Villordsutch reviews Sewer Rage on the ZX Spectrum…
Loading up another homebrewed game on the ZX Spectrum, we’re given the lowest of the low jobs, as we’re sent deep into the sewers of the UK, forced to fix them due to a mandatory work order from the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions). If you fail not only will you fall foul to the denizens of the human-waste filled deep, but your benefits will be cut off too! Welcome to Sewer Rage from The Death Squad.
We’ve played another game recently from The Death Squad – on the ZX Spectrum – which was Invasive Species and in that we had to become a Great British Wasp, tackling the onslaught of numerous garden pests; now here in the latest offering we find ourselves surrounded once again by bright coloured meanies that are intent on making our lives hell. Though our hero here in Sewer Rage is a floating head (plus fist) and we zip around the screen repairing the numerous broken pipes spread across numerous levels.
Initially these levels start off admittedly quite samey, however the difficulty soon arrives in the placement of pipe pieces and you find yourself leading the bugs around the screen so you can punch the final piece into place. Then as the levels progress the bugs get bigger, and the pieces are placed more erratically on the screen. You then notice the pace has really picked up.
Sewer Rage is a fast and frantic game, with the addition of some excellent 128K music from Yerzmyey along with some rather grand music from Frankt on the 48K which plays away in the background nicely. Not only this, but dropped inside the game folder is the Sinclair ZX Spectrum Vega key map and a cassette inlay for those that fancy dropping this on a real tape.
A couple of things I would have possibly liked to have seen added was perhaps a change in energy foods, I know fruit’n’veg is good for scurvy, but wouldn’t Monster/Red Bull (stores 15p own version of course) have been a better food product within this game. Also I reached level 9 without seeing any sewer pipes that had to be knocked over to the left or right (only up); if this doesn’t exist I think it would be a good addition to bring in a bit of variety into the game, as it would have spiced up the flow (no pun intended) a wee (and again) bit too.
The Death Squad has delivered another zippy, colourful game that will have you whizzing around the ZX Spectrum. There are faint echoes of Invasive Species within the game, but seeing as though I enjoyed that too this is not an overly bad thing.
You can download Sewer Rage free from The Death Squad’s site here.
Rating: 7/10
Originally published August 18, 2016. Updated June 30, 2023.
