Review shinespark 4/5 · Nov 10, 2022
A Charming Dead End
A very pretty PS1 shooter where you pilot a cute spider mech with slick omnidirectional slides and the ability to seamlessly skitter across walls and ceilings.
Like a lot of PS1 games, the base controls are incredibly awkward since they map both directional and rotational inputs to the dpad, but offloading rotation to the right analog stick on a modern …
A very pretty PS1 shooter where you pilot a cute spider mech with slick omnidirectional slides and the ability to seamlessly skitter across walls and ceilings.
Like a lot of PS1 games, the base controls are incredibly awkward since they map both directional and rotational inputs to the dpad, but offloading rotation to the right analog stick on a modern controller makes movement feel excellent. Zooming along the side of a skyscraper while launching volleys of autotargeted micromissiles immediately sells the super hi-tech mech fantasy in a way most games never manage, even today.
Unfortunately the rest of the game is pretty lackluster, with weapons that are no fun to use, enemies that are no fun to fight, and levels that jam you into tiny corridors or otherwise disincentivize you from using your awesome wall slides. And the whole thing is over before it starts at barely 2 hours start to finish. But it's still a lovely example of the highly experimental spirit of the PS1, and a charming first draft of a mech action concept that never took off.
