Developer: The Quadsphere
Steam Release: Jun 2015
Hours Played: 8.2
Similar To: Danmaku Unlimited 2 / Roche Fusion / Saviors / Sky Merceneries
Rating: 2/5 Parsnips
Icarus-X is a vertical-scroller that sets the player off on a journey of five chapters. You take control of a ship that can move anywhere on the screen while pummeling your foes with streams of missiles of varying types. You get to choose one of three types of ship (cruiser, destroyer and fighter). A chapter lasts for about five minutes and features the same attack formations and patterns of movement each playthrough so learning what to expect and how to adapt becomes second nature after playing regularly for some time when familiarity sets in. Like Jamestown, this works really well because over time you can really feel yourself getting better at the game during your transition from novice to master. The game gives a strong sense that you're travelling at high speed as the scrolling background moves very fast and this can take a bit of getting used to.
Enemies swivel, swirl and spin in front of you in bunches from the cannon-fodder type fighter that can be taken down with one direct hit to the mother-ship bosses that have to be taken down in what seems like an age. The chapters are well-designed and usually feature two boss fights after you've dealt with the different waves of enemies. Gameplay is fast and zippy meaning you always need to be anticipating where enemies will appear from and be ready to counter them with the right strategy. As you play, items such as shields, lasers and missiles drop which are then placed in your inventory to be accessed and equipped later. You will spend a lot of time at your inventory screen between chapters because this is where you equip those ever more powerful items that help you move up through the five tiers (more on these later).
IXToF is quite a tightly designed affair and like all the classic vertical scrollers such as Crimzon Clover, Danmaku Unlimited 2, Ikaruga and Mushihimesama features huge borders either side of the playing area greatly reducing the screen size you actually play in. This restriction helps make gameplay more intense. Graphics are low-spec demanding little work from the hardware of your computer yet the visuals are crisp and crystal clear. However, some missiles do sometimes blend with the background making it difficult to distinguish between the two. It runs as smooth as chocolate with no framerate issues. The menus themselves (strangely utilising the red B button on the Xbox controller to navigate) activates a solid heavy door closing audio effect accompanying clicks.
Game modes come in two basic flavours: Campaign or Arcade. The former allows you to jump in and play one of the five chapters where you can work on improving your high score in each. The game boasts five tiers housing the five chapters meaning you can work your way up the tiers (equipping your ship with higher-spec weapons) and getting better scores. Arcade is the last-as-long-as-you-can option where you attempt to continue through the game, chapter by chapter, with no break. The Campaign has three difficulty settings (Casual, Normal and Hardcore) whereas Arcade has four (Easy, Normal , Hard and Impossible). The slick and stable Leaderboard gives your score and online rank in all of these but the Ship-Type button doesn't work.
CONCLUSION
Icarus-X may look like a simple and basic 2D shooter on the surface but it does hide some complex design features. For one, there is a Shop, Skills and Special Weapon component that you'll need to visit on regular occasions to upgrade and to become more powerful. You'll also spend quite a lot of time perusing and pouring over stats to a variety of weapons that play to your ship's strengths such as: spread and double cannons; homing lasers and missiles along with side lasers and shields. Furthermore deciding which weapon, secondary weapon and shield to actually equip becomes a tricky task in itself not least in trying to understand and cross-reference all the different and detailed specs. To get to grips with it all Icarus-X can be a bit of a time-sink yet, like a lot of bullet-hells, can be rewarding once it all clicks into place.
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