I watched the trailer for "Hellscreen" (opens in new tab), a boomer shooter with a striking teal and red color palette and a unique twist, and was impressed. But at the same time, I thought, "Yeah, this is a cool trick, but probably just a gimmick, right?" I decided to try out Realms Deep 2022's free demo of Hellscreen.

Hellscreen needs nothing else. Rearview mirrors do.

It is not just a tool for situational awareness. When you right-click, a small gun and reticle pops up on the miniscreen and fires backward (this can be blown out and back in with the shift key). As an incentive to use this feature, Hellscreen doubles the damage if you fire while moving forward, and quadruples the damage if you fire backward while moving forward. I felt like I was wrestling with a whole new realm of 3D movement, like the gravity-defying gunfights in They Came From Dimension X (open in new tab), and successful mirror shots like those of Annie Oakley and Buster Scruggs (open in new tab) It's supremely satisfying to make them.

Hellscreen is further tipped into the main mechanic by enemies and hazards that can only be handled in rear view. Some enemies are only visible on the second screen and are vulnerable, while certain areas of the demo completely block the main view and require navigating in reverse. In spirit, it reminds me of the best Nintendo Wii and DS games that squeezed every innovation and fun out of those strange control inputs, and in fact, Hellscreen would be perfect for the otherworldly Nintendo 4DS.

One caveat: if you get motion sickness, you might want to stay away from Hellscreen. I've never even had a problem with VR before, but I did feel my stomach drop like I was on a roller coaster. A selling point for me, but something to be aware of.

[10] Hellscreen has been in the works for several years and we first reported on its trailer (opens in new tab) and Kickstarter (opens in new tab) campaign in 2017 and '18, but putting extra time in the oven really brought it together It looks like Hellscreen will be released in Early Access before April (Q1 2023). You can check out a demo and wishlist "Hellscreen" on the "Hellscreen" Steam (opens in a new tab) page.