I was lucky enough to get to spend some serious time playing the latest indie shooter, Rigid Force Redux. While I played the game on Xbox One, it is also available on the Nintendo Switch as well. If you enjoy old school shooters, especially games like R-Type you are in for a real treat with this game.
How to Download Rigid Force Redux
To download the game click on the Download button below this review.
The Game Review
The story of the game sees you piloting an advanced spacecraft as you head out to save the galaxy from an oppressive force. You have an AI companion in the form of PSYE and she will give you mission information before each level. For a shooter, Rigid Force Redux had more story than most and I like how they give you a reason for blowing up the things you are blowing up before each level.
The presentation is great. The game has a retro look, but it is all made with high-quality 3D assets! It manages to be both retro and modern at the same time and that is really cool. The first couple of levels have you shooting space ships and stuff like that, but you eventually get to shoot cool aliens. The third level, the sand one is my favorite as it has a fantastic and creepy variety of enemies.
Each level has you needing to shoot down as many enemies as you can before you get to take on a boss. It is a formula you have done a million times before, but this game does it very well. The gameplay is very tight and you always feel like you have complete control of your craft.
When you start, you have a very basic weapon. The upgrades though are a huge part of what makes Rigid Force Redux so much fun. You have different weapons you can get, one will be a fast-paced weapon, one is like a spread and one that bounces off walls. You also can get these missile type weapons and best of all, you can collect these “shards” which are like the thing that attaches to your ship in R-Type.
You can collect four of these and each one will give you more firepower. What is really cool is that with the LB and RB buttons you can have these shards be in different configurations. You can have them all focused at the front or back for a continuous form of fire. Or you can have them spread out.
Another part of the gameplay that adds a great deal of strategy is the energy you pick up. As you kill enemies, they drop these green orbs that will fill up your meter at the bottom of the screen. You can attract these to you with the R button which is a very handy feature. The energy bar serves two purposes.
First of all, you can press X and you will dish out a powerful blast that will last as long as you have energy. You can also use it as a way to block enemy fire. You press B and you will be protected from an enemy shot, but it will take away a chunk of your energy bar. I like how the game is not just a one-shot and you are dead, it makes the game feel much fairer and when your ship does blow up as long as you have a life left, you continue from where you died.
The game has multiple difficulty levels for you to play and even on easy, it is a solid challenge. There is also an arcade mode and a boss rush mode that you can unlock too. I recommend that you do the tutorial as it teaches you the basics. I can see myself coming back to this time and time again trying to beat my high score.
I have had a great time with Rigid Force Redux. It is one of the best shooters I have played in quite some time. It is currently available on the Nintendo eShop and Microsoft Store and I think it is well worth taking a closer look at. This is especially true if you like games such as R-Type, Darius, Einhänder, and Life Force to name a few.
