There was something about Infestor that instantly appealed to me. After seeing the trailer of this Ratalaika Games, it was almost a case of cherry-picking an easy title that would get a favourable mention.
You know what you’re getting with any Ratalaika game; straight to the point, no-nonsense casual gameplay for all, and easy trophies – if that’s your bag. No, they haven’t endorsed this message, nor do I know a single person at the indie publisher, but when you don’t want to play a game spending a week learning the moves, understand who slept with who to produce the current king, or watch endless cutscenes, EULAs or ‘subscribe to my channel’, these games are for you.
There’s not much to Infestor other than you play the titular character who’s sliming their way through Earth, specifically Human Colony 31-5B, and picking up loads of humans in the process. Not ‘picking up’ in the sense of wooing, but controlling their bodies that elevate you to another ledge, open a door or blast away any threats. After they’ve fulfilled their purpose, you dispose of them.
Infestor Review (PS4/5)
Infestor, the alien, is pretty darn cute for bogey the size of a watermelon. They crawl across the floor with the occasional jump; you do wonder why the humans want to destroy this beautiful, snotty mass. But after you’re expelled from these bodies, they explode in a claret confetti where only a dentist or forensics can ascertain which henchman copped it. Infestor is a sociopath and utterly indifferent to the crimes to humanity it has performed.
So, this game, developed by Woblyware Oy, is a platform puzzler. The object for each of the 70 missions is to get Infestor to safety by dropping down a pipe, like an extra-terrestrial Mario. In every scenario, the ledges that it needs to reach is beyond its jumping capacity, so rocking up next to a human and pressing square will give you control of them. Once you’ve finished with them, you either jump out of the pseudo-possession, or if they land on a spike or get hit by a projectile, they will die.
One of the benefits of all humans is using them as a buffer because Infestor is all about the one-hit-kills
There are different types of class of human. The standalone moves fast and can jump high, another one is armed with a gun that you can use to take out turrets and other threats, and there’s also a hacker that can open doors or a Jetpack Willy type. You can also ‘eject’ out of the bodies, reaching greater heights.
Unless armed with a gun, the humans are passive and won’t pose any threat. Still, the environmental hazards are in abundance, plus Skynet-like droids are patrolling the area that will attack, and as you can only possess meat bags, you’ll either have to take them out with the guards or avoid altogether.
Slime, Obey, Eject
Infestor is very quick-fire, and for the first 20 or so levels, most of you will be smashing through the levels effortlessly. It’s relatively easy, but satisfying at the same time. The gameplay really is pick up and play. Forget about complicated controls as it’s jump, shoot (when applicable) and possess/ejecting from a meat bag.
While the experience is satisfying and if you’re down, could finish in one sitting (but why rush?), the only negative side about it is the jumping can be a little laggy. Ideally, you need to move and jump simultaneously, as jumping while moving isn’t reliable. When you can die from a single hit, this can be pretty annoying.
Still, that’s the only downside to Infestor, in my opinion. It delivered as expected and was just what the doctor ordered for a Saturday morning to chill to. Even the music, which is the same track throughout, was far from a nuisance as the gameplay was so moreish. It could have been a mumble rap compilation, and I’d still have enjoyed my time.
Shopping for a bargain over the weekend on the Nintendo eShop, I got a whiff of Infestor and its asking price. For Blighty dwellers, it’s £3.99, and from my stance, well worth it. I gratefully accepted the review code from Ratalaika (for the PS4/5), but based on this experience, would recommend if you want something that plays exactly as anticipated. Heck, let’s see that trailer again.
