Super Time Force Ultra

Here's a CLASSIC run-and-gun game where getting hit once means death. Except there's a little REWIND button that transforms it from an old-school homage to a next generation title. REWIND lets you go back in time and add a layer of gun-play at virtually any point. *That means instead of having your 1st character run through the stage, you layer on top your 2nd character's run. * That means you can be at two places at one time. * That means you're fighting enemies with essentially 2 characters' worth of firepower. * That means if you died with your 1st character, you could potentially save your 1st character from death by using the 2nd to kill off the enemy before they touch the 1st character. Successful saves allow you to merge your two characters into one mega character with merged weapons and the ability to take more hits. * That means you can layer a 3rd character and a 4th and a 5th and a 6th, etc on top of the other runs. It is fast, frenetic, and challenging as a run-n-gun. But it's also ingenious, and tests your wits with its puzzle-like layering. Add in a dash of humor, and the ability to replay stages for better runs, and you've got a completely fresh take on an old genre.

STFU is a really fun arcade action side scrolled with initial difficult that is a tad easy but set up more to have fun than challenge. You side scroll dodging bullets and knocking down bad guys until you die then rewind to whatever earlier point in the level to play alongside the 'ghost' of your first trial, repeat. Some levels are set up where death is essential for one martyr to race ahead and push a switch or block a foe. The many characters feel unique with a diverse play style (some are rapid fire, others melee only, etc). Some characters are not included in the GOG edition, Left 4 Dead / Valve items are Steam exclusive, and while it's a bummer they get more the rooster does not feel incomplete. Beating the game once unlocks a 'Hardcore' mode and several characters require you collect items can be difficult to unlock. On initial difficult I only found 2-3 levels that were really difficult, but 100%ing everything might make things more complicated if you are into collecting stars, etc. STFU is a blast to play with an inventive twist - short (I completed it in 2 days on default) but really creative and worth playing.

4/5 for learning curve. Fast and frantic action, much in line with Gunstar Heroes. On-the-fly character swapouts add variety. Time rewinding allows rectifying goofs. Obsticles and enemy placements encourage experimentation. Modest hardware requirements. XInput controller (360 and Logitech F series) compatible. Runs great on Linux Mint (17.3 64bit) and Windows 10. Time rewinding and character swapping mechanics may frustrate some.

Fun to play. Easy to pickup. Played with xbox360 controller. My game of the year 2014.