deudly firearms.....

-Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff

Nintendo platforms have not had the best history with third party developers. In fact, many developers have voiced that they prefer to avoid Nintendo consoles for a number of reasons, mostly being due to hardware. But when the Wii came around and sold millions, a fair number of devs realized there was potential beyond what Nintendo could do. But with so many third parties developing for the Wii, it's easy to miss some hidden gems here and there, like Deadly Creatures for Wii, that of which its existence I only discovered a few months ago.

Deadly Creatures for Wii is the kind of game that is surprising to see on the Wii, yet is exactly the kind of game that could only be on the Wii. Deadly Creatures for Wii is an action game in which you control two insects: A venomous tarantula and an also venomous scorpion, who alternate as the playable character between chapters. These bugs are locked in a constant rivalry and frequently cross each others' paths throughout the story of the game, in which these creatures view a tale of two men digging for treasure from a ground-up perspective. The goal is to crawl around, fight other creatures, and merely survive in a harsh and unforgiving world.

The presentation of Deadly Creatures for Wii is by far its greatest strength. The bugs you play as do not speak a word other than their bug-like shrieks and clicks, but the way they move and animate speaks volumes. If you have ever wanted to truly be a bug this is the game for you, as a lot of movement consists of crawling along walls and sometimes even ceilings. Giant setpieces litter the landscape you travel across, and you can freely explore structures such as a giant log or an overturned truck. Despite only taking place in the desert you will explore a variety of locations such as a network of gnarled tree roots or an underground wasp hive. Combat encounters with other bugs are accompanied by a dynamic soundtrack and sometimes thrilling cutscenes. The graphics are also among the best a Wii game has to offer. While using a lot of brown was very common in games from this era I will allow this as the single exception, since it does take place in the Sonoran desert and it compliments the game very nicely.

The gameplay of Deadly Creatures for Wii can be compared to that of "hack-and-slash" or "character action" type games, where you progress through combat encounters with other bugs. Each bug you play as can do a number of combos and special moves to help with combat. The tarantula is more nimble and is focused on dodging attacks while getting quick hits in, while the scorpion can block attacks and do longer, more powerful combos. Each bug has unique attacks, the tarantula can sling webs and pounce on creatures while the scorpion can dash to knock over enemies and use its deadly stinger. The scorption can also do powerful finisher moves that let you see some of the coolest animations ever if you swing the Wii remote correctly. I am not a entomologist so I have no idea if bugs do finishing moves IRL but it looks super cool in this game. While the fighting gameplay doesn't get as deep as action games like say, DMC, it's easy to learn and keeps things fresh by introducing new enemies and obstacles each chapter.

While this game is cool as fuuuuuuuck aesthetically it has a number of gameplay flaws that could stand to be ironed out and ultimately kept me from giving this 5 stars. For one the targeting on enemies is automatic, this isn't too bad most of the time but it can make your bug attack or dodge in a direction you didn't want to because you were focused on something else. The camera control is limited and will sometimes misbehave at crucial moments. Crawling up walls can be extremely finicky sometimes and it can sometimes bug (lol) out, causing you to take fall damage or even clip through the world. When you do die the game respawns you at the last save point with full health, so it's not too unforgiving. A different flaw comes from using the Wii remote to do different attacks, while it can be very satisfying it's not the most responsive and sometimes finisher moves will not work. If you hate using the Wii remote you probably will not enjoy this game. One last thing is that despite the wonderful graphics the frame rate is wildly inconsistent, and it would look wonderful if this game got a remaster with a constant 60 fps yes thats right Deadly Creatures Remastered Nintendo Switch lets fucking goooooooooooooooooo

This paragraph contains a fair number of spoilers so heed this warning: Another thing I feel mixed on is the boss encounters. Early in the game the tarantula encounters a dangerous rattlesnake (yes like on the box) and the scorpion must escape a hungry gila monster. These encounters are really cool and introduce the hostile nature of the world these bugs live in. But for the rest of the game, there aren't really any more big combat encounters until the very end, where the tarantula battles the rattlesnake yet again and the scorpion goes head to head against one of the humans. It's probably a budget thing but I do wish the game had more of these big boss encounters, as they add a bit of a puzzle element and have much more variety to them than regular combat. If only there was a sequel but Rainbow Studios seems to be more interested in ATV games instead.

While Deadly Creatures for Wii is a short experience with not much replayability aside from collecting grubs I still consider it a very unique experience at that. Surprisingly there's not many video games out there that are just "Be a Bug: The Game" and if you are looking for that then this is the place to get it. I'll admit I'm a sucker for anything that lets you explore a normal-sized space from a tiny perspective (Chibi-Robo, Pikmin etc.) so this is something that hits just right. Ultimately your enjoyment of this game comes down to two questions: Do you like bugs? Do you like the Wii? If your answer is yes to both of these then Deadly Creatures for Wii is your ticket to fun, until you stop playing it.