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Danger Scavenger Review: Bullets, ‘Bots & Blisters Galore
Developed by Polish indie studio Star Drifters (who previously made last year’s Driftland: The Magic Revival) and one man wonder Piotr Wolk, Danger Scavenger was first shown off to players in an early demo at the tragically troubled PAX East 2020 back in March before hitting all major platforms on June 22. This futuristic dungeon crawler blends the fast-paced action of top-down twin-stick shooters, the choice-based dungeon crawling of roguelikes, and the vibrant post-modern aesthetics of games like the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 to deliver some solid (if a bit repetitive) robot-blasting fun.
In the not too distant future, evil corporations have taken over the world with their robot armies. Eventually, a rogue A.I. takes control in turn, which prompts a group of four post-apocalyptic scavengers, each with their own unique weapons and abilities, to rise up to save the world and possibly get rich in the process. This is the premise of Danger Scavenger, and while it's not particularly groundbreaking, it gives just enough context to explain what the player is doing during the game’s very brief opening cutscene.
Danger Scavenger plays out in a top-down isometric view, and levels consist of brief mini-zones that connect into the main course via branching paths as the player's chosen scavenger battles their way to the top of a tower. These feature many different types of enemies and objectives, such regular combat areas, hacking zones that involve fending off waves of enemies until a computer finishes slicing into a mainframe system, or even a mini-boss fight against an “elite” enemy and its minions. Throughout it all, the primary focus remains the same: destroy all the opposing robots and clear a path to the very difficult boss that is waiting at the top of the tower.
Players can move their character with the left joystick, aim with the right joystick, dash/roll out of harm’s way with the Left Bumper, fire their given weapon with the Right Bumper, do melee attacks with the X Button, and perform various actions with the A Button. Throughout a given round of Danger Scavenger, players will gain new weapons and helpful powerups like floating saw blades that attack the enemy or a hat that allows their scavenger to shoot faster. If players can survive a stage, they can bring the scrap they've collected to the hub's Workbench, where they can equip power-ups for the next battle. However, upon dying players are forced back to the beginning of the level, losing all of their acquired weapons and resetting their score to zero, which adds to the already frantic difficulty.
Danger Scavenger’s graphics are bright and colorful, complemented by a nice techno beat that fits into the game’s futuristic cyberpunk setting. There are a few neat touches here and there, like how when taking damage, the screen fills with static like the Transformers: War For Cybertron series. Players can also adjust the graphics in the options menu, switching over from the mobile phone-like “Potato” setting to a more detailed resolution that adds high-tech details like a Star Trek-style lens flair that pops off the screen.
While Danger Scavenger is a solid blast of cyberpunk action, unlocking all the characters can be a bit of a grind, especially when only Captain J and Hunt-73R are available in the beginning. Nonetheless, Danger Scavenger is a fun game to play in short bursts, scratching that post-modern shootout itch long enough for the constantly delayed Cyberpunk 2077 to finally arrive later this year.
Danger Scavenger is set for release on June 22 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
