I was an unimaginative child, spending most of the time arguing with my brother of which of our toys had a stronger force field (Mine did) instead of putting our action figures through elaborate foot races. I think that was a missed opportunity after watching the trailer for Steam Early Access title Action Henk, because it looks like a lot of fun.
The premise of the game is racing a bunch of different action figures to the finish line across a sprawling, multi-path orange race track (You know, the one every kid but me owned). The game is focused on physics, friction, and momentum, so you can slide and build up speed using its various ramps, loops, and paths. You can build up a lot of speed in this game, and since the floor of your bedroom is clearly lava, you have to be careful not to tumble off the track. Or lose to the other racers. Or lose your speed. So you’ve got a lot to worry about while playing.
I’ve seen this kind of gameplay before, but it’s the look of the game that really grabbed me. The characters you race with are all toys, and they all bear a strong resemblance to the claymation cartoons I watched as a kid. I don’t think anything screams toys and eighties much more than claymation, and it gives all of the characters these unique, over-exaggerated looks. They all just look so happy to be racing that I’d feel guilty not taking them out for a run. Also, the tracks all look like something a child would build with what was on-hand, so the developers at RageSquid really look like they’ve done an awesome job on the game’s visual theme.
So, fun to look at and fun to play. Might be good enough reasons to drop $9.99 on Action Henk‘s Early Access.
