Sabotage is a two-button game of ‘procure on site’, against the odds infiltration

If you’ve been hurting to play as a French Colonel who is so hardcore that he overthrows entire castles of Nazis with almost no effort, despite parachuting in completely naked, look no further than Sabotage.

A Ludum Dare 45 entry (Theme: Start with Nothing), Sabotage has you start with literally nothing, not even clothes, as you start your infiltration mission to clear a Nazi-riddled castle. Whether deliberate or not, Sébastien Bénard — perhaps best known as their work at Motion Twin, as part of the Dead Cells team — has created a fun, arcade-feeling game which feels closer to the wild-card, start-from-scratch spirit of the Metal Gear series than most of its more modern entries.

You take on the role of Colonel Jean-François Hubert, of the French Army, who literally parachutes into the castle naked. From there on in your most effective weapon is your sprightly pace and your obscene strength. Most enemies won’t fall to the blades or guns littered around the corridors, instead dying by being physically hewn across a hallway into the strange, spiky decor which litters the castle.

The pace is great. Most levels can be completed in a handful of minutes, less once you know the level. Even when new enemies (like the machine turrets) are introduced into the levels you can quickly learn their techniques and adjust your style to their beat.

Sabotage is probably one of the most fun Ludum Dare games I’ve played in the last few years. It has a wonderful style to it — beyond the visuals and the re-appropriated Leatherhead soundtrack — and manages to further channel the MSX/NES era through its carefully chosen two-button controls.

Undeniably fun, you should probably go and play Sabotage now.