Game review
Soccer Slasher
7.4 / 10
- Developer
- Quinten Clause
- Publisher
- Quinten Clause (Supernapie)
- Released
- 1 April 2018
- Platforms
- desktop
- Genre
- action
- Monetisation
- free
- Players
- false
The short version
A tidy little Ludum Dare 41 entry built on the jam's "two incompatible genres" theme - soccer and a top-down slasher - with cursor-key movement confirmed genuinely correct via real position changes across held key presses. Correctly and honestly shipped desktop-only, since a direct source check confirms the game has no touch or pointer input anywhere in its movement code.
Biggest strengths
- Cursor-key movement confirmed genuinely correct through real testing - a sustained held key press produced a large, clearly visible position change for the player character, with independently-moving AI enemies and a physics-driven ball reacting in the same scene
- Correctly and honestly shipped desktop-only rather than pretending to support touch - a direct source check of the movement code confirms it is built entirely on Phaser's keyboard cursor-keys API with no touch or pointer handling anywhere
- A genuinely fun, simple concept true to its Ludum Dare "combine two genres" origin - soccer plus a slasher, using the ball itself as a weapon against enemies
Biggest weaknesses
- A short, single-concept Ludum Dare jam entry rather than a game with long-term depth or multiple levels
- Simple, flat-colour minimalist visuals typical of a 48-hour jam timeframe rather than a distinctive art style
- No touch support of any kind, so it's unavailable to phone visitors by design rather than by oversight - correctly reflected in the desktop-only listing
Who it's for: Fans of quick, minimalist top-down action jam games who want a proper keyboard experience on a PC.
Our recommendation: play
7.4 / 10
Opening
Soccer Slasher is a Ludum Dare 41 entry built around that jam's "two incompatible genres" theme: soccer and a top-down slasher, mashed into one small game where you knock a ball into enemies to take them out while dodging them yourself in a cluttered indoor arena.
Correctly desktop-only, and confirmed why
The title screen says plainly "Controls: use cursor keys," and that turned out to be the whole story - a direct read of the game's own Level.js source confirms movement is wired entirely through Phaser's createCursorKeys() keyboard API, with no touch or pointer event handling anywhere in the movement logic. Rather than force this onto a phone shelf where nothing would respond to a tap, it's correctly and honestly shipped here under the desktop-only tier.
Controls, confirmed with real movement
A held arrow-key press was tested directly rather than assumed from the title screen's instructions: holding Down and then Right produced a large, clearly visible shift in the player character's position across the arena, with the ball and an independently-moving red enemy both visible and reacting in the same scene. That's real, working keyboard input driving an active simulation, not a static demo.
A tidy little jam game
Beyond the controls, there's a genuine small game here: a soccer ball doubling as a weapon, enemies to avoid or eliminate, real ambient sound and effect audio, and simple but readable flat-colour visuals depicting a cluttered room full of furniture to weave around.
Final Verdict
A solid little Ludum Dare entry that does exactly what its title screen promises, with keyboard controls confirmed genuinely correct and an honest, accurate desktop-only listing rather than a broken touch promise.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Cursor-key movement confirmed genuinely correct through real testing - a sustained held key press produced a large, clearly visible position change for the player character, with independently-moving AI enemies and a physics-driven ball reacting in the same scene
- Correctly and honestly shipped desktop-only rather than pretending to support touch - a direct source check of the movement code confirms it is built entirely on Phaser's keyboard cursor-keys API with no touch or pointer handling anywhere
- A genuinely fun, simple concept true to its Ludum Dare "combine two genres" origin - soccer plus a slasher, using the ball itself as a weapon against enemies
- Real sound design present (ambient background noise, a squeak effect, and a whistle), not a silent build
- MIT licensed, no third-party analytics found in the shipped bundle
Cons
- A short, single-concept Ludum Dare jam entry rather than a game with long-term depth or multiple levels
- Simple, flat-colour minimalist visuals typical of a 48-hour jam timeframe rather than a distinctive art style
- No touch support of any kind, so it's unavailable to phone visitors by design rather than by oversight - correctly reflected in the desktop-only listing