Flynn's Arcade, the publisher of games like Donut Dodo, Murtop, and Cash Cow DX, is gearing up to release another arcade throwback later this month across Nintendo Switch and Steam.
Silver Bullet, as the game is called, is the latest title from 1CC Games — a small London-based game studio comprised of James Ensing (code and design) and Dan Reaney (graphics, sound, and design) — and is a gallery-style shoot 'em up, inspired by games like Cabal and Wild Guns: Reloaded.
It has players taking control of the famous monster hunter Van Helsing on a quest to save his dog Silver's puppies from pet-nabbing monsters, with the presentation featuring a cute retro aesthetic and "spooky synth pop bops" created using the now-legendary YM2612 sound chip (the classic sound chip featured in the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis).
Players are given the goal of working their way through a creepy old mansion, haunted hallways, and a ghost train, with the aim being to blast away at everything in sight, from werewolves to bats and zombies.
They are not alone in this task, however, with the character Van Helsing also having the ability to call his dog Silver to attack enemies and unlock additional bonus items. Elsewhere, there is also a built-in progression and power-up system featured in the game, too, which you can take advantage of using golden coins that can be found hidden throughout each level.
Unlockables include stronger weapons than your standard crossbow, as well as an optional minigame called Terror Blocks, which seems to be a falling block puzzle title.
The game is scheduled to launch on October 30th, across both Steam and Switch, and looks to us to be the perfect solution for retro gaming fans who want something Halloween-themed to play to celebrate the spooky season, but don't necessarily have the stomach for the other, more gruesome or intense horror experiences that are being offered elsewhere.
You can wishlist the Silver Bullet on Steam here, ahead of its full release, if it sounds like something you might want to check out in more detail. A page is also live on the Nintendo Switch eShop.