This is going to be a fun review that I just honestly want
to get right into. I admit, I wouldn’t have played this game if not for the
review from the Game Overthinker, and I’m really glad I did. It’s October, so I
want to talk about Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night for the Nintendo DS.
Barnyard Blast is either a loving tribute and parody of, or
flat out rip of, Castlevania and Ghost n’ Goblins. You play as Robert Belmart
(subtle reference), a pig out to save his son, captured by the forces of evil
for… trying to tee-pee the ancient castle ruled by darkness. After grabbing all
his weapons, Roberts sets out on a dangerous journey through lands such as “the
Swamp Full of Disgusting Creepy-Crawlies” and “The Forrest in the Way”. Yeah,
if you didn’t get the hint from the gun wielding pig on the cover, I think it’s
pretty clear this is played for laughs and not really meant to be scary. And
it’s pulled off in a very charming way. Like with Serious Sam, they obviously
love the games that they’re referencing, enough to know what tropes make them
noteworthy and how to poke fun at it. The first cutscene, for example, mentions
how every small town seems to need an ancient evil castle nearby. They do a
great job at juxtaposing any dark tone that could be established with something
silly and it creates an atmosphere where you can just have fun. Even the joke
not directly referencing horror games or movies are very well timed, and the
references to other games (like Bad Dudes and Zelda) never feel forced. The
game makers knew what kind of tone they wanted to set and committed to it whole
heartedly.
The game play in Barnyard Blast is very similar to
Castlevania and Ghost n’ Goblins, but unique enough that it warrants
discussion. Like with both games, you’ll be moving slowly and defeating
seemingly endless hoards of enemies, along with a boss and mid-boss in each
level. However, unlike Ghosts n’ Goblins where you only had one weapon at a
time, or Castlevania where you have a basic weapon and a side arm you found in
game, Robert has 4 weapons available from the start. Your basic weapon is the
pistol, the weakest of the bunch, but the fastest with the best range. His next
weapon is the shotgun, a very strong attack, but you have to be ridiculously
close to hit and it runs on randomly dropped ammo (I used this one the least).
The only weapon that seems to be stronger than the shotgun is the dynamite,
which although power, has to land before exploding, so you need to distance
yourself well. It works well against stationary or slow moving bosses, so I’d
save them for that. And finally, you have the whip, which runs on these blue
hearts that acts like mana. The meter for it has two levels (light and dark
blue) and if you’re in the dark blue, your whip is much stronger.
The whip isn’t the only thing that runs on the blue hearts
though. As you’ll play, you’ll find special items. Some of these, like the HP
Regen, do use the SP for their effect while others, like the Super Jump, do
not. Making good use of these skills turned what was a challenging game to a
much more manageable experience. And yes, I just said this game can be a
challenge. Much like the games it’s based on, you’ll probably die a lot while
playing this game (which is probably why it takes just 10 stars to get a new
life), but once you know what to expect, how to deal with it and how to use all
your abilities to your advantage, your next play through shouldn’t be too hard.
Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night is a great game to play
on Halloween cause I think it represents what the holiday really stands for:
it’s about having fun with what SHOULD be scary. The same way vampires and
zombies are played for joy around this time of year is the same way Barnyard
Blast treats the tone of games like Castlevania. Beyond that, the game play is
good, though a bit stiff and difficult at times, and the game is really short.
The graphics and music are nothing to complain about, but admittedly very held
back (the cut scenes, for example, have no animation). If this was ever priced
like a Triple-A title, I would find that ridiculous, but since this is a budget
title now going for less than 10$ (since publisher DSI Games has now been
dissolved, though developer Sanuk Games still seems to be going) I recommend
you pick it up. Yeah, it’s a throw-back based game that might have been for a
niche audience when new, but at already 5 years old, playing this might be a
throw back in and of itself. I give Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night for the
Nintendo DS 6.5 levels out of 10.
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