Headlander

Headlander takes on an old setting with a new formula and does it just right. The Balance between combat and puzzle-solving is quite good but the story might leave you unsatisfied, while the gameplay also gets repetitive after a few hours.

Quotation forthcoming.

Thanks to its settings, its universe and some good gameplay ideas, Headlander succeeds in delivering a tasteful experience. Even if a bit redundant and not really irreproachable technically speaking, this Double Fine game surely can make your head spin.

Headlander is entertaining, looks and sounds excellent, and gives off a cool vibe, but this isn't quite a classic.

Hitting the right balance of puzzle and action with a proper dose of true `80s nostalgia, the majority of Headlander is a treat to play and to watch. That being said, its ending segment has a few head-scratching moments, including an uninspired “Simon says” memory game, and a final boss fight that is as frustrating as it is formulaic; the boss has three main segments of health and changes style after each segment is depleted, followed by a surprise re-birth into yet another form.

Headlander is an okay game made much better by a suitably daft concept, and the way it’s presented. It’s an amusing take on the Metroidvania-style genre that adds little new mechanically.

Headlander is a tease — a conglomerate of great ideas that tapered at the halfway point in favor of very basic “find the right color robot body” mechanics, lack of continued humor, and a middling story at best.

Although I absolutely love the aesthetics and concept of Headlander, the non-combat gameplay is only fair, and it’s brought down further with too much combat detracting from the things it does well. I was interested enough to stick around and see how things turned out at the end, but there were definitely a few times when I walked away and took a break out of annoyance. Like so many other examples before it, Headlander is another could-have-been that just doesn’t play to its strengths.

Double Fine offers a unique game with a retro futuristic 70's style and strong gameplay. This Metroidvania does miss new features and the story could be better.

What starts as a fine homage to Super Metroid and ‘70s style sci-fi ends as a disappointing waste of both story and gameplay potential.