Ah, the spiders ... what wonderful, harmonious, not at all alien, not at all horrifying creatures, right? No? But how, do you hate them? Even if they have all those little legs? And six or eight eyes (according to Wikipedia)? Well, hard to blame you actually. What better occasion to express your indignation towards arachnids than with the hilarious Kill It With Fire? After all, we are talking about an independent production that was born with the main purpose of unleashing the gamers against those little creatures that nestle a bit all over and that for years and years have never lost the opportunity to infest our worst. nightmares. We can't promise you won't blow up, but you sure get your revenge with this over-the-top shooter from Casey Donnellan Games e tinyBuild!
My spider sense tingles
The almost non-existent premise of the game allows us to immediately jump into the ancient art of pest control: as a mad exterminator we will have the arduous task of putting an end to the arachnid threat in the city; without worrying too much about collateral damage of course! Starting with a simple notebook, we will find increasingly unlikely and blatantly unsuitable weapons to complete our mission, from shotguns to brushcutters, flashbangs and flamethrowers improvised. But the blatant inadequacy of our arthropod death tools is just the beginning. We will in fact be the architects of an escalation of crazy and hilarious destruction in the name of total disinfestation.
The spiders, of course, will not stand there and be massacred with such brutality, but they will escape in a hurry to avoid our arachnicidal rage, reacting differently depending on their type. Some, like normal puppies and spiders, will attempt to escape to other rooms, immediately hiding behind objects or in drawers (yes, we, too, tremble at the thought of finding a giant spider in the underwear drawer). Others will throw webs at us in an attempt to blind us either they will jump on us, causing very virile and very masculine reactions on this side of the screen. They can't really hurt us, if not by frightening the player with their evil paws, but this does not make the experience any less fun and indeed, it allows us to hide our arachnophobia behind a false sense of security. Anyway, when that jumping spider comes at us, we will still scream as if it were not virtual.
It's time to destroy… that is… disinfestation!
How can we take revenge on this eight-legged reign of terror? Well, in the meantime we can exploit a very useful radar which will show us how close we are to our archenemy. Watch out for the battery though, because we won't be able to keep it active for too long unless we have properly upgraded it. After finding one of our targets, it will be possible to take advantage of the most disparate weapons, with very varied effects and utilities. Fire, for example, is ideal for destroying weaker spiders: Doesn't do much damage but expands quickly, killing standard arachnids and cubs. To make the skin (or chitin?) For the queens, we will need much more firepower. A brush cutter or a nice shotgun will do for us.
Otherwise, there is the old reliable pan which in terms of precision never disappoints. Just about the accuracy, firearms raise some doubts proving to be imprecise, with trajectories that meet the arachnid hitbox with some difficulty. Obviously these are absolutely foolish weapons to hit a spider, but you end up using them less than other objects that have a more satisfying feel. An example? The ninja stars: very difficult to use, but lethal and perfect to use with the Energy Drink, able to give us a useful slow motion for a few seconds. What is most amusing, however, is the senseless destruction we will leave behind. Is the radar reporting a bedroom spider? Let's set it on fire! Did a spider hide under the toilet seat? Go on with the C4!
Not just an arms race
With Kill It With Fire we will not limit ourselves to recovering weapons with which to perpetrate our pest control plan. In fact, we will be able to explore the environments, which will range from simple houses to gas stations, Zen gardens and offices, looking for useful and valuable enhancements. Scattered through the levels, we will in fact find projects to integrate into our radar, using the numerous hidden batteries in the map as skill points. And not only that: even our alter-ego, the exterminator, will be able to improve, using another type of points, given this time by the quantity of objectives completed in the individual missions. By meticulously exploring and completing each level it won't be difficult to get all the upgrades at the first opportunity, transforming us into faster, fearsome and better equipped deadly machines.
Plunging bullets in kerosene may be risky, but it's the kind of sacrifice you have to make to fight the cryptic wall climbers. These upgrades never become the main component of the game, so you don't have to fear complicated GDR drifts. They simply function as small aids, giving an excellent stimulus for exploration and upon completion of all activities at the various levels. To get to the exit door, as well as to unlock some areas, in fact, it will be enough for us to simply have eliminated enough arachnids, while many weapons will be blocked behind a minimum number of objectives. If you want an assault rifle, then you will have to commit! And if simply completing the tasks is not enough for you, at the end of each level you can engage yourself in an arachno-challenge that will refine your skills as fearsome assassins. But we warn you, they are not that easy.
A small but important parenthesis should be made for music. As well as Kill It With Fire upset thanks to a varied, complex or articulated audio sector, indeed. It is the simplicity of its sounds and musical themes that amazes positively. With just two melodies, one of combat with a very rock tone, and one more of tension, the atmosphere that is created only underlines the humorous and crazy spirit of the game. Even the noises emitted by spiders, reminiscent of the strings of an orchestra, seem straight out of a Hannah & Barbera cartoon. The whole title basically looks like a duel between cat and mouse, with spiders apparently safe behind some frame or inside a drawer, and the spirit is just that: goliardic, crazy and funny.
