A post-apocalyptic, side-scrolling, acrobatic motorcycle shooter makes for one of the toughest games we've played in a long time.
Laika: Aged Through Blood is set hundreds of years in the future, where "birds" have declared themselves biologically superior, destroying the land in their quest to harvest more and more resources. So the game is basically about Nazi's destroying the planet. And you're going to kill them. Who can't get behind that?
As the titular character Laika, you have the ability to speak to the recently deceased. But even more useful, Laika is restored to life when they die (minus some viscera, which is the currency in the game). And you will die CONSTANTLY. The controls are very sensitive and require a backflip to reload your ammo, and a front flip to reload your spin/bullet deflect move. This can at first be overwhelming as you are trying to control speed while backflipping and shooting multiple enemies while orienting to block their shots midair with the bike's skidplate.
Once you start getting the hang of the bike, exploration becomes a blast. The various regions of the map have beautiful aesthetics, and some elaborate puzzles that will require precise control of your bike, aiming, etc to make it through.
You will unlock further areas to explore, and often backtrack to help various characters with their quests.
The entire game is set to a haunting original soundtrack by Beicoli. The music is perfect for the setting, kicking in at just the right time as you enter new areas of the wasteland. You can also find cassette tapes throughout the land, which allow you to play any of the songs whenever you want.
While extremely challenging at times, Laika: Aged Through Blood is a rewarding game with a fantastic story about loss, grief, revenge, and of course motorcycles. We highly recommend it.
Laika: Aged Through Blood is available on Steam, PS4, PS5, XBOX One, Xbox X/S