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''Rytlock's Critter Rampage'' is a 2013 HTML5-based action-adventure game published by
ArenaNet ArenaNet, LLC is an American video game developer and subsidiary of NCSoft, founded in 2000 by Mike O'Brien (game developer), Mike O'Brien, Patrick Wyatt and Jeff Strain and located in Bellevue, Washington. They are most notable as developers o ...
, developed and programmed by Delly Sartika. While not an official sequel to the
Guild Wars ''Guild Wars'' is an online role-playing game franchise developed by ArenaNet and published by NCSoft. The games were critically well received and won many editor's choice awards, as well as awards such as "D.I.C.E. Award for Role-Playing Game ...
series, it takes place in the same canon realm known to
Guild Wars 2 ''Guild Wars 2'' is a free-to-play, massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by ArenaNet and published by NCSoft. Set in the fantasy world of Tyria, the core game follows the re-emergence of Destiny's Edge, a disbanded guild dedi ...
players as the Super Adventure Box. It was released worldwide on April 19, 2013 for players to experience in web browsers everywhere. It was developed using the Construct 2 game engine. The gameplay of Rytlock's Critter Rampage focuses on exploration, the search for baubles that are used to purchase items such as potions, defeating foes, and rescuing defenseless creatures known as quaggans. The game's story takes place some time before the events of Super Adventure Box, and follows legionnaire Charr warrior Rytlock Brimstone as he goes on a rampage, destroying hostile creatures. Rytlock's Critter Rampage was an unexpected addition to the Super Adventure Box release, and is considered by many players a prime example of ArenaNet going above and beyond with their game development and marketing strategy.


Gameplay, graphics, and sound

Players control Rytlock Brimstone, a fierce Charr warrior who is a protagonist in the game
Guild Wars 2 ''Guild Wars 2'' is a free-to-play, massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by ArenaNet and published by NCSoft. Set in the fantasy world of Tyria, the core game follows the re-emergence of Destiny's Edge, a disbanded guild dedi ...
. The goal is to explore and survive the game world while collecting baubles and treasures. Combat includes many foes, Guild Wars 2 players will recognize from Super Adventure Box, such as snakes, turtles, beedogs, rabbits and monkeys which can all be dealt with using Rytlock's kick attack. Players can also rescue some friendly creatures, such as pink quaggans, which act as savepoints, and purchase items like potions from shopkeepers. The game also includes boss fights, which are a combination of
bullet hell , also known as manic shooter, is a subgenre of shoot 'em up video games with large amounts of projectiles the player is required to dodge. Introduced in 1993 with '' Batsugun'' and initially limited to vertically scrolling shooters, bullet ...
and platforming. The game's graphics are designed to appear like a halfway point between a retro 8-bit
NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...
game and a
SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania an ...
game, even though the game is coded to be experienced in flash. It was designed this way to make it appear as if the release of the Super Adventure Box was replacing the old fashioned SNES/NES-style gameplay with a new and mind-blowing graphic enhancements. (Similar to the way N64 was an upgrade from the SNES) The game also features two game modes (Easy Mode or Rytlock Mode), Ten secret treasures players can find, a save feature, and four different endings.


Development

The game was originally intended to be nothing more than a prop for a Guild Wars 2 advertisement video, simply making an appearance briefly before the Super Adventure Box debut in the Adventure Box promotional video. The original plan was simply to create a couple of fake sprites, but one of the developers, Delly Sartika, decided that he would in-fact take the initiative and create an entire platformer. The entire process took him about three weeks. Rytlock's Critter Rampage was released as a free flash game and made available for everyone with internet access on April 19, 2013.


Reception

Stories of an
April Fool's April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. Mas ...
joke leading to a fun and challenging game that was free and available to all, sparked the interest of several popular gaming sites such as
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
,
Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time (maga ...
,
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and many others. Fans of the Guild Wars franchise and 2d platformers alike greeted the release of Rytlock's Critter Rampage with open arms. Many people who previously lost interest in the Guild Wars franchise, or had never displayed interest in the first place, had a spark of interest that ignited in both Guild Wars 2 and ArenaNet as a company. Overall, ArenaNet accomplished exactly what it set out to do, and the game received generally positive reception from audiences - working wonders for the company's publicity. Some players find Rytlock's Critter Rampage to be a bit too challenging for their tastes, but do not commit negatively to the title, since it is completely free.


References

{{NCsoft 2013 video games Action-adventure games Browser games Freeware games Guild Wars Side-scrolling platformers Video games developed in the United States Single-player video games