There is Nothing Left

[JSH357]

Ah, shakeyair; he quickly became one of my favorite OHR developers after posting his brilliant Tetris port and screenshots of his Mario fangame that never got made. There is Nothing Left is yet another hit--a game that is disturbing and visceral despite only allowing one action.

The gameplay is terrible, but it's basically Whack-a-Mole anyway. What's so effective is the art direction--that swirling, Mother-style battle background, those empty shells of people gradually becoming more and more frightening, and the eerie music backing all this. You'll probably be amazed this can even be pulled off in the engine.

Do I think it's a 'great' game? No, not really. But by abandoning an attempt at making a good GAMEPLAY concept out of the Fight Battle restrictions, shakeyair succeeded in making an interesting experience that's hard to forget. I usually don't care much for these 'art games,' but like last year's Tilt, I thought this was quite good.

Rating: 6.5 Capped White Boys out of 10