We all remember the days of playing split-screen shooters like Call of Duty and GoldenEye. We all remember looking off our friend’s screen to get the advantage on them and of course we all remember the arguments that ensued after getting caught like a child with their hand in the cookie jar. So, what happens when you center a game around the idea of looking off people’s screen? Chaos, absolute chaos.
Screencheat is one of the most unique concepts for a game I have ever seen, and it’s also potentially one of the most disastrous concepts. Luckily, Samurai Punk absolutely nails it. The idea of Screencheat is everyone is invisible. The only way to find others is to look at each other’s screens and use the distinctive map design to identify where your enemies are. This leads to a very unique game of cat and mouse, but the cat is in danger of a dog. There are typically four players in a match, and you can only keep your eye on one player at a time. So, there is always someone hunting you while you’re hunting your little metaphorical mouse.
This game could have gone horribly wrong without recognizable and unique maps. Objects in the map are very well placed, they all have a purpose for being there whether you realize it or not. The walls are painted with specific eye-popping colors and patterns, color coded for each floor so you can quickly identify which floor players are on. Not only is the map a tool, it’s stunning to look at! Everything looks like it’s straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. The design is wacky and just interesting to look at. It’s very cartoony, sometimes I feel like some of the objects on the map are about to come alive and start talking like one of the characters in Beauty and the Beast! It’s very unique and I truly enjoy admiring it as I play.
The maps also have many ways to distort the enemies looking at your screen. The idea is to always stay on the move, so your enemies can’t pinpoint your location. The map has many paths to take, jumping onto bouncy mattresses that’ll launch you to other sections of the map, tossing yourself into air vents to blast up to higher floors or to lose any enemies on your trail by taking unexpected turns. The whole design of the levels is flawless.
Screencheat has some of the most creative game modes I have seen in recent memory. It has the basic deathmatch and capture the flag/hill modes but with the mechanics of Screencheat, it allows for a much fresher experience with these traditional modes. The game’s comedic tone also helps with replacing standard things like a flag with a pinata. My favorite mode in Screencheat has to be Murder Mystery. Each player is given a target and that target is worth a certain amount of points. The person at the end with the most points wins. Each target is worth a certain amount of points and you can gain bonus points if you find and use certain weapons that are assigned along with your target. Of course, there is always someone on your back so you must take down your targets while staying on the move and keeping out for anyone who might be getting close to you. It’s a game mode filled with tension, excitement, and challenge.
I only have two problems with Screencheat. The first being it can take a toll on you if you play for longer than roughly 45 minutes. It began to give me and my friends headaches and hurt our eyes. It was all very disorienting. I am unsure if it was because we were constantly shifting our eyes to other parts of the screen and you were watching multiple move and everything was out of your control or what the problem was but the fact is it was hard to play for even fairly short periods of time. It’s a fun game, but I don’t want to be in pain or feel constantly disoriented when playing a game.
The second problem is that some of the weapons are immensely overpowered. Everything is one shot one kill but some of them have absurd range, accuracy, and area damage. One weapon specifically really stuck out to me, the Soregean. It shoots a giant ball with spikes and sort of bounces all over the place and knocks down anyone in its path. It has such a massive area of effect that once anyone pulls it out, it’s pretty much game over and there is no avoiding it. It’s incredibly frustrating to see people rack up 30-40 kills in one match just because they toss this giant spike ball around.
Summary
Even though Screencheat suffers from some issues, it’s an incredibly creative game that can be played online or with people sitting down next to you. The game has an amazing sense of style and is brilliant in its design. It’s filled with fun and exciting chaos. The game is non-stop fun and I could see it being a game that kids would play at a sleepover just like many of us probably did when GoldenEye was around. If it weren’t for the actual physical pain the game caused me, I would give this game a much higher score. Regardless, I really hope people give this game a chance and enjoy it not only as a game, but a brilliant piece of creative work.
Cade is a games journalist, Gaming Writer at ComicBook.com. They contributed 108 articles to ICXM between 2015–2017, focused on opinion pieces, game reviews, and Xbox news: served as Editor-in-Chief at GameZone before joining ComicBook.com.