GAME
OF THE
DAY
Barbearian
Hack'n'Slash Extravaganza!
The hack-and-slash world of Barbearian is a very dangerous place. Fortunately, you – the bearskin-wearing, axe-wielding hero of this adventure – are one very dangerous dude.
From the start, this whimsical fantasy delivers pure arcade action. You’re competing in a series of deadly combat trials, but they aren’t one-on-one melees – more like you versus a several hundred skeletons, necromancers, electric octopuses and whatever else the mysterious Arbitrators decide to throw at you.
Using a responsive virtual thumbstick and onscreen buttons, you’ll attack foes and fire weapons. Besides being hilariously frantic, these encounters offer plenty of options for tactical sneakiness.
Funneling enemies through narrow choke points sets them up perfectly for a swing of your giant axe. Run into a crowd of monsters? Head-butt the lot of them at once. And flinging Boomstick grenades over walls – or launching a Vortex orb into enemy mobs and watching them get sucked in – is as entertaining to watch unfold as it is effective.
Freeing the prisoners trapped in Barbearian’s random, procedurally generated levels adds new minions to your squad, and in time you’ll amass a veritable army of followers. Why fight alone when you can charge into combat with dozens of little knights and archers in your wake?
To survive the increasingly tough levels and vicious bosses, use the loot you score in battle to unlock new weapons and buy buffs for your burly champion. And Barbearian’s customisable settings let you dial the difficulty down if need be, so even less-experienced gamers can find a heroic sweet spot that’s never... overbearing.