Connor
Man is it good to see colour again.
Remember that era when game design was defined by waist high walls and everything being grey?
Well Cookie Cutter is the living proof that you can absolutely preserve a dark and gritty atmosphere without sacrificing vibrancy of environment.
Developed by Subcult Joint and published by Rogue Games, Cookie Cutter is a side scrolling key-and-door metroidvania with a comic art style and a grunge aesthetic that comes right off the pages of ‘Tank Girl’.
And that, before anything else, is what I’m leading with here.
Because the artwork is absolutely fantastic. 10/10.
Bold, thick, hand drawn line art that pops off the page from the intro cutscene.
A main menu with a side profile of our player character ‘Cherry’ occasionally flashing in X-Ray to show the terminator metal beneath the skin.
Menu options with that bleeding layered colour that reminds me of old skool 3D when you take the glasses off and enjoy the trippy blend of shades.
That main menu music caught me by surprise a little. Rather than the musical chainsaws I was expecting from the box art, we have a more groovy and introspective piece that wouldn’t be out of place in a mystery game.
But enough eye candy, lets actually play the game.
ACTUAL VOICE ACTING.
I’m sorry, this may not be a big deal to you, but I don’t think I’ve seen this in several reviewed games in a row at this point.
VA is pretty on point with the possible exception of our main character who tends to overplay it a bit. Sounds a little unnatural.
The intro cutscene was like reading a comic I would definitely pick up if I saw it in a store. Colourful art, intriguing story involving a corrupt megacorp delving secrets from within a primordial megastructure that may have been created at the beginning of the universe and a resistance movement fighting against an army of immortal slave robots.
The intro narration is done by Shinji, a scientist who builds (and subsequently falls into a lesbian romance with) a very unique gyanoid named Cherry she hopes will help break the unending cycle of tyranny from the one who dominates the megastructure.
Mid cutscene, her house is broken into and Cherry is beaten to a pulp. This cutscene transitions seamlessly into a disturbing section of dragging our broken selves over to our creator in the pouring rain while screaming in a damaged voice to give her back.
It’s visceral, evocative and that was the moment I knew I was going to like this game. I was pulled in immediately.
GRUNGE.
That’s the tone.
Our main character is not some fishnet stockings and bikini armour warrior fighting in heels and a size 2. She’s THIQQ, angry, takes great delight in over-the-top violence and has a haircut that looks like she tripped and fell headfirst into a box of scissors.
Fighting mechanics are… eeeeh. There’s challenge in it I’ll put it that way.
The parry is a little jank and I can see that finishing animation getting a little stale after I do it twenty times, but it’s nice how the game manages your resources.
There’s a satisfying flow between gathering energy by hitting foes and using energy to hit foes harder then healing yourself post combat using yet more energy. Mastering the combat involves mastering this flow. A little basic, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I can see more mechanics and more threatening enemies adding on to a complex interplay later on.
Control mapping is done for an Xbox controller and as far as I can tell, there is no way to change this so if you are playing on a playstation controller you are going to have to do some running translations in your head.
Not a big deal if you have played both, but that does highlight the game’s lack of options.
Regina is our helpful assistant. She’s a distorted digital woman’s voice attached to a floating mechanical head that falls somewhere between ‘biblically accurate angel’ and ‘I have no mouth and I must scream’.
Raz is the mechanic who apparently dug our ass out of the junkyard and put us back together after that rough night.
Both are well voice acted, sounding appropriately eerie and suave respectively.
Overall, Cookie Cutter is worth your time.
I can see a delve into the unfolding guts of this megalithic superstructure through colourful blood and mechanical guts being a fun romp through the panels of a grungy comic book and can’t wait to see where it will take me next.
Released: December 2023
Rating: M
Platforms reviewed: PC
Genre: Action
Developer: Subcult Joint
Publisher: Rogue Games