Parents' Guide to The Textorcist: The Story of Ray Bibbia

There's no shortage of gaming hybrids out there, that mixing and matching genres, styles, and gameplay in uniquely creative ways, but this one falls apart at its Frankenstein-like seams. The Textorcist: The Story of Ray Bibbia is a strange mix that starts off well enough, but it pushes its host of gimmicks too far to quick, winding up as a nearly unplayable mess by the end. For starters, the game can't ever quite decide what it wants to be. It's got a retro, pixelated look, but it still tries to be "edgy" and dark. The dialogue cracks silly tongue-in-cheek one-liners right before commenting on selling drugs to kids or forcing girls into sex rings. It makes for some uncomfortably awkward laughs unless you've got a particularly dark sense of humor.

The Textorcist's identity crisis extends into its gameplay as well. One minute, it's an adventure game, with players exploring their surroundings, interrogating people, and uncovering clues to the overall mystery. The next minute, it's a bullet hell shoot 'em up with a typing tutorial tossed into the mix. At first blush, it might seem impossible to constantly switch between moving around the screen dodging bullets and then quickly and accurately typing out phrases (in English and in Latin). But early on, it actually seems surprisingly doable, and even pretty fun. It makes for a chaotic environment that provides a good test of both deft reflexes and quick thinking. Problems arise as players progress in the game. The game's difficulty increases pretty quickly, and as a result, the playability decreases just as fast. What begins as a challenge becomes a frustration before finally just becoming an act of virtual self-flagellation.