Hipster Smackdown

If you've ventured into a major city in the UK or the US recently, you'll have probably noted the rising number of so-called hipsters.

This curious breed of people is defined not merely by being interested in alternative or outré stuff (food, music, clothes etc.), but by their delight in being SEEN to be into such stuff. There's a certain snobby fickleness to it that rubs some people up the wrong way.

Yep, hipsters have become fair game, it seems. Hence Hipster Smackdown, which revels in the wholesale assault and prolonged torture of men with beards, silly hats, tight trousers, questionable hygiene, and impractical bicycles.

All in the name of fun, of course.

We suspect that your own stance on the hipster phenomenon will inform precisely how much you enjoy Hipster Smackdown.

It's a solidly executed casual game that, underneath its arch demeanour and showy 3D visuals, doesn't have a great deal of depth or lasting appeal. Rather like the people it's sending up, really.

Each run starts with a caricature of a hipster strutting across a rooftop bar (where else?), boring a clearly unimpressed lass with smug one liners about Instagram, vegan food, and the like. These sections quickly grow tiresome, but you can cut straight to the chase.

Or rather, the smackdown. Having launched said hipster into the air with a crotch kick that would emasculate a bison, you must initiate a follow-up attack by pressing a virtual button at the appropriate time.

That done, the game proper begins. Our hipster finds himself flying through the air, and it's up to you to keep him up until the end of the level.

Holding the 'flight' button causes our put-upon scenester to flap his arms like a bird (free range, locally sourced), keeping him airborne. However, a decreasing fuel bar requires frequent topping up by swooping to collect the flight tokens suspended throughout the level.

You can also drop onto items that will boost you into the air at no cost. These include mattress trucks, cannons, fireworks, and balloons.

Reach the end-of-level marker to progress to the next level, or get the best score possible in Endless Smackdown mode, which is unlocked when you buy the full game.

It's fun to play in a pass-a-few-minutes, gimmicky kind of way. But there's simply not enough here to warrant ploughing a great deal of time into it.

By all means take it for a spin, but like the hipsters of the title, you'll be moving onto the next thing in no time.