Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer

Did You Know?

• Slayers X was made available on Xbox Game Pass on its release day.
• An extra campaign was teased alongside the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation announcement.

Synopsis

Slayers X is a boomer shooter inspired by 90s games such as Duke Nukem 3D and Redneck Rampage. In-universe, it is a total conversion modification for the fictional game Kataklysm, developed by Zane Lofton partly in the 1990s and finished in 2023 with help from his friend Adam Chase. Zane, now 38, is depicted as immature, and the game contains deliberate spelling errors and malapropisms. The story follows Zane as a member of the X-Slayers, vigilantes who use mystical hackblood. After the Psyko Sindikate destroys his apartment, kills his mother, hacks his computer, murders his mentor Mikey Sikey, and kidnaps fellow X-Slayer Steffanie, Zane seeks revenge against the Psykos and their leader Mevin Raniels, who is based on Zane's former boss and stepfather. Levels are inspired by Boise, Idaho, and the soundtrack is by the in-universe band Seepage, influenced by real bands like Linkin Park.

Reception

Slayers X received generally favorable reviews on PC according to Metacritic. Before release, Rock Paper Shotgun's Liam Richardson called the demo exactly what he hoped it would be. PC Gamer's Rich Stanton found the humor love-it-or-hate-it but charming. Upon release, Richardson praised the game as an accurate depiction of what teens found cool in the 2000s and noted its similarity to the build engine despite not using it; he named it one of his favorite indie games of 2023. TechRadar's Jordan Forward-Lamb appreciated the creativity and 90s setting but cited difficulty spikes and frustratingly old-school FPS design. Destructoid's Zoey Handley found the game too short, with too few enemies and weapons and bad flow, though some flaws may be deliberate; she enjoyed it as a character exploration of Zane. DualShockers' Robert Zak compared the protagonist to a younger, less studly Duke Nukem, found some dialogue grating, but enjoyed the repetitive gameplay and nostalgia.