Liero
1998
- shooter
- action
- single player
- multiplayer
The story
Liero is a simple game. Pick your five weapons, and unleash your inner fury. The game is always played one versus one on a map of your choice, and yes, you have to play with someone who is right next to you. To shoot is of course easy enough to figure out, but if you want to step up your game, you need to figure out things like how to swing yourself to safety with the ninja rope, to use timed weapons for area denial, to hunt without being hunted, to ambush, hit and run, and control that darn guided missile.
What it’s like
Chunky pixel worms and tiny sprite soldiers scrambling over hand-drawn cave terrain, every shot gouging holes through dirt and rock so the map slowly crumbles into ragged tunnels and craters. The palette is earthy and DOS-bright: browns, greys and burnt oranges, with flashes of white and red when a weapon lands. Sound is a cheerful chiptune-style clatter punctuated by sharp explosions and squelchy death noises, all played loud and mischievous rather than grim. The vibe is scrappy, chaotic, slapstick carnage, best for a loud evening with a friend crammed beside you on one keyboard, or for a quick round between other things. Pacing is fast and twitchy, with matches decided in seconds by a well-timed grapple swing or a lucky guided missile, and the feel in the hands rewards practice with precise aiming and movement. Violence is constant, cartoonish and bloody in a comic way; blood and gibs fly, but the tone is goofy and nothing lingers. It suits players who want competitive, rowdy one-on-one fun, fans of old-school freeware shooters, and anyone who enjoys mastering a tricky control scheme.
More games like Liero
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Lieroand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
