Duration: 28:08

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LINK TO THE RUN WITHOUT COMMENTARY: https://youtu.be/mN33lVEgph4

Beautiful videogame. A top-down free-controlling shooter, sublime in its crisp, clear presentation, instantaneous action, and game design that's so simple you could easily miss just how brilliant it is.

It goes like this: you are a guy. You have a gun. GO. There is nothing adhered unnecessarily to this frame, nothing to sully it--whereas some companies would be tempted to load the thing with weapons, Toaplan gives you just four, two primary (free shot and strafe spread) and two special (high damage flamethrower and piercing "super ball). Each is, of course, highly valuable depending on the situation.

Most of the fun comes from the way enemies are laid out, much like the forced-scrolling shooters Toaplan primarily traded in; but here, the wrinkle of free control allows them another layer of depth in the level design. Sometimes you're in an open field, swiveling and spraying wildly as enemies rush you; sometimes you're in a maze of tight corridors, peeking around corners to pick dudes off in incredibly tense, almost secret-agent-esque firefights; sometimes you're doing platforming, hopping onto moving floors and elevators and dropping bombs because you don't want to risk careening off an edge... They concocted so many little scenarios that create different kinds of tension and satisfaction, all housed in a remarkably seamless package.

I'm guessing the designers tested the game early-on, and found that it was too easy to be stingy, to use the free control to hold back, go slow, be cautious; and that did NOT fly. There's a system put in place to keep you moving forward: your energy bar ticks down as time passes, and to refill it you have to collect 'E' items stashed in set locations in specific crates throughout a level. It's incredibly well-balanced, not punishing the player overtly for being careful so much as planting a tiny seed in their head that says "keep moving," which can grow into a gnarly thicket of stress, or result in death, if not dutifully managed.

That's all not even to mention the game's fun little secrets and easter eggs, of which there many, all calling back to earlier games Toaplan made. The music is really good, if not great.

The only dings I can give it are for its rather obtuse scoring system, and the feeling that if I wasn't playing it with autofire I would be having a considerably worse time. Honestly though, if I saw this in an arcade somewhere, I'd happily sit down and mash away.