This Doom-powered, nautical shooter boldly asks 'what if Spongebob was on Adult Swim in 2006'
People are doing so many cool things in Doom modding these days, it takes a lot to stand out. First spotted by Alpha Beta Gamer(opens in new tab), Captain Wayne — Vacation Desperation(opens in new tab) does so with aplomb, boasting a grungy «smart people doing dumb guy,» Duke Nukem-y sense of humor and the colorful, nautical fun of Spongebob Squarepants—just with like, swears and stuff.
The presentation and graphics really is where Captain Wayne knocks it out of the park—character sprites have a perfect '90s animation look in a similar vein to Pizza Tower(opens in new tab), and the whole thing's awash in this groovy, Tequila Sunrise color palette. Seriously, I love the environments both here in the free demo and hinted at in screenshots of later levels on Steam, it's like «Florida retirement village nautical-themed steakhouse» crossed with "'80s lounge glam."
Cheap nautical gags abound, with some of my favorites including a women's restroom labeled «No Man's Head,» and omnipresent ads for «Melville Whale Oil.» The soundtrack's mostly a very fitting heavy metal joint that propels the action along, but I was really tickled by the proggy organ lines developer Ciaran Games threw in—more of that, please. The whole thing's just got this very cheeky, madcap sensibility, and it extends to the gameplay as well.
Your weapons are classic boomer shooter staples but they all feel great (I mean, it's built on Doom) and have a fun Captain Wayne twist. Most of them are presented as different «modes» for the good skipper's robot arm, with the lone exception being a fully classico big ass pirate cannon as your rocket launcher. My favorite is easily the humble melee though, here augmented with a sick instagib charge up function like the
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