“F R I E N D G U N” by Michael Savage-Benoist.

“Welcome to Amigo Village! All your friends and family are here! Watch out, though. Sinister beings are plaguing the town.”

In “F R I E N D G U N”, a small village which is inhabited by cute bullets, is threatened by a dark force. Fortunately, you have learned how to use a gun and can protect the village. At this point it should already be clear what is used as ammunition, right? Exactly, you must sacrifice the villagers to save the village. Before this rescue operation, the place still shone in the most beautiful pastel shades, but afterwards it is just plain drab and almost uninhabited. This ultimately raises the question of whether it was worth anything at all? Because in the end, you rob with the sacrifice the essence of what you actually wanted to preserve: A village without inhabitants is just a collection of buildings, but not a livable place anymore.

The implementation of the theme of the forty-third edition of the Ludum Dare, which was “Sacrifices must be made”, is a little striking in this entry, but that does not mitigate its effect. After all, the bullet villagers are not just generic or interchangeable objects, as the developer has gone to great lengths to customize them all a bit. So you can distinguish the children, adults and seniors very well thanks to their different looks and little monologues. They all have their own names, some are related or friends with each other, others might tell you about their dreams or hobbies before you stuff them in the barrel of your gun and shoot them either into the upcoming threat or, if you miss, into orbit. But would there have been any other option? Probably not. This lack of different outcomes makes “F R I E N D G U N” an interesting little experience, which is also a audiovisual treat. >>PLAY