Hazmat

Hazmat is a very short game made for rmn's theme roulette event where, in case you do not know, developers had a week to make a game based around a random word they were given. Hazmat's theme was contagious. The story is about Hazmat, a very conveniently named girl who is the last person in her town to get infected. She finds a way to create a cure and has to go around town finding ingredients for it.

It's a simple concept, and the entire game is basically just a bunch of fetch quests, but it gets the job done. It never feels boring or tedius to play and I was legit curious as to where the story was going. I knew the story couldn't end with her just getting cured and calling it a day, I expected the game to pull a twilight zone.



The game is accompanied by some stylish gameboy sprites. The mapping accompanies that very nicely too. Maps are small but they never feel cramped. There is a good variety of places you will explore. Some of them here and there look roughly the same but they get the job done.

Though I will say the font actually clashed with the rest of the graphics very much. In comparison to everything looking so pixellated and smooth, the font looked extremely blurry. Other than that, a very visually appealing game.



The game's real strong point, however, is its narrative. Even though the dialogue is pretty lighthearted and silly, there is always a lingering feeling of uneasiness throughout the game. People are dying left and right and the more you progress through the game the more alone you start to feel. It doesn't feel like a mystery game yet it has you want to continue playing to find out what's really going on.

It's a short and very simple game. Hazmat is a game well worth playing if you just want a little fun experience that still feels grim and dark, but those of you looking for something super intriguing would be better off looking elsewhere.

All in all, I give Hazmat three self respects on the ground out of five.