Drawing inspiration from black & white graphic novels and classic arcade beat ‘em ups, The Man Called Merc will have players taking out machine menaces on the filthy streets of a pencil-drawn city.
The Merc, normally an assassin for hire, is more than equipped to deal with the fighting machines that are floating and crawling around town. Players can use Merc’s energy sword to slash at enemies that are close by, or swap that for firearms to shoot at things that are attacking from far away. Players will need to switch between these in a hurry, as the mechanical foes will be coming at them in huge waves.
The Man Called Merc promises to be a merciless challenge, as it starts the player off with only a single life. Players can help keep themselves in the game by collecting Nyons, which are energy sources of various colors. Green Nyons restore life, and can be kept in reserve in order to revive Merc should he die in a fight as well. Players can also collect blue Nyons to boot damage, or red ones to give them some extra speed.
The Man Called Merc offers four difficulty levels depending on how challenging the player wants it to be. However, they may wish to experience what it is like to fight killer robot bunnies on normal difficulty before moving to more challenging modes.
The Man Called Merc is currently in development, with a demo available on Itch.io. It is currently projected to release this year.
