Nowhere Patrol Review
Bullet Hell Bliss-A Nowhere Patrol Review
In creating a video game the essence of a boss is to create a strong enemy that requires the player to utilize all elements of gameplay presented to them from previous levels. As of late, some developers have decided to twist this idea on its head and create games where the only enemies are bosses. Slugsoft’s Nowhere Patrol is an exquisite indie example of this, and a criminally underrated example of superfluous game design.
Simple, Yet Strategic
Just like Furi, a similar boss rush type game reviewed here in the past, Nowhere Patrol keeps its mechanics simple, and let’s your application of those mechanics create the depth. In short, you will shoot, dash, jump, and special your way through Nowhere Patrol’s vastly unique set of 12 bosses back to back until you see the end screen. By the time you land that final blow, each of these abilities will be pushed to its absolute maximum potential.
Take the dash for example, which grants invincibility for a short time against all but specially marked projectiles. At first, its application is basic, but as you play you learn that dodging the exact moment before you would get hit by a projectile grants you back a few hit points. Now the dash becomes not only a source of safety in a tight spot, but a valuable healing resource.
The game further pushes you to this high risk high reward gameplay by giving you bonus points for “grazing” projectiles, or staying just next to projectiles but not being hit by them. At its climax, players will be weaving effortlessly throughout hell fire, pushing themselves ever so closer to bullets in a wicked dance of dexterity.
Pushing For Perfection
Nowhere Patrol shows an immense amount of replayability, as it continuously pushes you to mastery of its mechanics. If you can beat a boss as any of the three characters (one of which dies in one hit if you are a masochist), you are awarded with another set of weapons depending on what character you did the no hit run with. Each weapon is unique enough to keep the game fresh on subsequent playthroughs, encouraging you to experiment with characters, each with their own special move, and weapon types.
Another point of note, if you are able to beat a boss without getting hit, there is a secret encore phase where the boss will go all out with a final health bar and new devastating attacks.
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| The first boss, Knifehoof, gains powerful laser blasts in his encore phase. |
It was these specialty boss phases that encouraged me to go through the game with the character that dies in one hit, murky. In any other one of these bullet hell style games I would've never been intrigued enough to go for perfection, but with this game it just felt right-another point to Slugsoft’s wondrous game design.
Blissful Boss Design
The real standout of Nowhere Patrol is its perfect boss design, and I don’t put that lightly. Every single fight in this boss rush is designed to push the player but in just the right amount to avoid frustration. Every death in this game is entirely on you, and no attack is left without a telegraph. Similar to the carefully planned gameplay of Studio MDHR’s Cuphead, Slugsoft’s Nowhere Patrol is a delight to play, even with its high difficulty. As of writing this review, I’ve gone and played through the entire game six times, and each time I find myself getting better and better at reading what these bosses will do. Honestly it is a shame that games with lengthy levels and complex combat can’t reach this level of boss polish.
In the final third of the game, the player is put into a flying ship of sorts, and the gameplay transitions into a Gradius like shoot-em-up. While other game studios would have struggled with a transition like this 2/3 of the way through the experience, Slugsoft eases the player into the mechanics of this new state and makes it smooth. The final boss is a wondrous sprawl of bullets and lasers, an equally cathartic end to a wonderfully perfect experience.
Verdict
Nowhere Patrol is an elegant mastery of game design, never too cowardly to force the player to improve and master its mechanics. With no exaggeration, Slugsoft’s Nowhere Patrol has the best bosses of any video game I have ever played. And since this game is only boss fights, it is unequivocally perfect.
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