Bartlow's Dread Machine

Release Date: September 29, 2020

Action, for 2 players, indie games, shoot 'em up, co-op, alternative history, splitscreen, early 20th century, multiplayer, singleplayer

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The original twin-stick shooter, in which we play the Secret Service agents trying to get President Roosevelt out of the kidnappers' hands. Bartlow's Dread Machine stands out thanks to its unique mechanics and graphics, which make the game similar to mechanical puppet theater.

Plot
Mechanics
Game modes
Technical aspects

Bartlow's Dread Machine is a twin-stick shooter whose action is embedded in an alternative, steampunk reality. Production was developed by the Beep Games studio (whose portfolio includes a three-dimensional VooDoo Vince Remastered platformer and a puzzle game called Light Tracer) and Tribetoy studio (authors of the Bow to Blood series).

Plot

Bartlow's Dread Machine tells an alternate version of the story, according to which in 1907, long before electronics flourished, inventor Arthur Harrington Bartlow created the first arcade machine. Although the machine was supposed to be used for fun, it often hurt users, so it didn't gain popularity and consequently lost its popularity in the darkness of history, together with its author. However, the notes left by Bartlow and the fragments of the machine were to allow the Beep Games team to faithfully reproduce the machine in this video game.

Bartlow's Dread Machine moves us to the United States from the early 20th century. In the course of the game we play as Secret Service agents, whose task is to rescue President Theodore Roosevelt from the hands of the kidnappers - anarcho-satanists. When beings not from this world are involved in a case, not only the fate of the president, but also the future of millions of American citizens depends on the success of the mission.

Mechanics

Bartlow's Dread Machine starts with choosing one of eight agents, each of whom has individual abilities and uses different weapons. In addition, there are alternative versions of historical figures waiting to be unlocked here, such as the shooter-electric Annie Oakley or General George Custer, who performs here as a zombie.

During the game we observe the action from the bird's eye view - sometimes the camera presents the events a little more from the side, and in other cases it stands directly above the protagonists' heads. During the game, we move along clearly visible paths and eliminate hordes of enemies standing in our way. We have at our disposal both conventional weapons, such as shotguns or rifles, as well as a more original arsenal - among others, an electric cannon designed by Nikola Tesla or even a radium launcher constructed by Maria Sklodowska-Curie. From time to time, we can also take the helm of vehicles or machines from the era, at the forefront of which are still new automobiles.

The chase leads the characters through various locations. Agents visit, among other things, New York's Central Park, San Francisco, the newly built Panama Canal, the South American jungle or the Great Plains in the north.

Game modes

Bartlow's Dread Machine can be played alone or in local co-op mode.

Technical aspects

The graphic design of Bartlow's Dread Machine's brings to mind mechanical puppet theatre. Its individual elements look like they are made of tin, the scenography is laid out before our eyes, and the characters move along specific paths. The game goes on to the accompaniment of a catchy soundtrack, for which Steve Kirk used instruments from the era - hammer dulcimering, harmonies or even early electronic gadgets.

Videos and Screens

[1:37] Bartlow's Dread Machine trailer #1