Game Review: Single Malt Apocalypse (2023)
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Single Malt Apocalypse is a short form adventure story with JRPG elements that plays as much for muted comedy as it does for cosmic horror. One part Weird Tales, one part Lovecraft, it wears its influences on its sleeve while still managing to do something charming and original. The initial offering from one-person developer wilpuriarts, the game feels like an artful and considered first effort, I was instantly impressed with the level of polish in the pre-release version that I played.
The story opens with Leonardo, a mustachioed detective from Sacramento who shows up in the the small mining town of Cinderbrook to help a distiller named Algernon with a unique problem: his latest batch of whiskey has gone bad…so bad that it’s glowing bright pink and causing bizarre physical psychological changes in anyone who consumes it.
That’s it. That’s the story. Right now, you know if you’re in or not.
With that situation in mind, the game doesn’t spell out too much beyond the initial premise, and the player is left to explore the mystery in a non-linear fashion free of quest logs, cumbersome tutorials, or bloated menus. Exploration is consistently rewarding, and I never lacked a thread to pull on to move the story forward. SMA created a genuine sense that I was conducting an investigation, checking in to the dozen or so areas around the town and finding barriers I would eventually be able to remove in logical ways.
Charm City
Right from the beginning, I loved the vibe of Single Malt Apocalypse. The title puts as much craft into its aesthetic as its gameplay, and that bit of extra attention can be a critical element in taking a game from competently made to distinctly memorable. The citizens of Cinderbrook and the surrounding area are wide-eyed 8-bit goons who bop their head to the muted hi-hat lounge beat background music, and they’re as likely to make out-of-pocket non-sequitur statements as they are to comment on the pink whiskey and adjacent strangeness that has affected their town.
It’s at once absurd and keenly aware of its absurdity, creating this wonderful blend that comes out feeling a bit like what I’m going to now label as ‘South Park Noir’. You can interact with almost everything onscreen, and Leonardo offers blithe commentary on both the weirdness and inanity he encounters. Honestly, it doesn’t always make a great deal of sense, but does fit the uncanny comedic tone of the game, and so it works in my assessment.
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I mentioned the influences, and almost by definition these are things that must begin in the background and gradually reveal their nightmarish elements, and that progression holds true in SMA. At first, we get strange and dangerous animals with mutant features, and these gradually escalate to full-blown cosmic monstrosities and void-twisted humans. What’s really appreciable is that even as these darker elements escalate, SMA never changes its smarmy tone or takes itself too seriously, blending the dark with the comedic without leaning too far to either side.
For example, in one location Leonardo can disregard the local warnings and enter a barn where a large pig has been turned into a ghastly mutant by the mysterious whiskey. It’s a classic setpiece for a setting like this, but amid all the dread and forewarning set forth in the narrative, there’s also a rake on the ground just outside the farm that Leonardo can carelessly step on and smack himself in the face. I appreciate this so much, and little details like this keep the game in a bemusing by enjoyable frame.
We Should Have Shotguns
So far I’ve described a goofy, well-made indie game good for killing a few hours while eliciting a chuckle or two, and so you might expect that the gameplay mechanics would be an afterthought. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth, as this element is quite rich and surprisingly considered given the game’s short length. Character development, equipment diversity, and playstyle choices are strong enough to support a considerably longer game, and I suspect this may have served as a pilot or proof of concept for the dev.
Throughout the game, Leonardo and his three companions will gain power and durability, and develop useful skills and fighting styles that allow for a decent amount of customization. While some improvements come as a quest reward or the result of thorough investigation, most of them will be purchased, and money is just scarce enough in SMA that every choice feels meaningful. While it may be possible to attain every skill and upgrade in a single playthrough, this seems unlikely, as the number of available options seems to vastly outpace the meager amount of dollars you can amass. I think this is exceptionally well designed, as I really had to consider which upgrades to purchase, and I often had my eye on a particular enhancement as I scrimped and saved, hoping I could afford it before the game pushed me into more challenging content.
Beyond that, each character has a favored type of weapon which allows them to make use of extremely powerful special attack. This creates interesting choices a character’s preferred weapon may be something a particular boss is resistant to, or the best weapon you have available may be of an different type.
All of these elements makes for better gameplay, and I regularly swapped loadouts to deal with different challenges. I would love to the character development mechanics transposed into a longer game, and the avenues of experimentation expanded.
Is That Woodrow Wilson?
Single Malt Apocalypse is a great game, but there are a few issues. The pre-launch build I played had a somewhat jarring difficulty curve, being especially brutal both early and late in the game while being almost too easy in the middle. Much of the difficulty is due to a proliferation of elements which cause you to lose control of your character, such as stun or terror, and while these design decisions are thematically on-brand, they often leave the player helpless and doomed to reload their last save as there’s no way to mitigate them apart from favorable rolls. These instances cut sharply against the otherwise strong gameplay, but they aren’t overly frequent.
I’m all about challenge in a game, but when the challenge results in nothing more than the player having to repeatedly reload and hope for better RNG, it’s not really accomplishing anything. This is why games like Dark Souls are so lauded, as they teach with every punishment, and minimize random elements so that, even in the face of overwhelming odds, the player’s ultimate performance is largely in their hands. In the worst cases of SMA, I had to ask what was the point of basic enemies criting for 250% of my maximum health but posing little challenge otherwise?
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The finale of the story was especially challenging because of the aforementioned elements, and also because of the curious decision to have Leonardo’s companions stay behind as he presses on alone into the final stretch. Giving the player a single character in a JRPG-style game severely limits the dynamism of encounters, as you’re almost perpetually winning or losing the combat with very little opportunity to swing the momentum.
One particularly obnoxious battle in the final leg of the game saw Leonardo repeatedly stunned while the enemy used draining attacks to restore much of their health before the status effect would wear off. In this case, I was drawn into a cyclical war of attrition where I would spent two turns stunned and then two turns free, but making little to no progress. I would advocate for keeping the four-person party through the finale and increasing encounter difficulty accordingly.
To be clear, these frustrations and oversights are infrequent, and the stretches where the combat is fun and engaging far outpaces those where it is tedious. However, with such a short game, I feel it’s important to mention these elements, and they may have a spoiling affect for some.
Final Thoughts
Single Malt Apocalypse is a great way to spend a few hours. The story, while familiar, is paced and executed well, and the gameplay has just enough depth to remain interesting. It’s a debut that shows promise from the lone developer, and while I don’t think this game will ever be a breakout hit, I look forward to the developer’s sophomore effort and believe we could see some very good things from this creator in the future.
Verdict: 7.1/10
Strengths
Well-written, comedic horror
Good character development options
Captures the old school magic of JRPGs, warts and all
Glorious, off-beat aesthetic I’m labeling ‘South Park Noir’
Captures the best elements of the old school JRPG gameplay loop
Multiple endings add replayability
Weaknesses
Difficulty pacing isn’t quite there in the pre-release build
Systems feel like they deserve a longer game
Challenging encounters can be very RNG-dependent
You can pre-purchase Single Malt Apocalypse on Steam. The game is schedule to release on August 4th, 2023.
You may also like: Dragon Warrior, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Final Fantasy I-VI
