SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell review

Reviewed on: PS4

Playing SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell was an unusual experience for me. I admit I have never been the kind of player who does speedruns, especially in platformers, since my motor coordination is not that sharp. That said, my initial impression of Pine Studio‘s first-person platformer was not the best: I found it hard, frustrating and unfair. But after several moments when I wanted to throw the controller at the wall, I realized it was exactly that frustration that made me want to play “just one more time” until I finally improved and managed to beat a stage that seemed impossible. From there the experience improved 100%.

At first glance SEUM looks like a Mirror’s Edge mod, made on the Quake engine and with Doom‘s settings: it is a first-person 3D platformer like the first, with the fast movement of the second and the infernal theme of the third. Here the focus, as the name suggests, is entirely on the speed with which you overcome obstacles to reach the end of the more than 100 stages. Each level has to be completed in a few seconds (the duration varies according to the number of obstacles) and the game, with the exception of a few rare visual cues, does not give you many indications of what to do to complete it, leaving trial and error, but thanks to the almost instant respawn this doesn’t get boring. This lack of clarity could be seen as a flaw, but here it works in the game’s favor, by encouraging the player to think of more “out of the box” solutions for some challenges, exploring the various mechanics the game presents.

The character moves fast and responds well to the controls, but it takes a while to get used to the game’s physics, since weight and speed influence movement significantly. To help get through the stages there is a great variety of powers available to the player. Available from the start, the ability to fire fireballs can be used to break parts of the scenery or light pyres that work as switches. Other powers such as teleport, gravity manipulation and duplication are introduced gradually throughout the game, but are only available in the stages where they need to be used. Things start to get really complicated in the more advanced stages, when you have to use powers together to reach platforms, because the game also doesn’t tell you (but expects you to find out) that physics also affects how the powers work, creating unexpected and crazy combinations.

SEUM’s story is as simple as it is boastful. A headbanger named Marty is at home enjoying a day off having a few drinks when Satan himself shows up to steal the booze. The devil manages to escape with the beer, but both lose an arm in the fight, so Marty sews the demonic arm in place of the one he lost, thus gaining powers, and heads to hell to get back his beer and his soul (but mostly the beer).

Visually SEUM is an old school game. The graphics are very reminiscent of Quake 3, with basic geometry and simple textures and lighting, which serve the purpose well, since the stages were made to be crossed in seconds and not admired in detail. And although the infernal theme is quite charming, with lots of fire, blood and spikes everywhere, it ends up a bit repetitive over the more than 100 stages. The heavy metal soundtrack, in turn, is great and works very well to accompany the crazy runs through infernal labyrinths, although some transitions between songs are a bit abrupt. The dialogue follows the boastful mood of the story and is very funny, especially the devil’s comments on your (bad) performance.

As simple a game as it may seem at first glance, SEUM has plenty of content. Besides the normal stages, there is a set of even harder extra levels, a speedrun mode (obviously) and an endless run mode along the lines of Temple Run. In addition, the stages are packed with secrets and collectibles to gather, such as the beer cans that unlock bonus stages.

SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell is not a game for everyone. At the start it wasn’t for me either, but with a bit of persistence I decided to embark on this infernal journey in search of the lost beer and I didn’t regret it at all. For speedrunners on duty or simply anyone with good reflexes who likes a challenge, it is a guarantee of hours and hours of anger (in a good way) and fun. Get your ticket to hell and good luck!

Story: 7.0

Mechanics: 8.5

Audio and visuals: 8.0

Worth the 15 dollars? Depending on your skill, patience and taste for hard platformers, yes.

(Reviewed on the PlayStation 4 version)