Altered Beast

About Altered Beast

Altered Beast launched in August 1988 as an arcade brawler by Team Shinobi before landing on dozens of home systems including the Commodore 64 and DOS. You play a resurrected Roman centurion summoned by Zeus to save Athena from the demon god Neff in the Underworld. The premise is simple yet brutal: you kick, punch, and grapple your way through hordes of monsters. Your main advantage comes from absorbing spirit balls that transform you into four different beasts, each with unique stats and attacks. This arcade classic defined the beat 'em up genre with its gory violence and iconic transformation mechanic that became a cultural touchstone for late eighties gaming.

Gameplay

Sessions involve moving right through scrolling stages filled with zombies, leeches, and winged demons. You punch, kick, and perform special attacks while dodging projectiles. The core loop revolves around hunting down glowing spirit orbs hidden in the environment or dropped by defeated enemies. Collecting four orbs triggers a transformation sequence where your character model changes into a werewolf, dragon, bear, or tiger. Each form grants different power levels and attack animations. You fight boss fights against Neff's avatars at the end of each stage to progress. The game features single player campaigns and local multiplayer options for co-op play. Controls are responsive but require timing to land hits on large enemies that can block your attacks.

What Players Think

The PlayPile community views Altered Beast with mixed feelings despite its historical importance. IGDB users gave it a score of 54.8 out of 100 based on 112 ratings. Average playtime clocks in around three hours for a standard run. Completion rates hover near 65 percent because the difficulty spikes sharply during boss encounters. Community mood data shows players feel nostalgic but frustrated by the high price of entry on modern consoles. Review snippets mention the iconic music and transformation sequences as highlights while criticizing the short length and repetitive level design. Achievement hunters find the game lacks depth in trophy hunting since it offers only a handful of unlockables for finishing stages.

PlayPile's Take

This title is worth playing if you want to see where the beat 'em up genre started. It costs around ten dollars on modern platforms which feels steep for three hours of gameplay. You will earn basic achievements for beating bosses but nothing substantial for speedrunning or perfect runs. The game does not reward skillful play beyond memorizing enemy patterns since health regeneration is limited. Altered Beast serves as a historical artifact rather than a fun experience for casual gamers today. Play it once to understand the reference points in pop culture then move on to something with more depth.

Storyline

A Roman centurion who had died in battle is resurrected from the dead by Zeus. The centurion is ordered by Zeus to save his daughter Athena from a Demon God called Neff in the Underworld. To become able to withstand the perils, the warrior gets the ability to absorb spirit balls which transform him into an Altered Beast, a part animal, part human creature of formidable force. Between each level are small animations giving the player glimpses of Athena's peril. He first travels through the graveyard fighting past zombies and winged demons. The centurion becomes a werewolf in order to fight Neff in the form of Aggar. The centurion defeats him, but Neff escapes. The centurion travels through the Underworld where he fights through giant leeches, Chinese dragon-headed rattlesnakes, and ferocious Chicken Stingers (resembling the ones from Golden Axe). The centurion turns into a humanoid thunder dragon in order to fight Neff in the form of Octeyes. The centurion defeats him, but Neff escapes. The centurion travels through the Cavern of Souls where he fights through Cave Needles (which resemble giant ants), turtle/snail hybrids, and zombies known as Grave Masters. The centurion turns into a humanoid bear in order to fight Neff in the form of Mouldy Snail. The centurion defeats him, but Neff escapes. The centurion arrives at Neff's palace where he fights through zombies, Chicken Stingers, and Hammer Demons. The centurion turns into a humanoid tiger in order to fight Neff in the form of Crocodile Worm. The centurion defeats him, but Neff escapes. After the centurion arrives in Dis, he fights through winged demons, Goat Men, Boar Men, saw fishes, and purple Unicorn Men to get to Neff. When the centurion confronts Neff, the centurion becomes a golden werewolf while Neff transforms into a Rhinoceros-Man. After he is defeated, a blue bird comes out of the ground and transforms back to Athena. Afterwards she is shown holding arms with her lycanthropic hero, thanking him for rescuing her. In the original arcade, the end credits are interspersed with images of actors in costumes for the different characters and monsters of the game, implying the whole game was a film production.[2]