Grab a buddy and a gun and get ready to mow through the hordes of undead that have taken over the planet in Ridded Corpses EX. Developed by COWCAT and published by Diabolical Mind, this fast paced shoot ‘em up will quickly become a favorite for any couch co-op pair or an enjoyable challenge for anyone taking it on solo.
It can at first seem overwhelming being surrounded by shambling zombies and not being able to kill them swiftly, but you will soon be introduced to the games leveling system in which you collect gold from the ‘riddled corpses’ and spend it on character upgrades when you die. Each character has 20 levels that can be purchased that increase things such as movement speed, damage and even special abilities. There are six characters in total to choose from with only Jon being available at the start. Jon is the only character that does not have a special ability but the others you unlock have a special passive abilities such as increased health, 2x gold, and gold magnet that pulls the gold towards you.
The game is broken down into three modes: Story, Survival, and Arcade. Story mode is where you will want to start your adventure, as any upgrades you buy will carry over into survival mode. In the story mode there are 5 stages with a boss at the end of each level. Along the way you will pick up medkits which add +1 to your life (being the number of hits you can take before dying), dynamite which is a single-use item that destroys all enemies on the screen, and a stopwatch that is another single-use item that will freeze time and slow moving projectiles (careful! These can still harm you if you walk into the bullet).
Survival mode allows you to select the characters you’ve unlocked along with their levels and drops you into a never ending arena of enemies. In this mode a timer will count down to signify the changing of waves. When the wave changes, the enemies get a bit tougher, requiring more shots to kill them. This mode also has health, dynamite, and stopwatch pickups.
Arcade mode is starting the game from scratch with no upgrades but you can pick between the characters you have unlocked. In this mode your character starts at level one and on stage one, where the pickups have been replaced with a level-up pickup that scurries around the screen and has to be collected before it disappears. This mode must be completed in one sitting and is recommended for those who already have a feel for the game.
Verdict Overall this is a great game that offers fun couch co-op and at a reasonable price. If you enjoy shoot ‘em up gameplay then you will not want to miss this title.
Developer: Diabolical Minds
Publisher: COWCAT
Release Date: 6th June 2018
Price: £9.59
File Size: 218MB
Xbox One copy provided for review purpose.
Available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 & Steam