MURDERSHIFTERS

All it takes to come up with a fun gameplay idea at this point is a unique concept, because almost everything else has been tried when it comes to reusing old mechanics. Hence, it’s much safer to bet it all on an original idea than to try and revamp something else. Obviously, it takes a bit more creativity to do so, but it’s usually worth the effort if you want to reap the benefits.

MURDERSHIFTERS is a fast-paced shooter in which your goal is to find the hidden killer in a sea of innocent people, as well as shoot him before he kills too many of them. Not only that, but the murderer in question is also disguised as one of the civilians, not to mention the fact that he can shapeshift from one form to the other with ease, which makes him that much tougher to catch.

There are multiple levels to play through, and each level features a different kind of murderer. Granted, they all have similar powers, but there are some differences that get more obvious later on. Hence, some killers are bigger and slower versions of the innocent people, while others turn red as time goes by. Your task is to spot them as quickly as possible and shoot them before they kill too many bystanders.

On the other hand, you can cause just as much havoc if you decide to shoot without thinking, because the round ends if too many civilians are killed in the process. Thus, not only you must be sure of your target every time, but it’s also important that your aim is true with every shot. This becomes much harder to accomplish when the enemy requires many bullets in order to be shot down.

As you may have guessed already, the game features very simple and unimpressive graphics, which shouldn’t be a problem if you are intrigued by the gameplay. In fact, the visual aspect does not matter at all in this case, which is great news for those with slower computers. Granted, it would have been nice to have better graphics, but it’s not a major problem this way either.

In the end, MURDERSHIFTERS is quite addictive and enjoyable, especially when you consider the fact that it was devised for a game jam competition. Hence, the main idea is certainly tantalizing, and it would be nice to see more content in the future.