Let's get one thing out of the way already. The visuals for this game look absolutely insane. Shoggoth Rising has originally launched on iOS and Android last December, but now it's on Windows Phone, too. You play as Ned, who has survived a shipwreck. You found a lighthouse, but you're far from being safe. Waves of sea creatures are going after you and you need to kill them before they kill you.
Head past the break to watch our gameplay video on the Nokia Lumia 930.
Immediately after launching the game, you'll be impressed with how it looks. The background on the main menu has lightning, rain, waves, and it's moving around like you're on a boat. Before you even start playing, we suggest heading over to the settings and tinker with the five graphics quality options: lowest, low, medium, high, and ultra. We've selected ultra on our Nokia Lumia 930.
You are positioned on top of the lighthouse. Use your weapons to prevent the creatures from climbing up to harm you. You start out with a gun called Blunderbuss, but eventually unlock other weapons such as a Rumgun and Cannon. They each have different damage points as well as ammunition. When the creatures get too close, you need a plank to hit them. It can also be upgraded to increase damage.
When things get overwhelming, you have special weapons that can help. The first one gets unlocked at level 7. It's called St. Elmo's Fire, which is a bolt of lightning that causes a lot of damage to all the creatures currently climbing up. There's a countdown after using the special weapon until you can use it again.
You can move the camera around for a better view of the creatures climbing up. It'll make it easier to shoot them. You can swipe up, down, left, right, and even pinch to zoom. The top of the screen displays your health. This decreases when the creatures get close and hit you. The round ends if the health meter reaches zero.
Surviving a round gives you money, which you can use to upgrade your weapons. It's necessary to upgrade because the creatures become stronger and harder to kill. They become faster, stronger, and even get bigger. The upgrade menu shows the weapons you currently have and displays the amount of damage you can cause if you upgrade. The prices increase as you go up a level.
There are currently 20 levels in the game grouped as the first episode. The second episode is listed in the menu, but it is currently locked with a message that says, "coming soon."
Shoggoth Rising costs 99 cents at the Windows Phone Store. Since it is a universal app, you can buy it once and install the game on both Windows Phone and Windows devices. There's also a free trial available. It's interesting that there are no in-app purchases available to get more credits. You actually have to play the game to earn the upgrades.
Check out Shoggoth Rising and let us know what you think in the comments!
- Download Shoggoth Rising from the Windows Phone Store
- Download Shoggoth Rising from the Windows Store (opens in new tab)
Thanks for the tip, Frank H.!
