Vandyke (1990)

 

Vandyke is an overhead, vertically scrolling arcade game released by Japanese studio UPL (Universal Play Land). You control the typical muscular barbarian-type hero as he slices through hordes of monstrous enemies. You start out swinging a sword but can power-up by picking up alternate weapons such as a very long flail, bombs, or boomerang-like throwing stars. The game is very accessible, with easy to pick up controls (attack and jump), appealing graphics and music, and a fast pace.

You start out fighting enemies like giant scorpions, toads, and cavemen. The first boss is a mutant elephant with a snake-like man for a trunk. Level 2 introduces the undead skeletons and giant bats, with a medusa-like boss. So far, so normal.

Level 3 is when things start getting a little offbeat. Immediately after starting, the player is beset by what appear to be sashaying, giggling leather daddies with clawed gauntlets on their right hands. Combined with other odd enemies like the men trapped inside rolling disks and the way the hero (it's not clear if his name is truly Vandyke or why the game is called Vandyke at all) strikes bodybuilder poses whenever he grabs a health power-up, it becomes apparent that the game is something of a send-up. It doesn't go into all-out parody, but it's clearly not taking itself very seriously, either.

Beyond that, there's not much to say about Vandyke. It's a fun play but gets quite challenging by the end, and the reward for completing it is a simple screen of the hero looking content, not much more than a simple "Thanks for playing!" message. UPL and the particular creators' output was eclectic, but they didn't do any similarly themed games before or after Vandyke.

Amid Evil: The Black Labyrinth (2023)

 

When Amid Evil begins, it establishes that you're the champion of the gods because you conquered the Black Labyrinth and seized the mystical axe at its end for yourself. So when Indefatigable wanted to do an expansion of the game, it only made sense to do a prequel in which you get to see what the Black Labyrinth is like for yourself.

Since you obviously don't have the axe yet, the game replaces the no-ammo melee option with a pair of spiked gauntlets that are actually pretty fun to use. Punching enemies into mush just doesn't get old, especially when you activate the alt-fire mode and the punches turn from mere flurries into such a hyperactive torrent that it becomes hard to see what you're attacking. The other new weapon addition is the Voidsplitter, a scythe that fills in for the Aeturnum of the base game. If you complete the expansion, the game gives the option of going forward with the main campaign with the new weapons, in addition to the main campaign's array.

Beyond the weapons, the expansion is more of the same, which is good because the game is good. In keeping with how the original game was designed, the expansion has its own set of new enemies, such as archers, flail-wielding armored men, and elemental spirits. 

The final boss is quite a challenge, perhaps more than any from the base game. Otherwise, the Black Labyrinth maintains the same sense of rich color. Despite the concept of being caught in a labyrinth, which might suggest tight corridors, the expansion instead goes for massively spacious rooms, some of which can shift similar to old Build engine games, and even some outdoor spaces in which you could get punished for trying to escape by making a break for the horizon. It's not a very long set of levels and is definitely worth a play for those who enjoyed the original.