Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit Review

Revenge has never been so tedious. After salacious photos of Ash, the prince of hell, make their rounds in the underworld, the fiery rabbit goes on a quest to kill 100 creatures that are reveling in his embarrassment. Excessive violence follows you through the twisted worlds that make up this lengthy adventure. Enemies erupt in fountains of bubbling blood, and Ash has a crass witticism at the ready to make light of their torment. It's a preposterous setup, and Hell Yeah: Wrath of the Dead Rabbit doesn't hold back from objectionable situations. But once you become numb to the juvenile antics, shallow gameplay derails your blood-splattering fun. Hell Yeah: Wrath of the Undead Rabbit relies on its immaturity to reel you in, but the poorly developed action makes your time spent in hell miserable.

Hell Yeah doesn't shy away from long story sequences. Ash trades insults with the various critters he meets during this 2D adventure, but the dialogue is so cringe-worthy that even trying to enjoy it on an ironic level is asking too much. References to outdated memes and dusty catchphrases populate every exchange, making you wonder if there's going to be an original utterance in the interminably long conversations. When Ash says, "Talk to the paw" (get it, because he's a rabbit!) or when one of the countless minigames commands you to "Om nom nom!" you can only shake your head. Hell Yeah tries to be humorous but relies on such tired material that you'll skip past the trite lines so you can get back to the action.

And, at least initially, the action holds its own. Hell Yeah is an expansive platformer in which you travel through a variety of off-the-wall locales connected by teleportation gates. Locked doors and impenetrable walls keep you from exploring the entire world from the get-go, so you have to hunt down the nasty creatures enjoying your humiliation to gain access to more of the map. Ash has a powerful repertoire of destructive tools from the beginning that become even more dangerous as you claw deeper into this nightmarish world. A handy saw circles your body at all times, allowing you to cleave through certain walls and weaker enemies without breaking a sweat. When a formidable baddie stands in your path, an arsenal of pain-dealing guns can make short work of him. A flamethrower, Gatling gun, missile launcher, and more are used to turn enemies into bloody piles of goop, and using your prodigious power to slay your oppressors carries with it some feral joy.

See, in Mortal Kombat, a little head popped up saying "Toasty!"

It's a foundation for a savage adventure, but it's not long before the puerile antics become dull. The moment-to-moment action in Hell Yeah encompasses the basics needed in a platformer without any extra flair to make it special. Ash has a floaty jump that makes avoiding enemy projectiles or leaping to higher ground a cinch, and dual-stick aiming makes gunning down enemies while dancing about the playing field second nature. But the ease with which you traverse the worlds makes the various encounters feel like mindless busywork. The majority of enemies are little more than bugs splattering against your fast-moving windshield, and the jumping challenges don't demand the precision or immediacy that could have made them compelling.

Instead of being made up of enjoyable traversal and exploration, the majority of Hell Yeah features by-rote stretches that pad the overall length until you face the next of your many antagonists. It's when you square off against your 100 most hated enemies that Hell Yeah reveals its true colors, and, sadly, it's also when this adventure is at its weakest. Each of these creatures has a name and a backstory, and you frequently trade barbs before a fight. But don't think that all of that buildup translates to an engrossing fight. Instead, you can dodge and counterattack against most of these enemies and come out on top in about five seconds. Your impressive arsenal is laughably large, considering how rarely you have to switch to a different gun.