Vicious Attack Llama Apacalypse Review

The world as we know it has completely changed. No longer are llamas cute, cuddly and confined to the farm. Instead they run wild across our cities, attacking anyone and any thing in their path. From an offshore carrier, remotely piloted mechs have the unenviable task of clearing out each of the 3 city districts. VALA keeps the player on their toes with no health pickups and a random drop of weapons and items. With a variety of twin-stick shooters to choose from, does VALA do enough to stand out from the crowd?

Gameplay

At it's core, VALA is a twin stick shooter where the player controls each of the dual weapons individually. The first time you play, you are relegated to classic pistols as your primary weapons. Your mech has an energy meter that allows it to do giant smashes and dashes to dispose of enemies, energy pickups allow you to replenish this meter and keep on smashing. New weapons are unlocked by completing challenges throughout the play session. You might be tasked to destroy 10 street lights or kill a certain number of llamas for a new weapon to unlock. Once a weapon is unlocked it remains unlocked forever and has a chance to airdrop on the battlefield, courtesy of Llamazon. Items will also drop from the sky such as a defense turret or passive perks like armor/shield support. The randomness of the weapons adds tension and makes each playthrough feel unique. After clearing an area of llamas, players are free to move on until they have cleared the entire district. Adding to the challenge is that there are no health pickups, meaning players must keep moving and plan their attacks carefully. VALA supports up to 4 players in local co-op as well, but no online play sadly.

Graphics

VALA is played from a top-down point of view and has graphics that look similar to the game Zombie Driver. City streets and buildings are laid out to create paths for combat while the llamas tend to explode into a crimson stew. It was sometimes difficult to spot particular things like phone booths, magazine stands or dumpsters due to their small size. The lack of detail on the enemies is forgive-able when you see just how many appear on screen at once. I was pleased with how well the framerate held up during populated and bloody moments. 

Duration

Thanks to 4-player local co-op, VALA is a game with potentially endless duration. The game provides plenty of challenge while not taking itself too seriously. Solo players looking to complete each area and unlock all weapons will likely stay busy for 5-10 hours. With a fun concept and easy control scheme, VALA is an accessible and entertaining co-op experience. 

Achievements

VALA contains 20 achievements for 1,000 Gamerscore. Many come in form of completing a task many times. Killing 9,000 llamas, destroying 200 magazine stands or knocking over 50 street lamps come to mind. There are progression achievements for completing the three districts along with unlocking all the weapons.

Conclusion

 
VALA tries hard to create a unique and memorable twin-stick experience, and succeeds for the most part. Every play through feels slightly different thanks to random weapon drops while the gory explosion of llama guts never gets old. The developer RogueCode seemed intent on giving the player plenty of choices. With options to select their mech's color, turn off the blood and of course, limit the amount of puns given by the announcers. In the end,VALA is a solid twin-stick shooter that provides enough challenge and humor to keep players coming back. 

*Game was provided for this review
Game: Vicious Attack Llama Apocalypse
Developer: RogueCode
Publisher: RogueCode
Genre: Twin Stick Shooter
Price: $14.99
Size: 3.1 GB
Release date: 3/15/2018
For More Info: VALA Official Game Website
Download from Microsoft Store