GALAK-Z: The Void: Deluxe Edition

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Title: GALAK-Z: The Void: Deluxe Edition
Developer: Golem Entertainment
Publisher: 17-Bit
Website: http://17-bit.com/
Genre: Action, Shooter, Shoot-‘Em-Up, Vertical
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Audience: PEGI 12
Release Date: 26.03.19
Price: £12.59 – Rapid Reviews UK were very kindly provided with a review code for this title.

What The Developers Say

This critic’s choice has been retooled to create the ultimate version for the Nintendo Switch.

’80s spaceship anime and arcade-gaming meld with ultra-modern physics and A.I. in a skill-demanding procedurally generated rogue-lite adventure! Be the hero in a world that oozes classic Saturday morning anime but plays like a tough, modern, tactical shooter. Try to survive the hostile environments of deep space, battling warring factions full of unique and cunning enemies. Unlock ever more powerful upgrades as you learn the secret of the GALAK-Z, and die and die again as you valiantly struggle to become the ultimate pilot – finally good enough to beat what GALAK-Z throws at you!

• New Mode: The Void allows endless gameplay, Online Leaderboards, and a Daily Challenge
• Advanced enemy A.I. for intense dogfights
• Exclusive Guest Star: Juan from Guacamelee featured as an enemy unit
• Arcade Mode for the faint of heart who don’t dare the rogue-lite approach.

GALAK-Z is playable in TV mode, Handheld mode, or Tabletop mode and supports HD Rumble, Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, and Joy-Con controllers.

Introduction

After months of playing the seemingly lacklustre free to play title, 17-Bit have finally released the PS4 title coupled with the DLC The Void. Could this version finally satisfy my hunger for a rogue-lite space shooter that both frustrates and excites read on to find out more?

Audio & Visual

Galak-Z has an interesting art style, one that reminds me of my childhood watching TV shows such as Captain Bucky O’Hare – it’s fun quirky and very colourful, well as Vcolourful as space can be. The game is filled with humorous one-liners from the protagonist A-Tak, ranging from Sarcasm to just plain stupidity. However, visually it was great with no significant screen lagging or tearing. It runs solidly on the Switch, even with multiple enemies and explosions on the screen.

Sound wise the game is excellent with English voice-overs, terrific sounding explosions and lasers and enemies all having their little reactions when a firefight starts to play out.

Gameplay & Replayability

As mentioned previously, you play as the Protagonist A-Tak who meets a Character called Beam on board a science vessel called the Axelios. They have split up these missions into 5 part chapters, spread across four different ”episodes” if you like. The game starts off making sure you are up to speed with the controls and how to operate A-Tak’s Ship, familiarizing yourself with forwards, backwards, shooting and the like.

This game is not very easy to fly around killing enemies quickly. It takes a lot of skill, practice and careful strategy. Games of this type usually come in the style of shoot first, ask questions later, but it soon became quite apparent that the enemy was very adept at firing their missiles at where my character would usually be. That’s where the difficulty comes in, and it sometimes feels as though it should be the Dark Souls of a rogue-lite set in a space environment,

Early on none of the weapons seem to deal too much damage to enemy shields, but as you progress and unlock new upgrades, it does become a little less forgiving. In later levels, you can pilot a Mech type character that holds a shield that also absorbs a tiny bit of damage, and he also wields a sabre that he can power up and take down enemy shields with ease. But I still found this mode to be somewhat tricky to control, nevertheless it was enjoyable. Replayability is excellent with levels procedurally generated apart from the usual mode. There is also an Arcade Mode which restarts you at the start of a chapter as opposed to returning you to the beginning although you will be missing any upgrades you purchased along the way.

One of the game modes introduced was the Void mode. This gives you an endless battle and pits you against waves and waves of endless enemies. My attempts at gaining a very satisfying high score were quite feeble as the base game difficulty is quite high – this mode is even more brutal. But in terms of replayability, it is fantastic, and fans of the series will welcome this with open arms.

Conclusion

So, in my honest opinion, this is a fantastic entry to rogue-lite space shooters and one any adhering fan must play. It holds a very deserving space on the Switch and is a cut above the current free to play title by the same company. The difficulty didn’t prevent me from enjoying myself, and it’s great to have a game that doesn’t hold your hand too much like a lot of the other titles that are released.

Rapid Reviews UK Rating

You can purchase GALAK-Z: The Void: Deluxe Edition on the Nintendo eShop on the following link,https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/GALAK-Z-The-Void-Deluxe-Edition-1522566.html#Overview