Super Trunko Go - Elephants Never... What Was It?
Have you ever filled in a contact form on a website and found that nobody gets back to you? Irritating, isn’t it. I’ve completed a couple in the past month and never got a response. That’s not the case for Super Trunko Go, as the dev reached out to see if I could cover their demo. Sure, why not?
On the odd occasion, I can’t reply to all my emails (it’s just me) and don’t have the time to play everything and be a superhero. I’m not. However, Super Trunko Go came at a good time as I’d just finished Loot River and Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit and hadn’t started Trek To Yomi yet.
So, what is it? Well, my friends, this is a twin-stick shooter starting a robotic elephant. I’d never heard of it, so I jumped straight in without paying attention to the self-explanatory diagram at the start of the game with the controls. Pfft! I’m from the era where we would get manuals with a game – I don’t read them!
I should have.
The controls are simple enough, but I made haste and leapt in and immediately started to grumble about the speed, difficulty and the music. For the latter, it was too in your face, the character walks like he’s crapped himself, and if you die, you restart the level. But Super Trunko Go is a demo – surely it’s over pretty quick?
It can be if you’re skilful. Or read the instructions. The first hurdle was ‘equipping’ the weapon. There are two, and on a controller, this meant pressing the shoulder button first as it does not automatically apply (the same when you run out of ammo). I died within the first area, but I’m “man” enough to admit I’m an idiot.
On the second run, I equipped my guns but struggled with aiming and trying to evade enemies and shoot simultaneously. Yet again, an idiot is at large: I wasn’t using the second stick for aiming (twin-stick shooter, dumbass). Once I mastered this, bear in mind that I enjoy twin-stick shooters – Wildcat Gun Machine is a recent one – the gameplay improved massively. And, I have to add, I started to like the music.
Super Trunko Go rules are simple: clear all the enemies to lower a barrier to move on to the next. Initially, this is quite arduous as you move sooooo slowly. There’s an intermittent dash but very helpful when avoiding enemies, but you can run if you hold down a button. Doh! – there’s the reference to the instructions again.
By the time I mastered all the controls, this demo was so much more fun, and I was up for more. Alas, it’s only one level, and even getting to the end was bloody hard as you need to collect a Tri-Key to finish it. The only way I could see myself doing that was having enough health and then taking a few hits on some lasers. It’s not worth experimenting, though, as if you die, it’s a complete restart.
With sluggish movement, minimal ammo and initially irritating music, I enjoyed it in the end. The visuals are very nice, and not sure if this is a solo effort, but if it is… *tips hat*. I’m not sure why I always default to this comparison, but it reminded me of Escape From the Planet of the Robot Monsters. There are no babes to save or funky music, but it’s one I’d happily play more. I just hope that there’s some upgrade system in the final product.
So, what do you think? You haven’t played it yet? This ain’t no exclusive club – download 88 Polygon’s Super Trunko Go demo yourself on Steam, try it yourself and make your mind up. I’ve since added it to my wishlist, so that’s my stance.