Double Kick Heroes

You can find many examples of simple games that offer a lot to the players, which means that complicated gameplay mechanics and complex plots are not necessarily needed to keep the audience engaged. As long as fun is the main course on the menu and the experience is worth repeating again and again, people are willing to spend a lot of time with such games.

Double Kick Heroes is about as simple as it can get in the gameplay department, especially when you consider the fact that you only need to use two buttons on the keyboard to play it. In short, the goal is to shoot the zombies that run after your car, using two guns that are controlled by metal riffs. Thus, this is a rhythm game combined with beautiful pixel graphics and engaging music.

If you are familiar with other rhythm games, Double Kick Heroes should be pretty straightforward. You basically hold the beat by pressing the keys at the right time, and the levels get more demanding as you advance. Unfortunately, there are very few stages at the moment, but that is mainly because this is a jam game designed in two days as a challenge.

The term “Double Kick” might have something to do with the fact that some of the songs belong to the black metal genre, which is renowned for its ludicrous BPM count. In order to achieve that specific sound, drummers usually have to abuse the kick drums, albeit not in a chaotic way. The rhythm is definitely there, but it may be slightly more difficult to follow than you are used to.

Unfortunately, it would seem like you can just spam the keys as fast as you can in order to pass the levels, because there is no penalty for missing a beat. On the other hand, you must pay attention to the zombies and alternate the guns, otherwise you’ll find yourself overrun no matter how fast you mash the keys. As long as you fire both of them as quickly as possible, everything should be fine.

Even if Double Kick Heroes is way too simple and rugged at the moment, there is a lot of potential waiting to be exploited. The idea is definitely worth pursuing, but more elements need to be added, as well as some sort of penalty for missed beats.