clever concept that’s executed well enough, but it gets old pretty quickly. An interesting distraction, but not much more than that.

Grade: C+

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