Where to get it

2023 · Fighting · Indie

Otxo

OTXO is a fast, brutal, violent roguelite, filled with precise but savage gunplay and time-bending slow motion.

Released: 20 April 2023
Platforms: Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Windows
Genres: Fighting Indie Shooter Simulation Strategy Top-down shooter
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Action
Age ratings: PEGI 18 ESRB M
Languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Spain)
Time to beat: 10hmain story28hcompletionist

About

Otxo is a 2023 top-down shooter game developed by Lateralis Heavy Industries and published by Super Rare Originals. The game follows an unnamed protagonist as he traverses through a supernatural mansion with randomly-generated floors, killing all enemies inside as he searches for his long lost lover, who is trapped inside the mansion. The player is able to use a variety of weapons and abilities against the enemies, of which a main ability is known as "Focus", a meter that allows the player to manipulate and slow down time to their advantage in combat. Around a hundred extra performance-enhancing abilities are obtainable via numerous beverages that the player is able to purchase at a bar. It is presented in a black-and-white art style, with the exception of red being used to represent blood and gunfire.

Otxo was inspired by the video game Hotline Miami (2012) and the John Wick film series. The game was first revealed in late 2021 via a teaser trailer on the Lateralis YouTube channel and was released for Windows in April 2023. Ports for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 released in March 2024. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise towards the sound design and fast-paced combat, but criticisms toward its roguelike aspects and replayability, which some considered weak. It was compared to its inspiration Hotline Miami by numerous publications, with some considering it equal in quality to the game.

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Gameplay

Otxo is a top-down shooter game with numerous roguelike aspects presented in a black-and-white pixel artstyle, with the sole exception of red, which is used to demonstrate blood and gunfire. In the game, the player assumes the role of an unnamed, silent protagonist as they traverse through several different floors in a supernatural mansion, each randomly generated from a pool of 150 different rooms. Player health and resources within the game are limited, which may require the player to improvise their combat through different methods, such as stealth or fast-paced action. While some of these rooms may have a bar, boss fight, or some sort of narrative exposition, most are filled with fast-paced enemies which plan out their attacks, taking cover and moving positions when attacked.

Otxo allows the player to defeat these enemies using a variety of weapons found across the mansion, which can be acquired from the bodies of defeated enemies. The player can also use special moves such as a dodge roll and an ability known as "Focus", which slows down time and allows the player to evade gunfire. The player is also able to defeat enemies through various other methods, such as hitting them with doors or kunai and grenades. Defeating enemies will award the player with coins, with better performance in combat awarding the player extra coins via a multiplier.

Story

Otxo begins with an unnamed silent protagonist and his lover sitting down on a bench, where he puts on a mysterious mask and falls asleep. Shortly after, he wakes up on the beach of a supernatural mansion, in which his lover is lost and trapped. Approaching the mansion, the protagonist meets up with a bartender who offers him a free imported beverage before the protagonist begins his massacres of most inside the mansion. Occasionally, the protagonist will run into a supernatural enemy that takes the form of some sort of monster, which he defeats before continuing his rampage.

Throughout the course of the game, he also continues to meet up with the bartender he meet earlier, while encountering a few other characters. Small pieces of backstory on inhabitants of mansion are provided to the protagonist during his travels.