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Tesla vs Lovecraft. What a name. I fully admit the name is what got me to click on the game on Steam to see what it was all about. It’s a twin-stick shooter from the same developer that brought us some others in the genre including Crimsonland and Neon Chrome. The game is about Nikola Tesla going up against H.P. Lovecraft and his army of monsters. Personally, I think it’s an interesting premise, especially for a twin-stick shooter. Developed and published by 10Tons, Tesla vs Lovecraft was released for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Switch in 2018. For this review, I played the PC version.
There’s not much in the way of plot and everything you need to know is established in the beginning. Author H.P. Lovecraft steals Nikola Tesla’s inventions and opens a dimensional gateway for his monsters to come through. Players are put in the shoes of Telsa as he battles his way through armies of monsters in an effort to stop Lovecraft. There is a map screen where you can select the different stages and the game is set in Lovecraft’s Arkham. Having knowledge of the two historic figures and their work can be helpful but is not necessary to enjoy the game.
I’m going to be honest; I enjoyed this game more than I thought I would. Every time I fire it up, I end up playing for hours. The gameplay is fun and unlocking things is what makes it addictive and the gunplay and combat feel great thanks to solid gore and visual effects. So here’s how it works; you go from stage to stage blowing away waves of foes and find and earn Aether Crystals. They act as currency that can be spent to unlock and upgrade inventions, or in other words, permanent bonuses. The higher the plane or difficulty, the more crystals you’ll find and earn. Unlocking more bonuses does make things easier. But upgrades become more expensive so you’ll need more crystals and the fastest way to get more is by playing on a harder plane.
The planes are the game’s form of difficulty. Harder planes means a tougher challenge and higher chance of Elite Monsters spawning in. The amount of monsters you defeat is tracked and killing a certain amount of each type does reward you with crystals. As you play through a stage, pickups will spawn including weapons, abilities, and power-ups. And as you progress through the game, additional weapons, abilities, and perks are unlocked. You’ll also unlock Daily Quests which reward you with crystals when completed and the Survival game mode. Once in a stage, you earn experience for killing monsters and when you earn enough, you level up and can select one of multiple perks. Plus, leveling up means better weapons will spawn. An important thing to know is that your level and selected perks only last for that stage. Once you complete the stage or die, you will start again with nothing. Inventions act as the permanent bonuses and that’s where the crystals come in. You spend crystals on inventions to unlock and upgrade bonuses.
The very beginning of the game will introduce you to the mechanics and you’ll quickly unlock certain inventions that equate to mechanics like teleport and the mech. Tesla can teleport around the battlefields to quickly get around and even teleport through obstacles. It becomes a crucial mechanic, allowing you to easily escape mobs. Teleport can even be upgraded so that teleporting through enemies will damage them. After finding all the mech parts in the beginning of the game, Tesla will then start every subsequent stage in a mech which only lasts for a limited time. But mech parts will spawn on the battlefields and collecting them all will allow you to enter it again. When not in a mech, Tesla is on-foot and can fire away with whatever weapon he has equipped and unleash a special ability. Additional weapons and abilities will spawn as you play and there is a chance an Epic weapon will spawn which is simply a much more efficient variant.
The gameplay can be fast-paced and intense, especially on harder planes where more Elite Monsters will appear. Tesla will always be outnumbered and it’s very easy to get overwhelmed. Unlocking and upgrading inventions or bonuses does help and knowing what perks to select and what weapons and abilities to use become more important as things get tougher. The different power-ups that spawn can really be helpful, especially in a pinch and achieving multi-kills will result in bonus power-ups spawning in. The mech is also extremely helpful and does benefit from the perks you select. All the different pickups that spawn are the game’s way of encouraging you to keep moving during battles although the armies of monsters coming from every direction should do a good job of that as well.
The game takes you to various locations around Arkham and each one is like a small arena. You can replay any already completed stages or locations but completing a stage on one plane does not not unlock it on a harder one. The idea is to play through the game multiple times, each time on a more difficult plane or difficulty and beyond in the Dreamland planes, if you own the DLC. You can get through the Normal plane, which is the easiest, in a single sitting. It’s not a very long game but is designed to be replayed. Harder planes may take you longer to get through and at a certain point, you may find yourself farming for crystals so you can unlock more bonuses to help you get through the more challenging battles and I find it does become addictive.
Visually, I would say Telsa vs Lovecraft looks decent. I enjoy the presentation. It’s very colorful and you get to splatter monster blood all over the environments and I feel the Lovecraft elements here are well represented. In my opinion, the visual presentation does a good job conveying not only the locations and monsters but also the mysterious and eerie feel of many of Lovecraft’s stories. The music also helps to an extent. There are some really jamming tunes here mixed with more eerie and ominous stuff. On the technical side, I’m happy to say I did not encounter any issues.
I had an amazing time with Tesla vs Lovecraft. In fact, I think it’s the best twin-stick shooter 10Tons has made so far I find the premise interesting, the gameplay fun and addictive, and it’s easy to jump into. The controls are simple and comfortable and I say that as someone who played the game with a keyboard and mouse and controller and the experience can even be enjoyed with buddies in local co-op. It’s a game that should keep you occupied and I found that any farming or grinding mostly comes into play once you get to the Dreamland planes. The Lovecraft mythos is well represented in my opinion but even if you haven’t read a single Lovecraft story or know much about Nikola Tesla, that shouldn’t hinder your enjoyment of the game.
I absolutely recommend Tesla vs Lovecraft. It’s a fun and addictive twin-stick shooter with an interesting choice of characters. Even if Telsa and Lovecraft were replaced, it would still be a fun time. But I think those characters and the Lovecraft elements in particular give it a unique charm and atmosphere which I also think helps make it stand out among others of its kind. It’s a game that can be enjoyed in short bursts or long sessions and should keep you coming back. Definitely check it out.