Locked, Unloaded.
Big Drunk Satanic Massacre, or BDSM, is a game that tries to take the term “bullet hell” as literally as possible. Not necessarily with gameplay but with everything else surrounding it. The raunchy urban hellscapes offered within are fun throwbacks to the shock-obsessed 90’s attitude culture. While definitely a nostalgic love letter to a past era, BDSM unfortunately lacks lasting substance or style on the Switch.
Hellfire at will!
BDSM is a twin-stick shooter with an attitude. You are Lou, the Prince of Darkness himself, on a booze-fueled mission to retake this strange Hell on Earth. You will do this by shooting your way through anything that gets in it. With each weapon boasting 2 methods of fire, there are quite a few ways to dispatch your enemies. Whether it be demons, bondage slaves, or some eerily familiar faces, BDSM offers a good variety of funny enemies. This all takes place in quickly paced top-down, isometrically viewed battlegrounds. The visuals match the aesthetic it tries to sell you on. Dark and grimy areas with pops of color and whimsical doodads convey the edgy, innuendo-laced aesthetic of BDSM well as you play.
Short clips, long fuse.
While the aesthetic is questionable, its presentation is enough to make Borderlands blush. The overabundance of sexual themes will make only the most die-hard Newgrounds fans feel at home. This does little to distract from the uninspired gameplay. While fundamentally solid, one may feel burnt out by the amount of reused enemies and repetitive goals by the second world. The power ups offer little that solid shooting can’t accomplish and are often forgettable. The bosses are also very hit-or-miss, as some offer a fun and dynamic bullet-hell challenge while others seem to die without effort. It makes for a jarring experience to hustle through a level, only to find the boss was a mild experience compared to the level you just got through. A defeated Boss will also give Lou an upgrade point to increase his power. Unfortunately these upgrades offer no interesting or meaningful perks and are simply used to increase base stats such as increased ammo or max HP. These elements, combined with frame skipping on the Switch and an incredibly muddy sound design leaves this game in bad shape.
Final Thoughts
While not a terrible game, BDSM fails to offer any lasting impression. Bare-bones twin-stick shooter gameplay with forgettable power-ups does little to entice those not into its vulgar and edgy aesthetic. Boss battles can also be deflating, as their design is inconsistent. The progression feels nonexistent which makes wins against bosses feel cheap and unrewarding. Even the quick and responsive combat controls are undermined by considerable screen tearing and frame skipping on the Switch. Unfortunately, the grotesque satire of BDSM is not enough to make it worth more than a glance on the Switch.
A Nintendo Switch code was provided for the purpose of this review.
