Esse Proxy is a top-down cyberpunk shooter similar to the Hotline Miami series. Users will have to destroy crowds of opponents, participate in chases and fight giant robots.
Since its launch in 2012, Hotline Miami has set a fundamental paradigm for independent video game development. A decade later, the state of the high-level environment has changed significantly, although India still hosts places to “try different things,” and they have set their own hard and fast rules. The result is experiences like Esse Proxy, a work that takes many of the central elements of the independent role of recent years and pursues grains of sand without breaking with anything.
What is this game?
Esse Proxy is an action, arcade, shooter, and fighting game developed by the Argentinean group FromSouthGames for the PC platform, consisting of only two people, is a typical example showing us their creation. What if Esse Proxy’s gameplay is where it practically focuses? The script is still a confusing aspect of the game that it’s worth commenting on.
From the very beginning, we find a decidedly cyberpunk aesthetic that has always been in line with the canons of the genre: the dystopia of post-capitalist degradation, neon lights, and the impact of technology on all areas of human life. It’s an overhead camera shooter in which we have to enter the levels of small rooms and go through them, killing everything that comes our way. Yes, it’s basically the same offer as Hotline Miami. You have to go from A to B, and in between, a bunch of enemies are blocking your path, and it’s up to you to deal with them.
Problems and good points
This game lacks perfection in some sections. Sometimes this high degree of difficulty can push you to the limit, especially on levels where things get unfair. The strictly top-down perspective means that no matter how we zoom out, the enemies will sometimes be out of sight, sending us to the grave with a single bullet with better accuracy than esportsmen.
Of these elements, the game’s intent is the same as that of its referents. As we progress, the levels become more complex and difficult, forcing us to die a lot in order to repeat, learn and advance.
Despite all the problems I’ve had with Esse Proxy, at least the good enough work in this area has helped keep us going. And the truth is that the development team itself sometimes tries to trip it up. There was no reason for them to put floors that fall into space as a pointless addition to a lackluster platformer, and it’s not in the style of the game to put us in front of so many open environments.
With some simple tricks, opponents are pleased to move through the environment with relative naturalness, aware that a ruthless killer is standing in front of them with a gun. They obviously have issues, but at least in the action part, it can give the feel of a convincing shootout (albeit in the context of a 1980s action movie) with a good one.
From a visual standpoint, Esse Proxy cannot capitalize on its cyberpunk nature. Little imagination was given to the rendering of the environment, and as a result, we did not have the slightest memory of the environment after the end of the game. This is another area where it seems to lag behind the unmistakable snuff film and Hotline Miami 80s aesthetic.
What do we have at the end?
Various issues with Esse Proxy prevent it from shining the way it probably deserves (thanks to heavy gameplay). We believe that fans of this sub-genre (top-down or isometric, fast action, and one-shot kills) will have a good time in the 3-4 hours it offers and will definitely appreciate its shooting mechanics, but at the same time, after titles will fall, they will probably forget they ever dealt with him.