Dark RPGs

The Line is a weird and original indie-game, a sort of queue simulator set in a dystopian world. In this article I will focus on the bizarre creature design of the game, but if you want to know more about it, you can find more information in my review: The Line: waiting in a queue was never so extreme and bizarre .

The combat system is turn based and optional. It is possible to entirely avoid any fights, jumping the queue by waiting or bartering. The art-style of the game is bizarre but effective. All the characters are made as a sort of classic art collage, creating a strange world where classic art meets horrible mutations. Because the characters show their true face only during the fights, especially while attacking. If some huge abominations are dangerous by simply looking at them, a normal man repentantly attacking by throwing another head or with a hidden tentacle, it is even far more creepy.

Below you will find the bestiary of the Line, including only the creatures that I find more interesting. Some of them are portrayed during an attack, especially if it is showing their twisted nature. The name of the creatures are arbitrary invented, except for few ones. Many creatures are also not present in this list, including other aberrant peasants or animals, such as squirrels and crabs.

• The man with another head

If this man looks like a normal well dressed aristocrat, one of his main attacks will highlight his twisted nature. From one of his sleeves, the biting head of an old man will emerge, connected to scarf like a grotesque tentacle. The man is on of the most dangerous common enemies in the first area of the game.

• The mother and the infant

To continue with the bizarre classicism, the mother is another example of painting under mutation. Apparently simply a mother with her infant, she is however able to attack in really bizarre ways. She can attack with her clothes, which will mutate in a sort of bloody tentacles made of fabric. Also the infant can directly attack by throwing different kinds of beams.

• The woman with dogs

A weird woman wearing an eye-patch and a long coat. She is waiting in the queue with her little dogs. Also in this case, her twisted nature is revealed during the attacks. The dogs will mutate in a sort of amalgam of fur and teeth, very deadly and scary to watch. This enemy is quite rare and she could be faced in the second area of the game.

• The messiah of tentacles

This guy looks very similar to many paintings of Jesus during the Renaissance. If this half naked man could look an easy foe, also since is showing very few HP, he can be one of the most aggressive enemies. The man will completely mutate, when attacking, in a mass of tentacles and snake-like appendages. This is something that Cthulhu would be proud of! This man is one of the most common enemies in the second area.

• The plague doctor

A big man dressed in red, with a black hat and a plague-doctor mask. The figure is already intimidating by his own, but when will attack with his mask like a beak, it will get even worst. This enemy is very rare and could be faced only in the third area of the game.

• The huge mutant

A colossal abomination similar to an alien made of swellings, mouths and tongues. The monster is difficult to describe and to contextualise, but will act as fist boss of the game. The monster has lot of HP, but its attacks are quite weak. Its favourite attack is a protruding mouth, which will bite the main character like a proper Xenomorph.

• The big wolf

Another mandatory fight that will act as boss. The big wolf is a huge black canid, already intimidating in its normal form. During the attacks, the creature will mutate, morphing its body in a agglomerate of jaws, opening below its belly. A not so difficult fight with an interesting creature.

• Swinemantis

Here we are entering in the land of the bizarre. This mutant was introduced after a patch and, as the official name says, it is a combination of a pig with a mantis. Everything is well balanced into the design, creating a weird creature but somehow quite believable. The Swinemantis is a mandatory boss in the forest.

• The Wall

The last free update of the Line introduced a secret area where to face several hard bosses. Many bosses not only have an official name, but also a background. The dystopian city home of the Line was devastated by multiple social and natural cataclysms, and these bosses are their embodiment. The Wall represents a wall that was built to isolate the city. The huge wall is connected to a ancient roman statue, which will be the one attacking. The Wall is a terrible boss with a massive amount of HP, creating the most tiring fight in the game.

• The Rain

The Rain is the official name of this horse-humanoid creature, embodying the natural and toxic disaster that plagued the city. The creature has several arms, each one wielding a bizarre weapon, and he is not afraid of using them. The boss is probably the strongest attacker of the game, able to inflict massive damages if not killed quickly.

• The Hunger

The Hunger is the most interesting of the secret bosses. The monster is a sort of dinosaur, made entirely by living bodies fused together. The idea is creepy and well executed, creating one of the most emblematic creatures made using a collage technique. The creature is the embodiment of a deadly famine which afflicted the city. Probably people turned into cannibals, and this is why the monster is made of conjoint humans.