Title: Xenoraid
Available On: Nintendo Switch, Steam
Played On: Nintendo Switch
Developer: 10tons Ltd
Publisher: 10tons
Genre: First Person, Action, Arcade
Official Site: https://www.xenoraid.com/
Release Date: November 17, 2017
Where To Buy: Nintendo E-Shop, Local Retailer
This little game is a spin-off from the old arcade game Asteroids. Xenoraid is available on the Nintendo Switch and Steam and is perfect for playing it on the go. These games are better suited for handheld consoles as they are small, fun games that are designed for playing while traveling or sitting around at home on Christmas while your family watch old movies.
This game brings modernization to an older generation game with easy to learn controls and a sleek finish to it. Players are tasked to protect Earth from alien ships in space and are given missions throughout. Each mission becomes harder as you progress adding more alien ships that are harder to destroy. Players are given four crafts to protect the Earth and the game gives you a hint to try and not get your ship crafts destroyed as it costs more to replace which is a nice feature for newbies like myself. Players can quickly switch between crafts so that they do not die straight away, but I found it difficult as I was terrible at the game. It made me challenge my techniques and learn quickly as Xenoraid was not a forgiving game.
The checkpoints are spread out and are not after every mission which at times I found frustrating as I could not quickly jump back from where I left off if I failed the mission. Even though this was frustrating, it was also challenging and it was a refreshing factor since I believe some games are much easier than they used to be, even on a higher difficulty. Be warned, the checkpoints are something that you need to get used to.
With every successful mission, players will get rewards with the in-game currency. The in-game currency lets you buy upgrades for your ship, repair the damages made to your crafts, and buy new crafts if yours keep getting destroyed (like mine). Apart from the upgrades to make your craft even better, there is not much customisation in this game. It may be a minor detail, but Xenoraid would have gotten a more personal touch even if it was changing the color of the crafts and naming them. Then, I would get even more upset if my beloved orange ship kept getting blown up because I cannot avoid the shots from the alien ships at all.
Anyway, one of my favorite features of the game is actually the switching between the spacecrafts. It is such a little detail, but it impacts your gameplay completely. Players have to determine how much longer their craft will survive out in the sky or that it is time to switch to a different fighter ship. Players can also see on the right-hand side of the ship what health each ship is on and where the damage has taken place on the craft. This simple feature allowed players to switch back to damaged crafts if every other craft is too low to carry on.
What is not to love about it? For the purpose of the arcade space game, it ticks nearly every box for being fun, challenging, and not being repetitive. When I first started playing this game, I thought it was going to be too much of the same game each round, but to my surprise, it was an engaging game that got me shouting at the screen.
There are four boss fights and each one is insanely difficult. Even though there are not many boss fights, players are sure to be stuck on each one longer than the missions took as they take skill and time. Players have to put their skills to the tests and learn quick, but each one is incredible.
If players ever get bored of the boss fights, then they can play with a friend as the game is multiplayer! This is great as players can get their friends raging at the game while enjoying it themselves. This is a good twist on the normal arcade game as it is more social and can mix up the standard game. It especially goes really well with the Nintendo Switch as it is more of a multiplayer console that is better for local co-op. And finally, the last feature in case players tire through these features is the three endless survival stages with online leaderboards. These stages are for the more experienced players that have a competitive streak in them. Overall, the arcade game could have settled for a lot less and considered good, but the developers chose to go above and beyond to design a fun pact game.
Verdict: A fun arcade game that will keep players entertained while trying to complete all the missions. Also, a great game to play with friends and family especially as it is a spin-off from an older generation arcade game. Definitely worth joining the ‘First Space War’.
[review]