When I think of killer indie games, I think of Developer Digital, and when I think of Developer Digital, I think of Hotline Miami, which just so happens to be the same sentiment I feel towards their latest release: Anger Foot. Developed by Free Lives, who also happened to release another indie favourite of mine, Bro Force, Anger Foot is a fast-paced parkour-focused boomer shooter with an emphasis on speed and, of course, kicking.
Spread across 28 levels—Anger Foot takes place in the very fictional setting of Shit City, which I must applaud Free Lives for naming, as it forgoes any pretence and nicely sums up the kind of experience you’re in for right from the get-go. In Anger Foot, you assume the role of an unnamed rogue, hell-bent on exacting his vengeance on the criminal denizens of Shit City after they steal his prized pair of sneakers and leave his collection in disarray.
If it isn’t already painfully obvious, Anger Foot is a very silly and often on-the-nose kind of game, rife with toilet humour and vulgarity, often feeling like a parody of a videogame one would see on a TV show or something that solely exists as set dressing within the broader context of a piece of media, i.e. a fake videogame.
If this sounds like a slight towards Anger Foot, it’s not—in reality, I love the world-building and the overall atmosphere of Anger Foot as it satisfies that long-time itch to play a game that feels like it shouldn’t exist. Aesthetics and charm aside, is Anger Foot actually any good to play? Thankfully, the answer to that question is a resounding yes.
“If it isn’t already painfully obvious, Anger Foot is a very silly and often on-the-nose kind of game, rife with toilet humour and vulgarity…”
As the name may suggest, Anger Foot places a great deal of emphasis on its melee combat, meaning you can pretty much take out all threats using solely your foot, with the game encouraging you to do just that, as many of the side objectives in the game require you to clear the level without relying on the use of guns.
Speaking of guns, although not the focus, Anger Foot features a humble selection of firearms, including your typical pea shooter handgun, a spray-and-pray, SMG-style automatic weapon for quickly clearing a room, and finally, a powerful and weighty shotgun that essentially does what the SMG does with less effort.
Outside of your kicks and pistol-powered punches, Anger Foot also gives the player the opportunity to wield a plunger during some of the stages featured in the second half of the game, which mechanically translates to a hook-style tool that can reel in enemies for a quick kick to the face, somewhat similar to the hooking mechanic found in games like Bulletstorm.
Enemy variety in Anger Foot is a healthy mix of your standard puppet-faced goons, anthropomorphic meatheads reminiscent of Hotline Miami’s Jacket character, to more off-kilter enemies, such as slithering snakes and gun-wielding tentacles. My favourite enemy type in the game, however, would go to the Bomber jacket-wearing ruffians that literally bombard the player with grenades while looking like a cross between Final Fantasy’s Black Mage and a Grand Theft Auto character.
“As the name may suggest, Anger Foot places a great deal of emphasis on its melee combat…”
Like the player, most enemies in Anger Foot go down quickly, often taking one shot or a single kick, which encourages the player to run through a level as fast as possible while maintaining their pace, however, this is not a guarantee of success, as later levels in the game introduce unique stage gimmicks, such as avoiding a laser-sighted sniper that hunts the player for the entirety of the level, forcing you to run, but also find places that block the sniper’s line of sight. In addition to levels that feature light platforming and maze-like rooms that require the player to slow down, at least for the first time through.
Outside of clearing a stage for the first time, levels in Anger Foot have additional objectives, netting the player points they can use to purchase shoes. Side objectives include clearing the level in a certain time, killing all enemies, going in barefoot, wearing a specific type of shoe, killing an enemy in a specific way, etc.
Shoes are important to the game both from a thematic standpoint and as the core unlockable item in Anger Foot. Each new pair grants the player a unique ability or gimmick, such as a second life, the ability to slide, or doors that explode upon kicking them in, to just name a few.
My biggest complaint with Anger Foot would be the two boss encounters present in the game, particularly the first boss, which, without spoiling, isn’t egregiously bad or anything like that, but instead, just feels like it doesn’t take advantage of Anger Foot’s core gameplay loop, by slowing things down to a crawl and forcing the player to instead engage in a multi-stage encounter that feels more like its getting in the way then adding anything fun or meaningful to the overall experience.
Anger Foot is shaping up to be a fun and quirky FPS that feels totally on-brand for Devolver Digital and a bold foot forward for Free Lives as they enter the realm of 3D graphics.
