I realise that this isn’t a flex but, up until yesterday, I had no idea that poncle was moving into publishing. Earlier this year, the developer behind Vampire Survivors put out the first game under its new label, poncle presents. It would appear that the news slipped past me.
Kill the Brickman is poncle presents’ sophomore effort (Berserk Or Die being the name of the first). In fact, that’s also the case for Doonutsaur, a solo dev who before now had only previously released one top-down roguelite shooter, Meow Legion. The developer’s new game, however, is quite a bit more ambitious.
What is Kill the Brickman, then?
If you’re familiar with Breakout, then you’re half way to understanding what’s going on here. For the uninitiated: Breakout is one of the all-time classic action-puzzlers from Atari. In fact, the original ensemble involved with the development of game includes industry elders Nolan Bushnell and Stive Bristow, with able tech support from Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs.
The aim of both Breakout and Kill the Brickman is to fire projectiles at blocks as efficiently as possible. The similarities start to blur after that, but essentially in both games you’ve got to shoot bricks good.
Naturally, game design has progressed a little since the glory days of Atari, and Kill the Brickman mixes up the tried and true gameplay of Breakout with a bit of roguish unpredictability. It’s actually a pairing that goes together really well, and I’ve already had a bunch of fun with Breaking Survivors. However, where BS is all about the action, Kill the Brickman is a more cerebral challenge.
Shots fired!
The pace in Kill the Brickman is purposefully slow. You start each round with an empty revolver and a screen full of blocks, some of which have faces. In fact, there are several kinds of these brickmen, and each one has its own identity.
Ultimately, you’ve got to shoot these blocks in their stupid little faces – for reasons – and you’ve got to do so as economically as possible to keep on progressing. The brickmen are going to fire at you, too, and you’ve a finite pool of health points that carry over between rounds. Take too much damage and it’s game over.
To do all the brick shooting you’re going to need some bullets. On that front, before each turn, you must pick enough slugs to fill your revolver, each one with their own properties (and faces). Some explode, some split in two, while others corrode the blocks they hit, dealing damage over time.
A big part of the game is lining up great shots. Walls are there to make rebound shots, and there are signposts that you can use to redirect your shots into hard-to-reach corners. This is not a case of hit and hope; every single shot must be considered with care.
Shopping for bullets
You start off with four empty slots in your gun, but in-between levels you have access to a shop that has upgrades for sale. Upgrades are purchased with money earned in-game, and they include the option to boost your capacity and add new bullets to your inventory.
The shop is actually where Kill the Brickman needs the most work. While the game is not in Early Access, I still expect the devs to go back and address the lack of clarity around some of the game’s various items and how they function. At the moment, everything is just a little bit confusing and there’s no need for it.
Having said that, it’s not rocket science either, and at the end of the day I’ve still really enjoyed what I’ve seen thus far. It’s super affordable – around £4, and it’s also discounted at launch – so I was happy to grab it on the spot, and at that price I wasn’t disappointed. I’ve been playing on PC (mostly on my Steam Deck, where it worked just fine) but it’s also available on Android, iOS, and Xbox Series.
Based on my time playing so far, I’m really pleased with Kill the Brickman, although I can also see that there’s room for it to grow and improve over time. However, poncle has a well-established history of longtail support for its games, and so I’m expecting that to continue now that it’s a publisher as well.
Considering the low barrier to entry and the amount of content on offer, Breakout fans and indie gamers will both find much to enjoy. With different weapons to unlock and multiple campaigns, there’s a lot of game here, but best of all is the game’s indie spirit – Kill the Brickman is full of quirky detail and oddball humour, and that personality helps elevate the whole experience.
