If you had a spaceship designed in the shape of a hand prominently displaying the middle finger, there would be no other use for it than using it to fight for freedom. In a nutshell, Wide Right Interactive made that thought a reality with Freedom Finger, a space shooter with some light musical and rhythmic undertones. With some eclectic, EDM, and rock tunes leading the charge on this satirical space farce, is this the finger you want to be given? Our Freedom Finger review answers that question and more.
Freedom Finger is a game that takes the horizontal shooter genre, adds in some musical accouterments, and then ramps up the ridiculous, making it both inappropriate, and exceptionally enjoyable. As a commander of the Freedom Finger, the story mode will put you up against all manner of villains, from the Chinese to the Russians, and even some aliens. The ship that you command is quite flexible, in a number of different ways. The Freedom Finger can fire lasers, grab other ships and control their weaponry, or just straight up punch things with a powerful 3 hit combo.
As you progress through the levels, you will have to learn pretty quickly that each of those abilities will need to be used if you want to rack up your scores and complete the missions. Between each level is a fully voiced animated cutscene that will often introduce you to the next set of challenges in a hilariously profane way. Each character that you meet is mostly flamboyant in personality, and they not only hurl insults and jokes at each other, but they’ll even take a shot at you. No, players shouldn’t expect any meaningful storyline, or magical, life-changing resolution. What you should expect, which should be completely obvious within the first few minutes of play, is a story that means to keep you interested simply by wondering what in the world these kooky characters will say next.
When it comes to the levels, the horizontal shooter style of play is pretty forgiving. You may not always pass a level the first time, but unlike some other horizontal shooters, your ship can take quite a bit of damage, and the powerups you find along the way will ensure victory, even if some of them could be seen as a trap to put you in more harms way than they’re worth. Where the gameplay really shines is in the ingenious inclusion of the musical tracks, which they employ to great effect alongside the level design. For example, you may have a short lull at the beginning of a song, which coincides with a slow trickle of enemies, and then suddenly the music blasts, and the entirety of your experience changes. In some cases, you will even find pieces of the level tuned to the music, and timing your motions along with the beat may even be a successful strategy. To complete your objectives, you have to ensure that you kill enough enemies, and not let too many pass you by before the end of the song.
Freedom Finger is a blast. Come for the gameplay, enjoy the story, but continue playing for the music. With additional difficulties, Freedom Finger has enough to keep you coming back and challenging yourself. In case you were considering purchasing Freedom Finger as a cool and collected shooter to play with family, this is not that kind of game. Keep this far away from young children, stuffy parents, and even a prude significant other. Let Freedom Finger be your guilty pleasure for the week.
