‘Slaughtering Can’ – A Shooter About Hydrating Hostile Plants

Slaughtering Can has players rushing around a deadly arena at dusk, watering can in hand, ready to water some plants or die.

I’m not sure why the plants are so irritated at you, but if the protagonist is anything like me, it’s probably due to forgetting to water them for days or weeks on end. Sorry little leafy buddies, I am just not very good at remembering things. Well, the plants have finally gotten sick of this behavior and are determined to hunt you down and beat you to death unless you fix their parched lives. Better grab that watering can and a hose and get to work. If only you didn’t own an infinite number of plants. Maybe this is more like a Silent Hill purgatory for someone who failed their plants?

The premise for the game comes from the desire to “…make a sick reload animation for a watering can,” according to developer Graeme Borland, and I have to say that he’s absolutely nailed it. As the plants come rushing at you in the fast-paced shooter combat, you’ll swing your watering can’s lid open, top it off quickly with your hose, and bring the lid crashing back down again with a flick of your wrist. It’s such a sharp little animation that honestly kept me playing the game for quite a while. It’s one of those things that’s totally ridiculous and super satisfying at the same time. It doesn’t hurt that the shooter play is pretty frantic even if you are just watering the plants.

Slaughtering Can is a funny shooter that’s still a blast to play. It’s hard not to crack up randomly as you play it – especially any time you have to reload. Although now I find myself wanting to see reloading animations for other household devices. I think the vacuum cleaner could offer some fun possibilities.

Slaughtering Can is available now on itch.io.

About The Author

Joel Couture

Joel has been covering indie games for various sites including IndieGames.com, Siliconera, Gamasutra, Warp Door, CG Magazine, and more over the past seven years, and has written book-length studies on Undertale and P.T.. Joel is constantly on the lookout for digital experiences that push the boundaries of what games can be, and seeks to delve into the creative process, meanings, and emotion labor that goes into the work of artists worldwide.