It seems zombies are a popular theme these days and the French indie game developers known as Press Start Studio has dove brains first into the zombie filled pool with their release of Twin Blades: The Reaping Vanguard for the Xbox 360 indie scene. In Twin Blades you play as a nun who has to survive through 34 days of zombie filled action while slashing and shooting through relentless hordes of hungry undead.

Eye Candy:
The anime inspired art style of Twin Blades, while not unique, brings a colorful and dare I say cute atmosphere to the generally dark and dreary art styles we’ve seen in the past. The nun herself wears a crimson nun outfit with a little more leg showing than your average nun. Then again your average nun doesn’t wield a giant scythe and gun that shoots anything from a bullet to a nuke. The zombies are made to be more comical than creepy and remind me more of a company mascot than anything. Level design is fairly simple too, with a continues run to the right and about 4 cycles of different backdrops ranging from a simple village to a decrepit cemetery.

Control:
The game has a simple control scheme that is meant to be accessible to anyone from the young gamers to the most hardcore of gamers. With “A” set to jump, “X” with the swift scythe swing, “Y” comes with a lightning fast bullet to the head and “B” with a subtle shove used to deny a zombie the taste of your succulent gray matter. The two triggers can be used to attack if you prefer that instead.

Game Play:
The game itself is a very simple and straightforward sidescroller. Basically you maneuver The Nun through the village while killing, or rekilling, the zombie horde through 34 days and nights. Where the game shines though is the upgrade system. You can either upgrade your abilities, such as ammunition types ranging from an ice gun to the almighty holy laser, or upgrade the nuns health and attack damage. The more zombies you destroy means more upgrades for you at the end of the day so don’t just rush through the level thinking everything will be alright in the end because it won’t be. You’ll want to upgrade your health and damage for the last stretch because it does get more difficult the longer you survive but that’s a good thing, right?

Last Thoughts:
Twin Blades: The Reaping Vanguard is definitely an entertaining game and for 240 Microsoft Points it’s a total steal especially with the promise of free DLC in the near future. Yes, you read that right, I said free DLC. So do yourself a favor and go ahead and purchase this fun little zombie indie game from the talented developers of Press Start Studios.

Game link: