SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell is a game developed by Pine Studio for the PC in 2016. It’s a first-person platforming game in which you use the powers of Satan himself to save your precious beer. You may remember it as one of my favorite games from PAX East 2016, but now that the game’s out it’s time to see if this game’s got the guts in my Mighty Review of SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell.
SEUM is a game about a simple man with simple desires. Our hero is enjoying a beer one afternoon when a package arrives at his door containing a record. Upon playing the record, Satan appears, steals our hero’s beer, cuts his hand off, and escapes. But not before getting his own hand cut off. Our red necked ruffian then attaches Satan’s arm to himself, giving him magical powers, and goes of to hell to find his missing beer.
So Obviously the plot’s super simple, but it sets the tone of this game really well. It’s a goofy game with a goofy protagonist meant to give the player a good time. And that’s exactly what it does.
Starting with the visuals, SEUM takes place in the nine circles of hell, with each new depth having its own unique aesthetic. Skeletons, caves, lava, typical hell stuff. And while the worlds are all unique from each other, they do feel a bit… standard. For example, all of the walls are the same, the checkpoints and switches are the same, and considering the fact that the textures are pretty mediocre already, the lack of variety in anything but the environment can get a bit monotonous.
Then there’s the music. The music is metal as fuck. It’s an excellent soundtrack of some great instrumental metal tracks that perfectly compliment both the setting and the gameplay. It evokes old feelings of playing Doom while being a completely original soundtrack and I love it. On top of that, our hero’s quips that come out while playing through the levels are both well acted and often really funny. There could have been a few more, but the number of lines are respectable enough.
Now, when I mentioned that this game is a first-person platformer, many of you probably groaned. These have a tendency to be frustrating in their design and controls since you can’t see your feet when landing on platforms. And this game certainly has its moments of frustration, but only because some of the levels are really hard and very rarely because of the controls.
In SEUM, you platform across an obstacle course created by Satan himself. You have to complete each of the tracks in a certain amount of time as well, leading to a lot of tense moments. In each stage you’ll be trying to reach the goal ring by dodging obstacles, jumping over pits, and activating switches. Most of the levels are shorter than 30 seconds, but they never get boring. And even if you manage to beat the time limit in order to continue, every stage also has an even shorter bonus time limit to go after.
Still, while I understand dying a lot is a natural part of this style of game, that also leads to finding a few bugs in the process. Certain things like unfair scenarios and slippery slopes can make the game design more about frustration than fun. I’m all for a good challenge, but if it doesn’t feel good to play, the challenge feels cheap as a result.
While the aesthetic variety may be lacking, the level variety is on point. This has a lot to do with just how many different obstacles and power ups exist in the game. You can teleport, control gravity, rewind time, you name it. Although the platform creating power is a bit glitchy, everything else runs smooth as butter and makes for a super fun game.
Each level also has a hidden beer to find and collect. If you collect the beer, it also counts as completing the stage, so sometimes it’s best to ignore the time limit and just go hunting. They’re really well hidden too, with many requiring creative use of your powers to collect. Collecting every beer and beating every advanced time limit in a world also unlocks a bonus stage, which is a nice reward for the effort.
There are also modes involving a randomized track that’s built as you progress and even better, a level editor. The tools are pretty simple and make for a great system, which some people have used to create some excellent levels. All of this in addition to the free DLC that’s been dropped and this game is a real value on top of an already fun game.
SEUM is a game that sets out to make players feel like a superpowered red neck blasting through the depths of hell to retrieve their beer and it succeeds wa more than it fails. It has its slip ups, but the effort put in here is palpable through every aspect of its design and post-release content, which is why SEUM: Speedrunners from hell gets an 8 out of 10. It’s not perfect, but for $15, it’s a really fun time. That being said I hope you enjoyed this review. If you did, be sure to like and subscribe to see more mighty reviews, dissections, and great gaming content. And as always, have a mighty nifty day today!