When Scurge: Hive came out in 2006, it was unique for being one of the few releases that came out on both GBA and Nintendo DS. The fact is, the GBA was being sunsetted and the DS was about to become a huge hit, but publishers weren’t sure about that at the time. Even though it was a cross-gen release, Scurge was always a GBA game first, and the DS port was a quick and dirty conversion.
Despite the cross-generational release, Scurge: Hive failed to find an audience. It was the developer’s second game, and it would be their last, as they were never heard from ever again. I was one of the few people who managed to play Scurge on GBA when it came out, and it always surprised me that nobody gave it a chance. Most gamers who had a GBA loved Metroid Fusion, and Scurge was one of its most shameless copycats. You’d think this would have had a higher profile.
Almost 20 years later, Scurge: Hive is finally getting a second chance. Was time kind to this incredibly obscure metroidvania? What can fans expect in this new version? Was it actually any good? Find out in our Scurge: Hive review!
Scurge: Hive
Developer: Orbital Media
Publisher: Ratalaika Games, SouthPeak Interactive
Platforms: Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
Release Date: October 24, 2006 / October 10, 2025
Price: $14.99
Jenosa Arma is a tough bounty huntress hired by the military for a rescue and salvage mission at a remote research lab on the planet Inos. The lab has been overrun by the “Scurge,” a highly adaptive parasitic organism that infects and mutates biological, mechanical, and digital systems, turning them into hostile derivatives.
Jenosa arrives donning bio-protective armor that slows the infection, yet the story begins with her getting infected regardless. With ticking-clock urgency, she fights to contain the outbreak, uncover the lab’s secrets, and find a way to survive before the parasite fully takes over her body.
Anybody who has played Metroid Fusion will be taken aback by the brazen lifting of its story in Scurge. The similarities are a bit much to take in. Plot elements like the “Scurge”, a parasitic organism which infects and mutates biological, mechanical, and digital systems, turning them into hostile entities, are suspiciously like the X Parasite. Scurge has a few enemy designs that are dangerously close to metroids.
Samus’s zero suit and Jenosa have very similar designs. Both heroines are personally afflicted by the parasite, making their survival a race against time while battling its spread. If it weren’t for the fact that Jenosa has two gun-arms and is a redhead, most gamers would assume they’re the same person.
The most distinct feature that separates Scurge: Hive and Metroid Fusion is the overhead isometric POV. The perspective creates unique platforming challenges, requiring precise jumps and navigation in a pseudo-3D space, while blasting foes in all directions. Scurge is tense at best of times, and utterly unwieldy when the game dogpiles Jenosa with an ungodly swarm of foes.
Fighting huge amounts of enemies wouldn’t be so bad if Jenosa could move and shoot, but since Scurge was designed for a GBA, it obviously won’t allow twin-stick shooting. When shooting, Jenosa plants her feet, and players are free to fire away in any direction, so long as her weapon energy isn’t depleted. This is as complex as battle gets. She can’t dodge roll, and enemies have different elemental affinities, which means juggling different weapon types.
The level design is a bit of a chaotic mess. Layouts and the way areas connect don’t adhere to any in-universe logic or theming. Areas feel like they’re haphazardly thrown together. Puzzle elements are sloppily implemented, involving puzzles that involve moving a heavy thing on a switch or shooting the switches before time runs out.
There aren’t any collectibles that increase capacity for HP or for weapon energy. Jenosa levels up like in a half-assed RPG, making the crappy combat the primary method to power up. The only items to collect are key cards, which are lost when used at doors. Some doors may require as many as six key cards, forcing players to go explore the absolute madhouse of a facility, crawling with all kinds of things that will kill our intrepid heroine.
However, Ratalaika knew that Scurge is a pain in the ass to play, and correctly added an infinite keys feature for anyone who doesn’t feel like dealing with the subpar combat while exploring. Turning this feature on dramatically shortens the game and highlights how much of it is mostly fluff and aimless wandering for generic keys.
Ratalaika recognized that the weapon energy mechanic was a huge hassle and added a cheat in the options to give infinite energy. You’ll be fighting tons of enemies, running around like a maniac, trying to stay alive while energy refills, which artificially lengthens the game. Just turn on the infinite energy and try not to get stun-locked by the cheap design.
Sometimes it seems like there are infinitely respawning enemies that zero in on your location, kicking poor Jenosa to the curb in what can best be described as one of those cartoon dust cloud fights. This time, she’s not only trying to survive a Walmartian Black Friday, but she’s also riddled with the scurge infection, whittling her health down like a doomsday clock.
Unlike in Metroid Fusion, the infection is very real and a huge hassle. Jenosa’s infection percentage is constantly on the rise, and when it hits 100%, her life will begin draining, and the only way to reset it is to visit a save room. In concept, the infection is a good idea because it creates tension. The problem is that it rises too fast and quickly becomes a nuisance as players get deeper into the game.
You’ll be focused on a platforming challenge or trying to climb some bars, but you won’t have any idea when the next sickbay will show up, forcing you to retreat to the last one to reset the infection. Getting back to where you were sucks because all foes respawn, and by the time you get back to the room you were investigating, your infection level may be even higher.
The boys at Ratalaika seemingly understood that Scurge has “certain flaws” and wisely chose to include cheats to circumvent them. It isn’t perfect, the core game design is still hopelessly lacking, but the features in the hilariously spartan menus help smooth the experience enough so players can get some enjoyment out of it.
Scurge was never a good game. At best, it was an ambitious cash-in to a popular game at the time; a Carnosaur to Jurassic Park. Yet it isn’t without its merits. The graphics and pixel art are very good. Jenosa has a very lively and well-animated sprite that has a striking and flowing ponytail. The exaggerated proportions were a nice touch and help Scurge from being a total soulless Metroid Fusion imitation.
The level design may not be extensive, but it looks great. Everything is well-drawn and readable, which is impressive for the lack of GBA resolution and how much detail the artists packed into each scene. There is an attempt at atmosphere with a transparent fog layer in some areas, which looks great.
The music is exceptional and was done by Jake Kaufman, the same artist behind the Shantae games and Shovel Knight. This must have been a very early job for him, but he still delivers consummate professionalism. He goes for a moody and industrial ambiance that fits nicely with Scurge’s aesthetic.
Scurge: Hive is a dumb game, but I can’t help but sit back and admire it. The audacity of copying Nintendo’s homework took guts. While they tried to make it their own, most of the design choices fall flat, resulting in an incredibly obnoxious and frustrating experience. The cheats help mitigate some of the issues with old design choices, but it still feels wrong to cheat.
When Scurge ends, it says “to be continued”. Obviously, that never happened and is a promise that will likely never be fulfilled. At the very least, gamers can get a glimpse of missed potential and see where Orbital Media’s hopes and dreams ended and wonder how they could have been improved in a sequel that they never made.
Scurge: Hive was reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2 using a code provided by Ratalaika Games. Additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy is here. Scurge: Hive is now available for Windows PC (via Steam), Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
