I recommend reading the review *before* watching the video. “Sensory Overload” doesn’t look like much, but look past the veneer and you’ll find something interesting.
Inspired by Dreamcast classic Ikaruga, “Sensory Overload” is a shooter with a colour-matching mechanic. But there the similarities end, as if this is Ikaruga it’s Ikaruga in the dark. You have a flashlight to light the dark depths. Enemies come at you, and if you change your colour to match them then you’ll absorb their energy which will recharge your flashlight; misjudge it, and your flashlight dims.
But the enemies aren’t your biggest threat, your biggest problem are dark blodges. Invisible unless illuminated by your flashlight, you have to make sure you dodge them. The trick is, it’s all to easy to get caught up switching (say) your flashlight to red and racing down the screen trying to absorb a flight of red enemies, only to smack into a dark patch near the bottom of the screen that you forgot to check for.
It’s an interesting and innovative game and well worth trying for 80 Microsoft Points.
Here’s what the developer (Frank’s Shop Games) has to say about the game:
“Sensory Overload is an experimental game, from a new suite of developers, exploring the sensation of flying in near blindness, with only a small headlight, and music, to tell you what’s going to come at you next.”
Writings of Mass Deduction 