Tesco car park. But each track has a
classic three-star rating system, and
it’s satisfying to revisit earlier levels
and realise you can now cut your
times in half.
The campaign keeps things
varied enough to hold your interest.
The courses don’t do much to
differentiate themselves visually –
whether grocery or clothes store, it’s
just a case of a few props dropped
into boxy levels – but the obstacles
vary from conveyor belts to spinning
saw blades. You know, all the things
you’d expect to see in a supermarket.
There’s even a clothes store with
Indiana Jones-style collapsing rope
bridges, death traps and a giant
boulder because, hey, why not?
You’re not always chasing the same
objective, either. Most tracks are
simple obstacle courses, where you’re
trying to get round speedily without
crashing into the scenery. But there’s
also the occasional race against a
remote-control car, and courses filled
with pyramids of baked bean cans for
you to smash through before the timer
runs out. The game is divided into five
main areas, and each culminates in a
proper supermarket sweep, combining
everything you have learned in the
run-up into a single course. That’s
some proper Mario-style level design
for such a light and silly game.Aisle be back
This is the charm of Supermarket
Shriek: it embraces both the ridiculous
and the sublime. Levels might be a
bit bare, but they squeeze little jokes
into every available corner. Walls are
plastered with sign gags, shelves are
full of knock-off brands, and even
achievement names are taken as
opportunity for naff puns. We don’t
need to tell you that we’re rather fond
of a naff pun here at OXM.
The humour never tries to be edgy,
or any ruder than ‘Pidl’ (a play on
everyone’s second-favourite discount
German supermarket). There’s acharming innocence to the game – it
just wants to make everyone laugh,
regardless of age, and while that
means not every joke will land, there
are plenty of giggles to be found in
Supermarket Shriek. Here in 2019, in
between playing frowny games that
want you to take their stories very
seriously indeed and worrying about
our imminent doom, we’re more than
happy to make room for a game about
a man and his constantly yelling goat.
Even if it does ends in an argument
with our co-op partner. QHIDDEN
DEPTHS
The campaign’s finest
moments come in the
form of ‘secret’ levels
(which aren’t actually
secret: they’re listed
right on the map
screen). Each
parodies a different
game, twisting
Supermarket Shriek’s
presentation so it
looks, sounds and
even plays more like
the game being
spoofed. The first of
these had us laughing
harder than any game
in a long time. We
know there’s no
better way to ruin a
joke than telling
someone the
punchline in advance,
so we’ll just leave you
with this hint: Super.
Market. Super. Market.“Later tracks
require snap
reflexes, or at
least a lot of
practice”
ABOVE Maxing out
the star rating
on each level
will unlock new
headgear for
your intrepid
adventurers. Our
favourite has to
be the VR
headset.
LEFT Don’t worry
about the
splatters – it’s
just bean juice.
The game stays
family-friendly
even when you
crash,
pixelating out
violent deaths.
Thank goat.OXM VERDICT
Not quite the GOAT,
perhaps, but
definitely very
entertaining in
multiplayer.8
FAR LEFT You’re
rewarded for
failing, with
achievements for
every way you
can die.More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 077