Grade: C-
Bullet-hell 2D arcade game with a high barrier to entry
Predicate was hard as nails but still interesting in design. You are a flying triangle, and you’ve got a pea shooter out the front and a long tail that can kill. You wrap your long-tail around the enemies as you fly, and that’s what does a bunch of damage. It’s the first game I’ve ever played where you can defeat your foes with a chemtrail.
But! I got up through level 6 and got stumped. Kudos to anyone that can play this game and get further. On level 6, there was an evil eyeball that shot rainbow shotgun shells, had heat-seeking missile triangles, had spawns of minions, and there were only certain moments when it was vulnerable. There didn’t seem to be a trick. You just needed to have faster reflexes than the bullets.
For braver gamers then me
I’m ok with hard. In games like Hollow Knight and Celeste, though, the difficulty ramps up over time. You incrementally get to overcome harder and harder challenges until someone watching over your shoulder at the end of the game might be impressed with your nimble ballerina gaming movements. In Predicate, though, you finished the tutorial, which was easy, and then level 6 happened. BAM! You felt like you hit some impossible brick wall. Maybe I gave up too early on this game, but an hour of playing was plenty of that feeling of hitting my head against a brick wall.
Me, Myself, and I vs. Level 6
If you want to see a more successful player, you can check out the below playthrough by “DropRate.” I was thoroughly impressed with their skills. While Predicate wasn’t the game for my own personal taste, it had a fun color palette, smooth controls, and I can see how someone else would enjoy it.
Want to see more? Explore all itch.io bundle for racial justice and equality game reviews.