Poacher (2012)

by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw

Poacher is a platform game by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, famous for his adventure games developed with Adventure Game Studio. This is his first game made with Game Maker.

The protagonist is Derek Badger, a poacher from Sutton upon Derwent, who one night trespasses on the property of Gamey, a local landowner. When Gamey tries to catch Derek, suddenly the ground collapses below him and he falls into the hole. Derek, feeling guilty, jumps into the hole to help him and finds himself in the strange underworld. While searching for Gamey he becomes involved in the conflict between Kingdom spirits and Dark Ones, creatures dwelling in the realm.

At your disposal you have your trusty shotgun with unlimited ammo and later you acquire ability of throwing grenades, but these are limited and must be replenished. Enemies, when shot, leave coins (which can be later spent on upgrades in the shop), grenades or portions of energy and they respawn each time you enter the particular screen. Game is largely linear, however some sections can't be visited unless you possess certain ability, so sometimes it is required to visit an area once again. There are also boss fights. Game can be saved, but only in special save points. Saving game also replenishes health and grenades.

Game was originally released with only one difficulty level. Version 1.1 features various bug fixes, optional easy mode, customizable controls and achievements to collect.

Screenshots

Ratings

Downloads

• poacher_installer.1_1.exe (77.35 MB)
  Version 1.1 (Windows Installer)

Reviews

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Discussion on our forums on Poacher

• Pater Alf on 13.04.2012:
  

  Version 1.1 is unfortunately out:
  
  http://fullyramblomatic-yahtzee.blogspot.com/

  
  
  "Save games for the old version will NOT work with 1.1."
  
  Arrrgh...
  
  I'm tempted to start over again, because of the customisable keyboard controls (and I also like achievements). But on the other hand I got used to the controls by now and somehow I don't feel like playing several hours again just to get to the point where I am now.

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• Scythe on 13.04.2012:
  I am so not starting over for some achievements.

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• eMTe on 13.04.2012:
  Version 1.1 is unfortunately out:
  
  http://fullyramblomatic-yahtzee.blogspot.com/

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• Scythe on 13.04.2012:
  I don't think you can. But I haven't tried...

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• Pater Alf on 13.04.2012:
  I'm stuck at exactly 50%. Can I complete the "Spyrit Mines" before clearing the undersea level? It seems there is a specific jump that I can't perform no matter how hard I try...

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• Pater Alf on 11.04.2012:
  "Webweaver Forest" was pretty hard for me (with my lousy platform game skills). And still over 50% to go. I think I need a little rest (and still wonder how Scythe managed to beat the game in one single night).

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• Scythe on 10.04.2012:
  Grenades to Health. No doubt. Take a look at my life bar near the end of the game, then add my grenade bar to that. This is why I call that upgrade "cheating."
  
  If you want money badly, you can easily grind it due to the respawning mechanic. Of course, by the end of the game, I had about 6000 coins and nothing to buy.

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• Pater Alf on 10.04.2012:
  Ok, I completed the library section and the oil rig and started with the underwater world. Still very good fun!
  
  Which is the best power-up in your opinion? [spoiler]I started with the "collect money" thing and it wasn't a bad choice in my eyes. That way you get a lot more coins and can afford the other power-ups much faster.[/spoiler]

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• eMTe on 09.04.2012:
  

  In the, uhm...... shop?

  
  Found it. Just when I started wondering if money are collected just for fun.

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• Pater Alf on 09.04.2012:
  Damned, I think I've missed something at the library section and now I have to go back...

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