Look, I’m no paragon of neatness. In fact, most would consider me a slob, but Judatone & Krumb Games’ upcoming retro FPS mech-shooter Mekkablood: Quarry Assault is a reminder that even I draw the line somewhere. With only a couple months until the game’s January release (exact date not yet dialed in), there’s still time for the hairy-armed mech jockey to clean up his act. Or at least spray something lemony on his cockpit panels. Check out the new trailer from today's PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted to see just how messy things are getting.
There’s obviously a lot to like on show here. Slower, heavier movement befitting a giant robot. Clean spritework on the enemies. Big chunky guns and even bigger explosions. There’s even side- and rear-view mirrors on your giant robot, giving it a nostalgic Megas XLR feel. Nothing matches the shine of a giant robot… at least when you clean them.
Mekkablood's cockpit status panels have mysterious liquid stains on them. The ammo counter is cracked. And piled in the corners of the detailed cockpit sprite is a mountain of garbage.
It’s lovingly rendered garbage, too. Cans rolling around, empty fast food bags jiggling and rustling. Half buried in the pile is a pack of almost-certainly stone cold and very stale fries. The fact that the pilot appears to be using the cup-holder is a small mercy, but the whole situation is just maddening. You’re piloting a giant bipedal war machine for god’s sake, man, show it a little respect! Why isn't there a bottle of Turtle Wax in that cockpit at the very least?
The game’s excuse for this mess is that pilots will be playing as Bill, a salt-of-the-earth (space?) miner. An evil corporation has decided to not only jump his claim, but steal all his collectible bobble-heads AND kidnap his girlfriend, which just seems like rudeness for the sake of it. A good enough reason to shoot a whole bunch of robots that are muscling in on hard-working human employees.
Unfortunately, those legitimately worried about robots stealing their jobs in the present might hesitate before wishlisting this one. The game’s Steam store page mentions that the textures and pixel art were partially generated using Dall-E 3, Suno was used to generate the music, and Eleven Labs synthesized some of the voice work. That’s a whole lot made using questionably sourced, machine-generated materials, and definitely gives me pause.
If that’s not a dealbreaker for you, Mekkablood: Quarry Assault is available to wishlist now on Steam, and launches January 2025.
