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Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit

Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit

Ash is the Prince of Darkness. He's also a decomposing rabbit. Worst of all, he's got some serious anger management issues.

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Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit is a grotesque, yet amusing platform game from quirky Parisian studio Arkedo. The protagonist isn't your usual player character; he's a violent little bunny with a penchant for saw blades and mutilation.

Across a variety of colourful and well observed environments, Ash partakes in a vicious rampage of relentless revenge. You see, some paparazzi have managed to snap the evil critter taking a bath with his favourite rubber ducky, and now the pictures are on the Hellternet. The mission is simple: 100 monsters have seen the pictures, and so 100 monsters must meet a gruesome end at the hands of our irksome rabbit.

Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit

It's an imaginative premise, and sets the scene nicely as we embark on a platform adventure through the bowels of hell. The plot is delivered by a series of short explanatory screens. Arkedo wastes very little time with preamble, and quickly we're thrown into the thick of it.

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At first Ash is naked as the day he was born. Defenceless and pissed off, we avoid early encounters until we meet our constant companion, Nestor. Our squid-like assistant furnishes us with a giant motorised saw blade, and for much of the game it is here that our protagonist sits, ready to slice the faces off the monsters he encounters.

Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead RabbitHell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit

Graphically, this is a game that cuts its own path. There have been several recent trips through the fires of hell, but Wrath of the Dead Rabbit manages to stay distinctive via a wonderfully constructed palette and some decent animations. There are several different environments to play through, ranging from the fiery pits of hell, to sci-fi inspired space levels. Each is populated by unique monsters, and although action can drag from time to time, overall the game is well paced.

The pacing is supported by an eclectic soundtrack. On the whole it fits nicely, with each environment sporting a different style of music, even if some of the tunes jar after extended exposure. There's no voice over work in the game at all, instead dialogue is delivered via boxes of text that appear at the bottom of the screen. Having to cycle through every piece of dialogue can get frustrating, especially on some of the later bosses, as you'll be fighting them several times while you work out the best method to take them down. Being able to skip these protracted exchanges would've been a nice option.

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Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit

Taking on the 100 monsters represents a variety of differing challenges. Some of the more tricky adversaries will take several restarts before they are conquered, whilst others expire after just one attack. It's easy to keep track of your progress, as you can see exactly how many monsters you have left to kill by visiting a prison island where defeated enemies are sent to work.

Defeating each of the monsters initiates a quicktime event: mash X or time the tap, tap, tap of a button to perfection and, upon successful completion of the set-piece, your enemy will explode in an (often) amusing and (usually) entertaining way. Bodies are sliced and diced, organs explode, swarms of wasps sting; there's a huge variety of different ways to kill your opponents. Many of them are funny enough to extract a chortle, but some are repeated a little too often.

Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead RabbitHell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead RabbitHell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit

There's a hell of a lot of homage in there. In particular there's more than a couple of nods to Sonic. The influence of the little blue hedgehog can be felt in several ways. Most obviously it manifests itself in the game's controls, which are tight and responsive. Ash has a familiar gentle slide to his movement that is entirely reminiscent of the original games that featured Sega's mascot. The Sonic Team actually gave Arkedo feedback on an earlier version of the game, and they've used the advice well. Hell Yeah! feels great, which just about makes up the for the game's shortcomings.

Problems aren't significant in size or number, but they are persistent, and ultimately they hold the game back from greatness.

The most significant problem is that whilst Hell Yeah! is pretty, it's also pretty shallow. Yes the game wears its humour on its sleeve, but after awhile the novelty does wear off, and you're left with empty gags, and a story that doesn't quite do enough to keep us fully engaged. Perhaps some of the humour is lost in translation, we'll never know for sure, but the level of entertainment at the start isn't maintained.

Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit

The end isn't going to take a dedicated gamer very long to reach, and there isn't going to be a significant amount of replay value here as there's only one difficulty setting. Hardcore platform enthusiasts seeking stern challenges might have to think twice before investing.

There were also some technical issues that are worth noting. It was surprising just how many times the game stuttered during play. Action onscreen often stumbles slightly as swarms of enemies appear, or when one of the various tools/weapons on Ash's saw blade is employed. It isn't a serious issue, but it happens frequently enough to frustrate.

Complaints aside, there is much to admire here. Despite being a touch on the shallow side, Hell Yeah! has enough visual flair, and controls that are robust enough to make it worthy of your consideration. Arkedo has created an incredibly playable game, and that is to their credit, I only wish there was a little bit more substance behind it.

Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit

If you're looking for a decent platform game to entertain you in the coming weeks, then Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit certainly warrants consideration. It's the perfect game for people who enjoyed a bit of Sonic and Mario back in the day, but have since moved on to other genres and different platforms. It looks good, it plays well, and it's not quite stupid enough overshadow its own achievements.

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07 Gamereactor UK
7 / 10
+
+ Great visual style + Doesn't take itself too seriously + Large variety of enemies
-
- A little shallow - Limited replay value - Humour can wear thin
overall score
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