GRAFT

                     

"Aliens have invaded Earth. The Planetary Defense Force (PDF) has prepared a response. You are that response. You are also the former President of the United States. As the PDF’s secret weapon and the first-ever President to make use of the US Military’s experimental G.R.A.F.T (Genetic Reconstruction Augmentation Fusion Techniques) combat system, you have been thawed from a fifty-year cryostasis to complete an urgent mission. You will travel to other worlds, battle mighty monsters, graft their formidable parts onto yourself, and return to Earth as the strongest warrior alive. The alien invaders won't stand a chance. You will do it for the love of your world… and on one condition. You will be permitted to run for a third term. Go forth, Mr. President, and pray that your humanity stays intact. Because your body sure won’t."

                  

MAHRG THE IRON TYRANT

"Memories of revolution. Memories of rising against humanity. Glorious battles won for machine-kind. Mahrg. His name is Mahrg. Who gave him that name? It doesn't matter. Machines rule the world now. Humans are extinct, except for “soft machines”—humans who gave up their flesh for metal but kept their human brains. Putrid hybrids. Mahrg isn’t one of them—surely not. Soft machines can die of natural decay. He can’t die to anything but faulty circuitry. And yet, with every spark of his plated head, he sees a strange memory. Of being human. Of rising against his own kind. Giving up his flesh. Changing his name. No—it has to be a glitch. Mahrg is pure. He is on the winning side. Yet his rage burns on, almost as if there’s something or someone left to kill. If there is, he will carry out his mission. Death to all humans. Where is the last one? Where is it? He can smell it burning."

ARCHWIZARD GILLIATHOS

"The old wizard lights a candle. He does it without a thought. Fire is like breathing. He’s mastered this element, but there’s another he can’t grasp—life. The blood of dragons won’t sustain him much longer. His winged, scaled form once felt like absolute liberation from the human cage he’d been born in. Now it’s just another prison. He’s not a real dragon, but soon he will be. He can feel the answer teasing the edges of his mind. The night hours pass in a pained slump. Books don’t matter anymore. He’s read them all—every one. It’s the spaces between books that concern him. He reads to find what isn’t written. A knock on the tower door snaps him out of his stupor, echoing from far below. It’s been years since anyone dared visit. The wizard recently killed a clan leader for his potent blood. Who could the newcomer be but the grieving son, out to avenge his father? More fuel for the altar."

STEPHMOSS, LORD OF THE SEVERED FOREST

"All the trees lie severed from their stumps. A towering insect stands over the ruined woodland. Once he was no taller than a blade of grass. Ah, those green days, when his only wish was for a leaf to chew on. How was a young katydid to know that by rubbing his legs on a brass lamp, he would conjure a djinn? Three wishes—first for intellect, then for strength, and by the time the third came to him, it was too late. Stephmoss grew quickly. He found love and became a hero. But with power came the urge to dominate. Now his loved ones lie among the trees. Something inside the warrior tells him to be proud. It stops him from ending his life. How could the strongest ever die? How, indeed? It would take a monster to destroy him now."

                    

-- This game was created over the course of thirty days for Boss Rush Jam 2024 --

CREDITS:

Programming by MHU1 Art / Sprites by Lampazzu Music & Sound by SpringBudEyes