CHARGE

CHARGE - A Tale of Power in the Volta District

Arc wakes up with no memory, in a city where current is worth more than money.

There is no health bar in this game. There is one charge, and it is your health, your walking speed and the force of your shot. It falls even when you stand still - slowly, but it never stops - and when it hits zero, that is the end. Resting was never on the table.

Two ways to get it back. The blue charging terminals on the walls, which also record your progress when you EXAMINE them. And the people and machines in your way: enemies are not killed here. Stun them, touch them, take their current. Fighting is how you heal.

One button, two attacks. A tap of Z sends a beam straight ahead, long reach, passes through everything in its path, stops at walls. Hold it and let go for a burst that hits in every direction for more charge. Crates, barrels, fences and pillars stop the beam and stop enemy fire alike, so cover is a tactic, not scenery.

Most doors will not open without load on the circuit. Throw levers, bring the floor cable back to life - and hear the local out, all the way to the end, because someone in each area knows how its wiring runs and the door stays shut until you have listened. Eight areas, from a back alley to the foot of the pylon. Two endings.