500 CALIBER CONTRACTZ: Precision platforming with 'tude

Tude. No, not attitude: 'tude. Sometime in the 1990s, media communications and marketing departments recognised the untapped potential of the adolescent demographic. This realization sparked the era of 'tude: smack-talking advertising, game mascots sporting sunglasses and denim, and self-aware edge sharper than a razorblade. By the early 2000s, console gaming had firmly pivoted toward courting an adolescent and young adult market with coolness, action, and, of course, 'tude.

500 CALIBER CONTRACTZ is a game that mines the cultural memory of 'tude in all its past manifestations. It showcases a deep understanding of the maximalism of that era's obsession with edge, creating a fascinating stylistic hybrid of early 3D games, emo, industrial aesthetics, and Cruelty Squad-style digital distortion. The game maintains a balance between stereotype and satire with its sense of humor and genuine interest in playing with the conventions of the 'tude aesthetic.

The overarching aim of Contractz is for the player, a silver-haired contract killer, to navigate open-ended stages to complete missions. The primary mission, to Kill The Target, requires locating and dispatching a character in the stage through the lens of the sniper rifle. Other missions, such as Green Demon, challenge the player to unleash a demon and scale the stage to collect items without being caught. There are also plenty of collectibles located in hard-to-reach places.

Contractz plays like a classic platformer. Players navigate throughout the level using jumps, double- and triple-jumps, and vaults. The player has a combat moveset, including a melee and ground pound, however, the demo does not include enemies, and seems to focus more on introducing the player to the flow of the game's platforming. There's a good sense of horizontal momentum, and players have a healthy challenge in combining movesets to clear large gaps.

The design of the demo level, set in the Sunset Factory, is a large, hulking maze of concrete and mechanical parts. Moving platforms add a bit of life and interactivity to the level, soon opening up into a set of floating platforms. Because of this, and the time-sensitive aspects of many of the game's missions, Contractz takes on elements of a precision platformer, with players expected to nail some delicate moves to access all the bonuses and secrets the game offers.

Make no mistake, even just as a platformer, Contractz is challenging, with a moderate difficulty curve in learning how to maintain speed while navigating the stage layout. That said, so were the platformers of the time, and it feels rewarding to figure out how to master the game's demands. It's the sort of thing that speedrunners will delight in showcasing.

Development on 500 Caliber Contractz is led by Texas independent developer Bryce Bucher, whose games have maintained a stylistic interest in the visual language of early 3D games. Bucher is closely associated with the Haunted PS1 community, a series that publishes Playstation-themed horror games. Their 2020 title Fatum Betula, made for this series, is an excellent conjuration of the surrealistic potential of early 3D PlayStation titles like LSD: Dream Emulator.

It would be remiss not to mention the game's soundtrack, which has a suitably period vibe. The demo level's background music features a spot-on impression of the era's ambience, jungle drum breaks, and synth pads and bells. This track was created by Shinigami, with other assets and sound by Modus Interactive and Jam2go, and additional programming by Feverdream Johnny.

A demo of 500 Caliber Contractz is playable on Steam. Bucher has stated that the game is not yet complete, and a release date is still forthcoming.