Are you in the mood for a high-octane, fast-paced shooter? Craving a gripping revenge plot? Or perhaps you're drawn to a sleek, eye-catching art style? If any of these pique your interest, then Strange Scaffold Studios has something special in store for you: their latest release, I Am Your Beast.

I Am Your Beast can, in terms of gameplay, best be described as a first person Hotline Miami with the speed dialled up to eleven. It blows the run & gun genre out of the water with a number of intricately curated details that snowball into a massively engaging video game experience.

Speed is everything and the entire foundation for I Am Your Beast. Besides a few exceptions, all 25-odd levels are graded on how fast you can complete a level with added bonus time for your kills. Conveniently, the more creative the kills you get translate to more time. And scoff not, because the game lets you push the boundaries of creativity when it comes to combat, from your run-of-the-mill jabs and punches to mid-air quadruple-move combos that leave you feeling like a complete bully.

And truth be told, it feels extremely satisfying and energising to stack more and more kills in this game. The controls are very well-polished and responsive, with each and every action having a distinct feel to it. All of these aspects are elevated by its stunning comic book art style that makes the game feel like absolute eye candy.

With the gameplay being this smooth, I wouldn’t have minded if there wasn't much of a plot. I only dipped my toes into the game for the combat, to be honest, but I definitely stuck with it for its story. The protagonist, Alphonse Harding, is a retired secret agent, but gets summoned by his old military boss for one last job. Upon refusal, however, all hell breaks loose and the entire military sets out to hunt you down. As a result, you’re tasked with turning the tables on the agitated, blood-thirsty guerilla force.

Words aren’t wasted during these skirmishes. Instead, there are short and concise radio chats that appear on big blocks of text across the screen. Through all these high-stakes chases, I found all the characters quite interesting as each story segment resonated with me.

I Am Your Beast isn’t a lengthy game — it took me around two hours to complete the story while playing casually. But that isn't to say that 120 minutes are all it has to offer. If you're an over-achiever who has to be the best at their craft, you're in for a treat.

The short and fast nature of the levels are great motivation to retry them over and over again in order to minimise the time spent, thus boosting your score. There are enough variations when it comes to techniques and kill combos to keep you hunting for more, thus bumping your rank from A all the way to S.

If you’re on the fence about the game, I’d say it is worth every penny, and you should give it a shot if it even remotely catches your eye. It gets an easy 9/10 from me, and I dont doubt that you'll find it as exhilarating as I did.

I Am Your Beast is available on Steam for 8.19 USD only.

Ajmain is a contributor at The Daily Esports.