Esse Proxy – Review
The debut title for the two-man studio FromSouthGames is Esse Proxy. A top-down shooter in the vein of Hotline Miami, with visual cues reminiscent of cyberpunk works like Ghost in the Shell. Although I find the game to be extremely derivative despite its intriguing premise, it is still fun to play if you don’t mind its poor design decisions.
In Esse Proxy, you take on the roles of three separate characters, all of whom are struggling to make it through a dystopian future and who ultimately band together to free a digital being from the clutches of a powerful corporation. Very little is explained in-between fight sequences, and the bulk of the story is revealed in flashbacks that lead up to the present day of the universe only moments before the game’s climax. In the end, it’s not a vital element of the experience and can be skipped without much trouble.
When it comes to fighting, the characters are nearly identical. Their armoury includes the usual suspects, from handguns to submachine guns, and more. In later levels, when the number of enemies increases, it is quite helpful to be able to fire charge shots from most weapons, which can pierce through numerous foes if targeted properly. The gunfire effects are quite remarkable, and their repetition quickly becomes a form of auditory narcotic. Each playable character also has the power to slow down time, which is especially useful when facing off against foes armed with firearms, as many of them respond so quickly that death is practically guaranteed if you don’t use the skill wisely. Some may find it difficult to design scenarios around this idea, but I found it to be a lot of fun in this game because it lets you perform some very impressive feats, such as ducking between the shotgun bullets being fired at you by your enemies. Finally, a dodge-roll can be performed by using the spacebar, greatly increasing your speed through each level and potentially saving your life if you come close to being hit by an incoming bullet.
When you compare their active abilities, melee abilities, and mobility speeds, you can see how differently they play. If you need to advance into a densely populated location, the shield ability will be invaluable, and invisibility will allow you to avoid fighting if you so desire. Dead Eye is a helpful ability that allows the user to lock on and shoot at any adversary in their line of sight, but it is limited by the fact that it can only be used when standing still. While it renders you impervious to harm, employing it feels less natural than slowing down time and firing at each target individually.
Melee attacks, on the other hand, have my more widespread approval because they are all conceptually distinct and yet practically applicable. There’s a ground slam that deals decent damage over a wide area, a shinobi dash that cuts through anything in its path, and a quick knife attack that has poor range but no cooldown. While the vast majority of foes will be armed with firearms, there are many situations in which resorting to melee would be more effective; this requires the player to switch between the two tactics deftly, as ammo is in short supply. In spite of this, there is some inconsistency in the detection of hits made with a melee weapon, particularly with ground smashes, which do not register kills in situations where the target is very close to you. Last but not least, the pace at which each character moves is very different from one another, with the shield, ground-slam user seeming substantially slower than the stealth-oriented choice. This latter playstyle ended up being my favourite, and as a result, I’m starting to question the game’s fundamental design choices.
Developers’ intention to draw parallels to the iconic Hotline Miami is obvious, but I don’t think they’re totally merited when evaluating the finished product for three reasons. To start, it’s been hinted at that the slower two characters’ movement speed, and hence the flow of combat, is far too sluggish to keep up with the much faster foes. Despite enjoying the shield and the more flexible melee strikes, I constantly favoured the fastest character since the powers you get are a minimal trade-off when the penalty to mobility is so substantial.
Second, each stage is organised in a linear fashion. I think it’s important to point out how well they look; they feature high-quality visuals and a wide range of settings, from a rundown warehouse along a desert road to a cyberpunk augmentation clinic and different rundown alleyways filled with the homeless of this bleak universe. However, even though the roads within these habitats branch, there is often only one best route across each location, making any divergence from that movement more detrimental to your experiments than beneficial. This is a major flaw in terms of replayability, and the ability to replay each level with any of the characters doesn’t really provide any fresh options. The four bosses and motorcycle section give some variation, and while they are all fun in their own right, there is little motivation to play them again, making the game feel like a one-and-done deal.
When all is said and done, the game never finds its own voice. As you can see, Esse Proxy doesn’t bring much new to the table in terms of gameplay, with the exception of the kit combinations, which might be considered novel. The universe doesn’t seem to do much to set itself apart, and I think it wears its inspirations on its sleeve a little too much. Hotline Miami’s iconic status is due in large part to the fact that Esse Proxy continues to live in the shadow of its predecessor. But the electronic dubstep soundtrack is fantastic, and it makes it much more bearable to go back and retry the campaign’s challenging moments.
Took me about 4.5 hours to complete, though I estimate that I wasted about a third of that time on level obstructions that became much easier after I began making use of all of the available weapons. I was also aiming for the S ranks from the beginning; with a steady high combo, I was able to reach the top of the scoreboard on multiple times! Then I went on a hunt for collectibles, the pink computers being the most crucial since they are needed to access the game’s genuine ending, but this did nothing to alter my opinion of the story’s overall quality. I had to beat the game twice to get this ending because you can’t restart the areas in between the fights. Even with upcoming patches to enhance content via new game plus and a horde mode, the 10 hours it took me to complete the game may not be the best value at full price.
While not the best of its kind, Esse Proxy demonstrates that the genre’s central tenets can be executed successfully, making for a good time that is definitely worth a try for those who enjoy games like these. I would recommend following the game if you are currently sceptical, as while certain fundamental features of its design are unlikely to be improved upon, other smaller faults have the potential to be corrected in future patches. I’m excited to see where this group goes from here because I think Esse Proxy is a fantastic debut.
