Extinction Review

Extinction is the new super slash adventure from Iron Galaxy. 

As the title suggests humanity is facing potential extinction. Giant ogres have taken the opportunity to come and crush all humanity in their path. 

You take the role of Avil, one of the last remaining defenders trained in the ancient art of ogre slaying. After the initial ogre attacks, he pairs with a woman named Xandra who aids him through the game.

Avil sets out to gain the attention of the ruler of the lands in hopes to receive help to save as many as possible.

The story has some interesting characters and twists. Unfortunately, it is easy to miss some of the content though as most of it is dialogue while you play.

There are some short panel/comic style cut scenes to provide context. It seemed the developer wanted you to focus slightly more on the gameplay as a whole.

End of Days

Aside from the skyscraper scale ogres, there are the fledgeling enemies of a humanoid size. You will also find other humans throughout the missions that need saving.

The hero has the speed and agility of legend and makes slashing up enemies a breeze. The only problem with that is it’s not greatly diverse. You will only use one button to attack so the combos will come down to timing, long or short presses.

Once you have built up the attack gauge you can take on the ogres. To defeat these towering hulks you’ll need to wear them down. Striking armour and limbs is the key, then a final strike to the nape to remove the head for good.

As you progress you will start to come up against enemies of the same type that are more challenging.

The visuals are just right for the style and theme of the game. A nice blend of cartoon design and cell shading. The level design can seem somewhat simplistic at times but it makes sense since most of it will likely be destroyed.

At times it was obvious the developers were fans of Attack on Titan. Similar themes and inspiration tend to ooze from the game.

Attack on Ogres

I was reasonably happy with the game as a whole. Unfortunately the more you play the shallower the game tends to feel. Killing the smaller enemies was a chore after a while and then became monotonous.

The larger enemies where a lot of fun as they become walking puzzles that can kill you. Once again though even the ogres are kind of monotonous.

I found the game challenging in parts but I couldn’t tell if it was deliberate or of if it was some of the weaker parts of the mechanics. Saving people or buildings seemed almost impossible in certain missions. After sticking with it I would miraculously happen to complete it.

It took about 12 hours and I was done with the main game. There are other modes on offer with Extinction mode which is a horde mode of much the same. Skirmish mode adds a little more with the online challenges but it also is much of the same.

For people who have looked into the game and are interested, it may give you some satisfaction. If you’re not a fan of the genre I wouldn’t recommend trying it just yet. 

As a game, it sits somewhere between an indie title and AAA. Unfortunately, its priced as AAA which in my opinion it falls short of.

Extinction was reviewed on Xbox One using a digital copy provided by the Publisher.