PEGBRJE: Unfair Jousting Fair and RISK SYSTEM
Unicycles and Cycles of Units
Unfair Jousting Fair is a ‘fighting game’ made by Rodaja, a 4 person indie team that adores local multiplayer experiences. In this one particularly, players choose their fighters from eight different individuals, all vying for power to become the ultimate jousting champion. There’s only one caveat; they’re on a unicycle, and they are using random everyday objects.
In this medieval yet modern society, players are pitted against another, wielding lance-like objects while attempting to ride a unicycle towards the opponent and either hit them or force them into the wall. Players only have four buttons to use in order to win, with the side buttons being to lean to the left and right, and the up down being for directing the lance. This took me way longer for me to figure out than I’d like to admit, as I would constantly keep pressing upwards when my character was backtilting, only to move the lance and hit my head on the ground and lose the round. It emulates the awkward motions of a unicycle almost too well, as even moving forward requires a delicate swaying motion of the player character. This does lead to some hilarious moments of accidentally losing by falling backwards, or doing a massive lean into a perfect stab. While I didn’t have any friends around to play with, the AI was more than competent in destroying me numerous times as I figured out the controls.
Unfair Jousting Fair is a small title that gives players exactly what is advertised on the box: an unfair yet fair jousting experience flavoured in a modern aesthetic. It’s a bit tricky at first, but the chaos simply adds to the nonsense that can be created during the short rounds. Have a go if you have a disagreement with a friend and can’t do office jousting due to space or because, well, nobody is allowed in an office right now.
RISK SYSTEM is an arcade shoot ’em up made by, coincidently, RISK SYSTEM — pseudonym of a solo dev out of the United States. Players are thrust into a world far in the future, where technology has advanced leaps and bounds above our current day. However, when a parasitic species infiltrates the very energy that they have acquired and turns their advanced technology against them, it is up to the only pilot that remains resistant to the parasites to save everyone from total control. This pilot’s name is Alys and she flies the RSK9, an experimental ship from the ‘past’ so that it can’t be infected. What sets it apart is its unique ability to absorb the parasitic energy from its enemies, which fuels much of how the game plays.
Like all good ‘shmups’, RISK SYSTEM’s shooting is at the core of its gameplay, and it also offers a simple solution to a common problem: the need for firing. Players usually find themselves shooting all the time, but depending on button/controller layouts this can lead to players not being able to shoot and maneuver at the same time. The RSK9 fixes this problem by removing the need to shoot completely; upon reaching a threshold of proximity to an enemy, the ship shoots automatically allowing for players to focus on their bullet dodging and positioning. The only firing players will need to do is their Barrier Breaker move, which is a powerful ‘screen clear’ of sorts that requires a meter to be filled in order to activate. This ‘B-Meter’ gains energy from multiple sources such as firing and destroying enemies, but can be filled much quicker if players are willing to get a little bit risky.
As mentioned above, the RSK9 has the ability to soak up parasitic energy from its enemies and their projectiles, meaning that the meter can be filled much quicker if players get closer to that which can kill them. This is indicated by a bubble shield around the ship, which will activate automatically when a damaging ability gets close to the ship as it will suck up the energy. Of course, this means that the margin for error becomes extremely small as a slight shift in location will result in damage taken. Enemy ships are a bit more tricky to siphon from, so in order to gain their energy players must utilize another maneuver; the ‘Risk Shot’. This special shot occurs when players fire while gaining energy from the projectiles being shot, amping up their damaging potential. If a ship is destroyed by these riskier shots, they will turn into energy, fueling the B-Meter and Alys’ conquest to save humanity.
It’s this constant risk vs reward gameplay that makes RISK SYSTEM such a blast to play. Just narrowly avoiding a bullet with a barrel roll to siphon more energy and destroy a few enemies with some Risk Shots was extremely rewarding, and even taking damage can feel ‘okay’ thanks to this mechanic. There aren’t any differing weaponry or power ups for the ship, but the enemies are all extremely varied with their presentation and ways they can kill Alys. Boss fights are a treat as well, as they bring dozens of new moves for players to avoid and siphon from while attempting to bring them down. Sprinkle in full voice acting which is a treat to hear and a soundtrack that straight up slaps and you’ve got a shoot em up that delivers a tight and clean experience.
For anyone that’s been looking for a hidden ‘shmup’ title in this bundle, look no further than RISK SYSTEM.
