#shooter
#shooter
by Omar ( @siegarettes )
RIVE is a bit of anachronism in 2016. Despite the current popularity and developments of the twin-stick shooter, RIVE feels like a game from the heyday of Xbox Live Arcade. Between the gruff, blue collar characterization of the protagonist, constant reference to retro arcade games, and fourth wall breaks, RIVE is particularly enamored with an idea of a retro throwback in a way that now feels like a throwback itself.
by Omar (@siegarettes)
Even among the recent revival of SHMUPs, DOGOS, by developers OPQAM, immediately makes an impression. Rather than looking to immitate the more commonly mined arcade titles, DOGOS builds itself in the tradition of European PC shooters. Instead of being led down a tunnel of enemies, you’ll move between mazes, canyons, and open arenas, taking on a variety of objectives as you progress. There’s a focus on detailed graphics and environments, and an overall more open approach to a genre that’s often driven by a perpetual forward momentum. DOGOS, if nothing else, attempts to shake up the common formulas of the genre. How successful it is, that’s a bit more complicated.
by Omar (@siegarettes)
Second opinion by Marie (@rlpte)
Death Ray Manta (hereto referred to as DRM) is a game that undoubtedly owes its existence to at least a handful of 80’s arcade shooters. Its most obvious debts is to Eugene Darvis’ seminal twin stick shooter, Robotron 2084. Its in the designs on the enemies, the obstacles, and their unrelenting onslaught. Enemy placements are consistent from level to level, however, so forward progress becomes a game of slow familiarity and a push for space. It initially threw me off, but I began to appreciate it as I started to acclimatize to the environment it was throwing me into.
