8Days Review

Let's take a walk down memory lane with 8Days. You get to choose to play as either Mike "Ghost" Doe or Lola "Wasp" Cruz. Ghost is an Australian which is widely known as the country where everything wants to kill you. You'd think this would make Ghost the kind of person to be in a game like 8Days. Wasp was born in the mountains of Chiapas and is a woman scorned after the murder of her mentor. 

These two mercenaries are part of a group known as G.O.D, which stands for Gold, Oil and Diamonds. No matter which one you decide to play as, you're going to be in for a hard time as you fight against global nuclear threats, Middle East fighters and city riots whilst travelling to the most dangerous places unimaginable. 

8Days is an 8-bit style shooter with graphics that genuinely recreate the feel of our platforms of yesteryear. The only part of this game that doesn't scream out "Old School" is the analogue aiming system it has which imitates a common day dual stick shooter.

Missions take place around the world within the confines of five separate missions. Each mission has the ability to be completed by taking different paths and approaches. Sometimes the high road is easier than the low road. The enemies in the game are tricky to get a grasp on due to their unpredictable movements and location spawns. When you've died the 20th time in the same area, just when you think you've got it down pat, you'll find a sneaky enemy tucked away somewhere new.

8Days is a single player game, however you do have the option of pairing up the two mercs with local co-op play. 

The frustration factor pings out at a massive 10 out of 5 in 8Days due to the true to life difficulty that this game features. You'll die, you'll restart and you'll do that over and over and over again until the sweat starts to bead off your forehead in a 12 degree Celsius climate. There are so many ways you will die in 8Days, including being shot, stabbed, blown up and even for just falling off the edge of a cliff. There will be no rest for the wicked if you want to take on this bad boy. Someone once told me that Dark Souls was hard. Not compared to this beast. You have limited health, minimal chances to pick up health packs and if you die, the checkpoints are far and between. At least there are checkpoints so I guess that's a start.

The frustration for reward and sense of achievement is high here so when you finally get past that level or boss, you will feel proud of yourself when that elusive achievement or trophy pops up onto your screen. 

8Days is definitely not a game for everyone. It's also far from a sit back and relax your Sunday away kind of game. This is a game for someone with immense staying power and a certain eagerness to challenge the hell out of one's self. You might find yourself damaging your controller of choice only five minutes into this game but that's part of its charm. If you're searching around for a challenging game that has the feel of a quality old school shooter, this is probably what you want. Take some deep breaths before hitting this one up though and you'll need a shot of brandy handy for when the pain sets in.