More than nine years after it was announced, Overgrowth’s surreal mix of wild animals, fast-paced martial arts, stealth, and gore is nearly upon us. The last beta version before a proper release arrived this week, bringing with it the game’s full story mode.
Those who have purchased the game early will be able to play through the full campaign now, which sees our rabbit hero Turner fight to protect the island of Lugaru from slavers. Expect hand-to-hand combat that relies upon timing and counters, segments where you sneak through shrubbery, and lots of blood.
The amount of gore in the game is emphasised by another tweak in this beta: you can now be impaled by spikes. That means some pretty gory clips of Turner’s limp body sliding down a wooden spear, blood spurting.
Other changes will make the game’s different animals more distinct. Cat enemies, for example, can now throw smaller weapons such as daggers, while rats can attach bits of the environment to their head as camouflage.
Developer Wolfire Games has fixed lots of bugs, too, and added new settings options including a brightness slider. The full change log is here.
Overgrowth is currently £22.99/$29.99 on Steam and the Humble Store. There’s no word on a final release date, but it shouldn’t be too long. I, for one, am looking forward to it.