Boulder Creek is a ghost town. The sheriff’s office, the mission church, the blacksmith fed by the nearby mine: these all speak to what was once a thriving and prosperous place. Now, though, the town belongs to the Ridgebacks, former humans with termite nests growing out of their skulls, twitching as the insects guide their movements.

The sheriff’s office is buried under weblike growths; the blacksmith’s forge is cold; there is just one sign of life to be found. A literal sign, hung from the front of the church. Painted on it, in hasty capitals, is the word ‘help’. Guiding our character to a nearby rooftop, we plan the rescue. Ridgebacks have a tough carapace and spew poisonous gas, so taking them on directly isn’t an option. They’re immune to their own poison, naturally, but – aha – the gas is incredibly flammable. We boot a couple of TNT barrels onto the streets below, then knock a hanging oil lamp loose with an arrow.

Flame meets gas meets explosive – but the bangs quickly fizzle out, leaving barely a nick on the Ridgebacks’ fearsome health bars. Closer examination reveals the cause: barrels of water that extinguish the blaze just as it’s getting going. Reloading the most recent save, we sneak down and drink them all dry, then return to the rooftop. This time, the chain reaction is unstoppable, but each explosion does only a tiny amount of damage to these creatures.

In the minutes it takes for this to chip away their health, a rainstorm passes over the town and douses the flames. But as we decide to finish the remaining stragglers the old-fashioned way (backpedalling and firing indiscriminately), the clouds prove our saviour. They’ve refilled the barrels with rainwater which, when sipped, restores enough health to survive the fight.