Indie Hour - I Am Your Beast

Hey it's Tarrmu and welcome to another episode of Indie Hour, where we talk about the latest independent video games that may have passed you by. In today's video we're talking about I Am Your Beast — a first-person platformer blended with rush-mode precision and speed running, developed by Strange Scaffold, known for games like El Paso Elsewhere and TMNT Tactical Takedown.

If I had to sum up the feeling of this game in one sentence Harding, the protagonist, feels like a mixture of the military powerhouse of Reacher mixed with the agile precision of John Wick, and the entire game is built around embodying that fantasy. You're playing as this top-tier commando on a mission for revenge, and every second of gameplay channels that energy.

I Am Your Beast captures the speed-running flow of a game like Neon White, and meshes it with a John Wick-inspired power fantasy that comes from the slick, smooth kills you land on your enemies. Each level feels like a rush of adrenaline that plays at a tempo you're juggling weapons, capping enemies, throwing the empty gun and catching a new one midair from a dude you've just killed, keeping the flow and the mania going. There's a strong variety of weapons here too, and they all pack a punch each one feels distinct in its look and impactful in its execution, and switching between them feeds directly into this calculated rhythm of being a frenetic, precise monster.

At its core the gameplay loop is a compilation of levels built around a particular challenge, with a graded score at the end. The objectives are simple "reach this exit," "kill all the enemies" but the depth and the hook comes from mastering how you clear them. Utilizing the environment, blowing up multiple enemies, moving and flowing through a map with the quickest and most efficient route possible. In a way I'd liken it to the style rankings in a hack and slash game like Devil May Cry that addictive loop of chasing the perfect run or combo. The fluid movement, the map memorization, it's all absolutely engaging, and the levels grow in complexity in ways that keep expanding the challenge. There's no single right way to clear each level either there are layers of player expression here, much like the best games in this genre, that make for creative clear times and self-imposed challenges.

The kills themselves are brutal and crunchy every one of them taps into that loop of precision and power. There are over 20 levels and the game doesn't overstay its welcome, but provides enough challenges and S ranks to chase that keep you playing long after you've cleared everything. The pacing is tight and well-executed.

There is a story interwoven between each of these levels which doesn't take itself too seriously and neatly threads the stages and their environments together. Visually, I Am Your Beast is incredibly stylized with a comic book art style that is right up my alley and weirdly reminds me of that PS2 game XIII and it isn't just the visual direction, but the way the environments and the impact of each kill create this chaotic, punchy feedback that elevates everything.

This whole experience clicks into place a game you can regularly jump into with frenetic gameplay and over-the-top exhilarating highs that I'm still chasing since playing it. If you're someone who loved Children of the Sun from a previous Indie Hour, or Neon White, or those time-trial elements in general, then I Am Your Beast absolutely taps into that loop and does it in a stylish, chaotic fashion that is well worth checking out. And more broadly, Strange Scaffold as a studio are one worth keeping an eye on in this massive indie space. I love I Am Your Beast, and I absolutely recommend you play it.

Let me know your thoughts down below, or if there are any games you'd like to see me cover on the channel. As always I am Tarrmu and this has been Indie Hour if you enjoyed the video consider giving us a like, and if you really enjoyed the video consider subscribing. Thanks for watching.