[PS1] EXHUMED Part 1 - "It's Metroid Prime but in Egypt" [No Commentary]

We're gonna kick this shit off with a whopping 40-minute episode. This Playthrough is using RetroArch and a PS4 controller for that authentic shoulder button strafing.

EXHUMED on PS1 is one of my favourite games ever, right up there with the greatest of the Boomer Shooters, the Serious Sam series, and things like Hollow Knight and Postal 2 -- but sadly suffers from being a game I've never finished: every time I get back into it, some shitty life-shattering thing happens which means the playthrough inevitably just dies. It's also the version the upcoming POWERSLAVE Remake is allegedly gonna be based on, which I wholeheartedly prefer over the Duke-clone on PC.

EXHUMED has utterly bizarre controls due to being a console FPS before thumbsticks were a normal thing, but it's also a rare example of a very faithful Metroid-like before the Metroid formula was properly established (as a side note: I make a distinction between pure "Metroid-Likes", and "Metroidvanias").

For our first episode, we get a primer on the story, enter King Ramses' Tomb to get a briefing, and then proceed to tear up several levels - snagging the Sandals (high jump), Sobek Mask (no longer instantly drown in water), 2 Health Ankhs (more health bars), and even picking up the first part of the "Beacon" which is needed for the good ending.

These Episodes will vary greatly in how long they are and what they cover: being a Metroid-like that lets you freely revisit areas, there'll be some backtracking in some episodes, and occasionally just swinging by places to restock on Weapon Energy and Health.