Exterminator is what you'd get if Aldi sold their equivalent of Armored Core

Aldi and Lidl are two all time greats of the supermarket genre. I love their legally distinct take on many of the biggest brands, like the "Racer", which is basically a Snickers bar. Except I actually prefer the Racer! I can't remember if it's Aldi or Lidl that do them, but the "Mini Delight" chocolate sticks are also exceptional. Anyway, Armored Core. Or should I say, Exterminator? Yes, there's an Aldi Armored Core that's just opened up in town and it's actually not half bad. It's definitely not Racer good, but I applaud the effort.

EXTERMINATOR official gameplay trailer 2

If you're unfamiliar with Armored Core, it's a series of mech games by FromSoftware that's very grey, very fast, and very furious. You propel yourself around missions as a big machine and blast other machines with rockets and miniguns. We thought Armored Core 6 (the latest one) mostly delivered, if you're into that sort of thing.

But if you don't want to splurge £50 on Armored Core, or want to try a mech game that's more colourful, Exterminator has you… somewhat covered. Don't expect incredible quality, but do expect an earnest attempt from an indie dev at making a mech shooter with good movement. I like the dashes and the numerous tools you've got on hand to batter other bots: a flamethrower, a grenade launcher, a little shield.

I did find the demo quite tricky, owing to some finicky controls that left me feeling a bit overwhelmed, and an annoying need to reload your gun every few seconds. But look past these things and there's something endearing about its slight jank.

Exterminator plans to release in March, and you can find its demo over on its Steam page.