At a time when so many top-down pixel art shooters incorporate roguelike elements, randomising level layouts, boss appearances and such, it’s refreshing to play one with nothing in the way of nasty surprises outside of ones the developers planned.
Originating from Brazil, Ghetto Zombies: Graffiti Squad wouldn’t have felt out of place on the Super Nintendo, seeing you shooting waves of undead while marking your turf. Spraying graffiti instantly summons a new wave of green-skinned zombies, which then must be defeated before progressing to the next area. We can only assume said undead folk were members of the neighbourhood watch in their previous life. Why else would graffiti offend them so?
An intro with comic book-style panels helps explain the premise, with that being a virus turning citygoers into zombies. A biker gang manages to flee during the chaos, giving a nearby suburban town an early ‘heads up’ of the impending danger. This grants the humble townsfolk just enough time to fortify the outskirts and set up a base of operations before tasking a group of fearless teens to protect the town. All the while, zombie DNA must be collected to help develop a cure.
The four playable characters – two boys and two girls – each have their own stats, varying from speed to strength, along with a unique dash ability. One shoulder barges, for instance, while another can teleport a short distance. As you’re going to be dashing out of harm’s way often, it’s worth experimenting with each character to find one that suits, with the HQ hub allowing characters to be swapped mid-stage. Characters level up over time, allowing you to make their melee attack more impactful or become faster to skirt around the festering undead. This sense of progression is welcome, but it does mean that once you’ve invested in one character, you’re likely going to stick with them throughout Ghetto Zombies’ 3-4 hour duration.
We’re in twin-stick shooter territory here, and it’s pleasing to find the mechanics both robust and well thought out. Three weapons can be carried, and with more gradually unlocked – varying from real-world inspired weapons such as pistols to the more comical hot dog gun – there’s scope to make a balanced set. A shotgun with a widespread, a rapidly firing SMG, and something sillier like a laser mini-gun go hand-in-hand when thinning out the hordes. There’s a neat sniper rifle too, harnessing the ability to zoom in and aim headshots. To secure an ‘A ranking’ you’ll need to pop many noggins.
New weapons are acquired from dumpsters, rising in cost as things progress. The same currency (stars) is also used to open dumpsters with health, sometimes forcing you to choose between a new weapon or risking death. Checkpoints are, fortunately, generously spaced. One surprise design choice Ghetto Zombies has in store is that ammo is limited; a concept marred by reloading times close to ten seconds long. This means opening dumpsters regularly, along with making frequent pitstops to the HQ – via a teleporter – to restock ammo. Initially, it seems that the HQ will grow and change over time, but that’s not the case – from start to finish, each NPC remains rooted to the spot and spouts the same dialogue.
Surprisingly, Ghetto Zombies is set in one seamless open world. After defeating a boss, you’re simply shown a breakdown of stats and ushered into the next location, with themes ranging from the beach to an industrial estate. While the concept of an open-world sounds neat, there’s no reason to backtrack or explore, and nothing in the way of collectables to find. It follows a strict formula of entering a location and spraying graffiti in 2-3 marked areas to gain the key to the next location. No other mission objectives or diversions feature, meaning there’s nothing here in the way of variety outside of new enemy types appearing – including goo-spitting worms that can temporarily reverse controls – and the boss fights.
Another odd decision is that sub-bosses are unique, whereas the final boss for each stage – the last boss notwithstanding – are simply stronger versions of a colossal blue-hued zombie, only with a few more projectile waves to dodge. This makes for an experience that runs out of steam by around the midway point, a fact not helped by difficulty spikes – mostly at the hands of limited ammo – becoming more regular over time. Together with an unremarkable ‘congratulations screen’ upon taking down the final boss, just like those commonly found in ’80s games, this did leave a slightly sour taste.
Ghetto Zombies: Graffiti Squad is a game weirdly focused on doing a couple of things well – its shooting mechanics and range of increasingly offbeat weaponry, in this case – and then putting its colourful cast of characters in an oddly static world in which you shoot, mark your turf, and do scant else. The Brazilian flair and colourful pixel art are appealing, but ultimately, this is a shooter where the first hour plays and feels the same as its final, with not even a gradually unfolding storyline to become engrossed in.
Fogo Games’ Ghetto Zombies: Graffiti Squad is out now on Xbox Series, Xbox One, and PC. Published by Nuntius Games/Vsoo Games.