It’s fairly well known that Devolver Digital and I have a bit of a thing going on. They publish games that I enjoy, and I…play them. It’s a shallow relationship when I spell it out, but it’s one that I’m very committed to. So, when there’s an upcoming Devolver game with an elevator pitch of “kick down doors and shoot guys,” you better believe I’m prepping my vows.
From developer Free Lives (the minds behind GORN), Anger Foot is a fast-paced first-person arcade shooter that’s spent way too much time on the wrong side of the internet and is now completely obsessed with feet. I had a brief dalliance with Anger Foot on the PAX Aus show floor a few years back, but now, courtesy of Devolver, I’ve played a new, two-hour slice of the game and let me tell you, it kicks arse.
Just moments after completing your sneaker collection, the aptly named Violence Gang robs you, leaving you with no choice but to hunt them down, stick the boots to them and reclaim your runners.
With the motivation out of the way, it’s kick o’clock. Blasting through blisteringly short levels, you’re tasked with making it to the exit by any means necessary. Those means happen to be using your strong stompers to send enemies, and anything not nailed down, flying. Your bomb of a boot is used to devastating effect, killing baddies in a single kick, launching doors off their hinges and delivering explosive barrels into neighbouring rooms, hardstyle.
Some foes are further than a leg’s length away, so a little ballistic assistance is required. The preview build included three weapons: a pistol, an SMG and a shotgun. Aiming is very generous, letting you maintain your insane pace while mowing down rooms of gang members. Run out of ammo? No worries, just piff the pistol at the next person in your way and pick up a fresh one. There’s an excellent balance of kicks and clacks that guarantees you’ll be using both in tandem to great effect.
To say that the pace of gameplay is frenetic would be underselling just how fast and hectic runs can get. Levels are purpose-designed for memorising and mastering. Enemies meet the reaper after a single hit, and you can be pushed off the coil in one or two hits, ensuring that one way or another, your runs will be short. Long corridors, exploding barrels, perfectly grouped enemies, it’s all satisfyingly puzzle-like, tempting you to run each level back to optimise your run.
When feeling out a level, spotting enemy placement, and learning the layout, I hit the exit within two or three minutes. Sounds pretty quick, right? Well, once I was in the groove and breezing through rooms, I shaved that down to 40 seconds or less. Helping that insane pace is the trashing soundtrack that builds as you approach a door, blasting into life as you barge through it, and only lets up when the action comes to a halt. The aggressive tones wouldn’t make it to my regular rotation, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t widen my eyes and quicken my heart rate.
Each level has additional challenges, like using only your feet, completing the level in a certain time, or hitting a number of headshots. Achieving the challenges rewards you with stars, with a max of three per level. Earning enough stars will unlock a pair of shoes, each granting a new ability. I was able to expand my collection with slides that replenished ammo after kicking, introduced a charge kick, and replaced the usual boot with an upper-kick. With over 20 to unlock, I’m looking forward to seeing the ridiculousness in store.
The preview build featured two environments, each with 14 levels and a boss to cap things off. A good variety of environments, enemies and challenges kept my two hours feeling fresh and interesting, with another two biomes to come with the full release. I replayed every level, save for those that leaned heavily on first-person platforming. Frustration never really set in, thanks to level length and a quick restart, but I’m just not a big proponent for platforming in the first-person perspective. This isn’t really an indictment on the mechanics or design, I’m just a bit thick.
Anger Foot has that Hotline Miami secret sauce. Not just because of its gameplay similarities and oddball presentation, but it has that intangible property that makes you want to play a level ad nauseam until you completely conquer it. It’s not often that I keep a preview build downloaded to come back to, but until the full release hits, this one stays firmly on my hard drive.
Anger Foot is set to release on PC in 2024.
Previewed on PC // Preview code supplied by publisher
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