As the wait for Hollow Knight: Silksong grows longer, other Soulsy creature features are rushing to fill the gap. We had Deviator last week – now, it’s time for a whole bunch of goosebumps in the form of Perennial Order. The title makes it sound like you’re getting potted geraniums delivered off eBay. The underlying gameplay is essentially a “plant horror” boss rusher with twin-stick melee controls, unlockable “Instinct” abilities, and one-hit kills.
As a gift to title writers everywhere, the developers, four-person Gardenfiend Games, are calling it “Hollow Knight meets Titan Souls,” and who am I to deny them? It's got one of those “painterly” art styles, too, but other words like “rotten,” “unholy,” and “dirty” come to mind. It's out September 6. You'll find a trailer nestled beneath this paragraph like a Venus flytrap ready to clamp around your fingers.
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The last boss rusher I seriously got into was Furi from The Game Bakers. Assuming you don't enjoy writhing egg sacs or nodachi-wielding mushrooms, this one seems a lot less cheerful. I'll admit I enjoyed the spectacle of a giant skeletal boss playing chess with snotty animated pieces, but that's only because I'd rather fight a bony board game player than the glowing-eyed, tentacle-nosed clot of darkness that chases you elsewhere in the trailer. There are also touches of bullet hell, but with cockroaches instead of bullets.
The developers cite Dark Souls as an influence, but expect next to nothing back. Perennial Order lets you respawn right at the start of each encounter, so you can “spend your time fighting instead of walking.” However, there's apparently a world beyond the bosses, with NPCs to harass and information to sniff out from hidden corners. Perhaps more “boss rushing” than “boss rushing.” You can also get help from a friend: there's optional co-op everywhere.
Again, it's out September 6. There's a demo on Steam if you can't wait to get your boots on this belching swamp of genre references.