The Executive - An awful lot of silly arcade fun

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The Executive is a game about punching Werewolves. And floating demons, angry boars, and frogs with rapiers and tiny shields. Because who hasn't wanted to do all of that at some point?

It's also a QTE-enlivened auto-runner, and a company management sim. But don't let those things put you off, because they all somehow manage to gel together to create an intelligent touchscreen brawler with a lot to offer.

The game starts with a grumpy co-worker beating the hell out of a vending machine. He then turns into a wolf, and it's your turn to lay the smackdown. The violence is controlled with taps, swipes, and presses.

Tap low on the screen to punch low, and high to punch high. Long press high or low to block in that direction. Swipes perform more powerful kicks and special moves that you can unlock with the cash you earn as you play.

You don't just earn cash from mangling faces though. You're also running a mining firm, and you can throw some money at it to increase its output. Because you're an executive, so you're all about the profit.

Well, profit and hurting things. And swiping to the onscreen commands that flash up between scraps that let you jump over tentacles and head-butt through train walls. I'm not making any of that up.

The levels only last a couple of minutes each, but there are loads of them, and you can re-run them multiple times each to try and beat your best rankings.

The Executive is equal parts homage and slick reinvention. It's an old-school brawler brought up to date with slick touchscreen controls and clever App Store-era additions designed to make sure you remain engrossed.

And more importantly, on-top of all that, it's an awful lot of silly arcade fun. Which, quite often, is all you want from a game.