Heavy Bullets feels strangely familiar, with an emphasis on the strange [Hands-on]

I’m in the middle of a room, holding a very low-poly pistol and shooting bullets that I need to run out and retrieve once shot. There’s a big rat or small dog or something that’s rabid coming at me, and I’m out of ammo. I need to get to the opposite side of the room.

I duck behind a wall, run to a corner and wait. The dog-beast doesn’t show up. I’m in the clear.

I walk out, peak around the corner and see one of my bullets in close proximity; the beast is in the other corner of the room. I run over, pick up the bullet, turn and fire at the creature, killing it. It explodes into a pixelated mess, covering my view for a split second. When it clears away, I see it: the elevator. My escape. The door opens, I enter, and… I’m taken to yet another similar, randomly-generate floor. That’s surprisingly all I was really hoping for, and I’m getting a kick out of it.

Heavy Bullets is simple: Point and shoot, run, hide, shoot some more. Sometimes we find an item shop, sometimes it’s a keypad for an elevator. There’s nothing much more than that. Designed as a rogue-like FPS, the game relies on this simplicity to push its limited ammo mechanic and vector art styling. The enjoyment comes from that “just one more level” feeling we get when we successfully survive.

It’s perhaps best described as satisfying. Heavy Bullets isn’t trying to be Call of Duty or Portal. It just is. Just survive and get to the door. Repeat.

By forcing us to salvage our bullets after we use them, we’re more deliberate in our actions, but we’re hardly tested. It seems like I’ve played this game a thousand times already, yet this is actually my first. It’s sort of an homage to the first few polygonal FPS games that graced PCs and consoles back in the 90s, struggling to decide on what the genre should be. Bullets takes that idea — basic FPS controls combined with basic goals and basic enemies — and makes sure it’s executed cleanly and efficiently (and visually).

It’s designed to play in short bursts; clear a few levels at a time, improve our scores, and shut down for the day. Anything more than that and we’d probably become overwhelmed by the visuals or constant bullet salvaging. Being in Early Access allows developer Terri Vellmann to test how long gamers are willing to play before that point occurs.

Heavy Bullets isn’t going to blow anyone’s mind (though it’s probably designed perfectly if your mind is already fairly… expanded) but with a few more additions to some of the meta/scoring aspects it could be a nice, visually-striking way to scratch an itch. This is as indie as games can probably get.