OTXO Review

thesixthaxis.com:

Despite it being one of the most iconic indie games of the 2010s, very few have tried to replicate the top-down murderfest formula of Hotline Miami. Hidden behind the simple pixel aesthetic of the game is a fast-paced bloodbath that forces you to consistently and carefully analyse your surroundings and learn from your deaths. You’ll die countless times, with each death giving you a quick checkpoint restart and just a bit more experience to bring you closer to the ending. OTXO takes that high-adrenaline gameplay and reframes this loop of trial and error through the lens of a roguelike – death is the permanent end of your run in OTXO – but is it engaging enough to make you want to learn from your mistakes and keep playing?

There’s narrative to OTXO, but it’s paper-thin. You find a mask on a train, put it on, and feel your mind snap in half before waking up on a mysterious island. The only thing here is a large mansion, strange residents, and a well-stocked bar. Layers of depression and dependency form the symbolic meat of what OTXO shows you, but it’s all mostly meant to justify the action – your beloved is trapped in the deepest depths of the mansion, and the only thing preventing you from saving her and escaping the island are dozens of rooms full of henchmen, heavy weapons, and gargantuan bosses.

Those bosses are one of the biggest ways OTXO shakes things up from the Hotline Miami duology it takes so much inspiration from. After navigating through sections of the house that force you to dodge, run, and hide from nimble grunts, the bosses keep you engaged in a slow but patterned ballet that almost feels like a boots-on-the-ground bullet hell. They’re fun, but they’re not overly challenging – their patterns are far more