Game #974: Shrek SuperSlam

  It's never Ogre.

 The myth, the meme, the legend... It's Shrek SuperSlam! This game has quite the reputation because as a joke some people ran competitive tournaments of SuperSlam... but the joke turned all to real, because the game was actually really flippin' decent. Just yesterday I played Barbarian and mentioned how as decent as the game was... it was missing something. Well, this game's got it.

 Shrek SuperSlam is a 3-D arena fighter in which up to four fighters duke it out. There's no traditional health system, instead, you land attacks to fill your SLAM gauge, and once full you can perform a Slam attack for points. There are a few bonus modes, like Slamathon in which every attack is a Slam or King of the Hill. At the start you've only got 10 characters and about 8 stages, but you can unlock another 10 character, another 8 stages and even a few costumes for some of the characters. Content, this game's got it.

 The core gameplay feels like a weird hybrid between Barbarian and Smash bros. You've got weak and strong attacks that can be chained together for different combos with different properties, you have a shield that breaks if held for too long, you've got evades and air dashes. Stages offer all sorts of interactivity, from tons of breakable objects, hazards as well as power ups and weapons to fight your enemies with. I'd like to mention just how creative stages are, there's one on top of a giant's table that has all sorts of wacky stuff, like being slammed inside a giant's shoe through a hole in its sole to come out through a torn between the sole and the actual shoe, you can also grab the giant fork and throw it around, and all sorts of crazy hijinks. No, really, the stages really are something else. As for the characters, there are plenty of characters from the movies, like Puss in Boots, Prince Charming, Donkey, a Dronky, Human and Ogre Fiora... but also characters created exclusively for this game, only the cyclops feels a bit out of place.  

 Regardless, this game with its concept has no right being as fun as it is. Landing hits lacks a bit of oomph, but the game is so chaotic that I don't really mind it so much. Power ups and weapons are fun to use and the basic gameplay is surprisingly fun, in no small part thanks to how fast and Arcadey everything feels. That said, everything does feel a bit floaty, a mark of most Smash clones that can't get the physics right, but I think it's not too bad considering how fun it can get.

 The game looks really good and the framerate holds up well, but the best part about the presentations is the absolutely badass soundtrack. There are so many good tracks in this game! I almost feel like they are wasted in this game.

 And I haven't even started on the wealth of content that this game has. I'll admit, unlocking stuff takes a bit more time than I would've liked, but that's because of how the game is setup. In Single Player you have a Story Mode, a Story Mode that is fully voiced and has cutscenes setting up each situation, and through story mode you unlock costumes. You have a Training Mode that teaches you how to play, a Trophy room to admire the trophies you amassed and, Challenge Board, which is were the characters and stages are hidden. There are a ton of challenges, like throwing ginger bread men into the over, having a back and forth deflecting projectiles with your shield, having to protect and NPC, traditional tournaments or pushing every golden egg outside the bowl they are in. There REALLY is a lot of stuff to do, and a lot of variety, they really went above and beyond what a game like this required!

 Shrek SuperSlam is definitely more than a meme game, it's actually fun, and a lot of love and care was put into it, for whatever reason. I mean, I don't care about Shrek, so I liked this game despite the license, it's that good! My only gripes with the game would be the floaty physics and how much work you need to put in to unlock everything, everything else is just fine. 

 7.5