I'm a huge fan of Adult Swim – the mature cartoon channel that aims to shock and entertain those of us who have never grown up.
For a few months now, Adult Swim Games have been promoting Headlander by Double Fine Productions. Unfortunately, the game's July release was for just Steam and the PlayStation 4. Nevertheless, the company has now released it for Xbox One and Windows 10 through the Store.
That's the good news. The bad news is this is not a Play Anywhere title meaning you need to drop $20 for one or the other. There is also no syncing between the two systems so choose wisely.
Headlander falls into the 'Metroidvania-style' game design with the following story synopsis:
Headlander takes place in a futuristic setting inspired by 1970s science fiction televisions shows and movies such as Logan's Run. In this future, humanity has opted to upload their consciousness's to a world-encompassing cloud storage, forgoing their bodies but able to occupy the minds of robots as to carry out necessary tasks or otherwise enjoy corporeal pleasures. However, an artificial intelligence named Methuselah has taken control of the robots, trapping the human consciousnesses inside them, and enslaved them for some nefarious purpose. The last human is awoken from cryogenic storage to deal with Methuselah, but only their head has managed to survive the process and is suffering from amnesia.
I've been playing the game for the last few nights on the Xbox One and Windows 10 (yes, I bought both to find out compatibility). It's easily one of the more entertaining and relaxing games I have played recently. The level design and clever story will keep you entertained while the level challenges won't stress you out too much. Blasting your head off to fly around is an interesting twist, and the retro graphics are a real treat.
I've been playing it on the Surface Book with Performance Base nearly maxed out, but with AA turned off. Overall, it's a great experience except for the lack of cross-system saving ability. You do get Xbox Achievements, at least.
The game was on sale briefly but is back up to the $20 price tag. While not cheap, I'm just excited to see the first Adult Swim Games title on the Windows Store. In the past, the company has only pushed its games to iOS, Android, and PlayStation (the channel has a special deal with Sony, evidently). For some reason, the TV commericial they are running right now shows the game on Xbox One, but makes no mention of the Windows Store. Hopefully, this article will bring some needed attention to it.
