Bite the Bullet hands-on preview at PAX East 2020

Check out the latest retro-style from Mega Cat Studios.

Steve Tyminski

March 15, 2020 9:00 AM

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The Penny Arcade Expo is a paradise for indie developers and this year was no different. The folks at Mega Cat Studios brought with them Bite the Bullet; a role-playing shooter pays homage to the likes of Super Nintendo games.

There are two playable characters available as you make your way through this post-apocalyptic world. You’ll be able to craft and modify different weapons to fight off the enemy masses. There will also be an upgrade system that allows you to make your weapons better during gameplay. However, if you perish, you lose your weapons so be careful.

Health won’t be an issue as most of the enemies are edible. All you need to do is stun them and then their ripe for eating. However, there is a catch to eating everything you run into, weight gain. This will slow your character down and make jumping and wall jumping extremely tough to do.

Always be mindful of what you’re eating since you will come into contact with moldy food and that will make you sick. Being sick could hinder your health or poison you so be careful. As you level up, you’ll be able to unlock new skills and customize your abilities via a skill tree.

The stages are massive and built in the Metroidvania style. You’ll have to explore the levels to find what you need to advance as well as be mindful of boss battles. You also have melee-type attacks that you can use to fight but they also can be used to traverse the levels. There is an air dash attack that allows you to travel across wide spaces as well as deliver a haymaker punch to enemies.

Enemies that you can eat can also modify your stats that range from being able to run faster to shooting faster. You’ll have to decide which skills you want as well as if the enemy in question is worth eating.

By the look and feel of Bite the Bullet, Mega Cat Studios was going for a Contra vibe with a twist; the twist being eat to survive. Being mindful of enemy attacks as well as thinking on the fly what you should and shouldn’t eat is an interesting twist.

Check out all our PAX East 2020 coverage!

Steve Tyminski

Contributing Editor

Steve is from the great state of New Jersey.  He went to college for History and has experience working in photography and video work. He’s grown up on Nintendo and loves sports, fighting, and role-playing games. He’s also big into video game soundtracks.