Cactus McCoy and the Curse of Thorns
- Genre Action games
- Players 1
- Session 10 min
- Price Free
- Updated
Before it became famous for restaurant games, Flipline Studios made this side-scrolling western. The painted comic at the start shows a masked outlaw in a striped top hat waving a treasure map and money bags at a red-caped cowboy, and the next thing you control is that cowboy turned into a cactus, which is the curse of the title. You play as him: spiky green head, black hat, red bandana. The first stage is a desert canyon that doubles as a tutorial, with carved rock signs teaching each key as you reach it. You run along sandstone ledges, jump onto higher shelves with A, drop through thin floors with Down and A, and punch with S. Two straw training dummies marked Attack let you chain hits, and a Combo counter pops up in the corner as the blows land. Further in, a cave holds weapons lying on the ground; standing over one and pressing Down picks it up, and our first find was a handful of darts, thrown upward by holding Up while pressing S at a bandit perched on a ledge. The bar at the bottom shows lives, health, coins, points and the current weapon with its durability.
| Left / Right arrows | Run along the ground and ledges |
|---|---|
| A | Jump; hold Down and press A to drop through a thin platform |
| S | Punch, or use the weapon you are holding |
| Down arrow | Pick up a weapon you are standing on |
| Up arrow + S | Throw or shoot upwards at enemies on higher ledges |
How to play Cactus McCoy and the Curse of Thorns
- Press CONTINUE on the Freezeria advert, then Play on the notDoppler screen and Start Game on the Cactus McCoy title.
- Choose an empty save slot, type a name and press Continue; read the comic with Next or press Skip.
- Click once inside the game so it receives the keyboard, then follow the rock signs in the first canyon to learn moving, jumping and dropping.
- Punch the training dummies with S to start a combo, then walk on into the cave and press Down over a weapon to pick it up.
- Beat the outlaws in each area and reach the exit, watching the stars, clock and five chest icons along the top of the screen.
Tips
- Watch the blue bar next to the weapon name at the bottom; it shows how much use your current weapon has left.
- Enemies on ledges above you are easier to hit from below with Up and S than by climbing up to them.
- Keep hitting without pausing to grow the combo counter; long chains add more points than single blows.
- Wanted posters hang on the canyon walls, and the wooden arrow signs point to the way forward when the path splits.
Questions about Cactus McCoy and the Curse of Thorns
Is this the same studio as the Papa's games?
Yes. Flipline Studios made it in 2011 with sponsorship from notDoppler, whose logo appears in the menu and at the top of the play screen.
Can I play Cactus McCoy on a phone?
Not really. Moving, jumping and attacking all need a keyboard, and the Flash version has no on-screen buttons, so use a computer.
The cactus will not move, what do I do?
Click once on the game area. The player needs focus before it hears the arrow keys and the A and S buttons.
Does the game save?
It offers three save slots stored in your browser, so your progress stays in that slot.
