Vindictive Drive 2: Maidbot Archive by Bokensha Studio
I’ve lamented the death of Flash games before. It was truly the Wild West of game design, with the next potential sleeper hit just a free click away.
However, it’s important to avoid having rose-tinted glasses here. While some Flash games were amazing, some felt like severely flawed shots at something bigger that didn’t quite land. Unfortunately, in its current state, Vindictive Drive 2:Maidbot Archive reminds me of THOSE Flash games.
Got It Maid
Set against a cyberpunk backdrop, Vindictive Drive 2 attempts to tell a story of revenge, accomplished via the use of – what else?! – robot maids.
The game makes a clear attempt from the outset at centering the story, featuring comic-book-style scenes that attempt to flesh out the characters. Unfortunately, the dialogue is meandering and excessively wordy at the best of times, making an outwardly simple game shockingly difficult to follow.
In terms of gameplay, the game is divided between character interactions in its central hub, followed by either stealth action or bullet hell-style shooter sections. This is where the maids come into play, as unlocking more of them allows you to use different abilities and tactics during the action sequences.
Unfortunately, however, these are all let down by a number of factors. Character movement is incredibly stiff and unwieldy, helped in no way by environment design that does very little to indicate what you can interact with and what you can’t.
Not only that, but even navigating the game’s menus and user interface is a chore. Things that look like they should be interactable often aren’t, and even trying to parse what the game wants you to click on next to advance the story is bafflingly obtuse. It’s legitimately frustrating.
Maid of Scars
Vindictive Drive 2’s art style also harkens back to the anime-style Flash games of the early 2000s. In some ways, it’s actually charming, with distinctive character designs that are probably the most memorable thing about the game. The maids even have voice acting from professional voice actors, which is a commendable bit of polish.
Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, the rest of the game’s production design is currently kind of a mess. Environments blend together and end up looking like a grey and black sludge, and it genuinely began to hurt my eyes after a while. The music doesn’t fare much better.
Again, it truly feels like the kind of game I’d have played for free on Newgrounds in the 2000s.
The Verdict
A preview this negative is never fun to give, and I do genuinely applaud Vindictive Drive 2 for its ambition. It’s a game clearly made by someone with appreciation for things like anime, shoot-’em-up games, and the cyberpunk genre.
Unfortunately, in its current state, it needs a lot of work to have any chance of making a mark on the already vastly overcrowded Steam marketplace. I hope it manages to prove me wrong.
Vindictive Drive 2: Maidbot Archive is available in Early Access via Steam and Itch.io.
Watch the trailer for Vindictive Drive 2: Maidbot Archive below:
