Overview – developed by Team Grybanser Fox, with porting and publishing handled by Eastasiasoft, Super XYX is a retro styled vertical bullet hell shooter, inspired by early 90s arcade SHMUPS. Take on an ancient threat that has arisen to cause destruction once again, with its target being the Milky Way Galaxy. This version of Super XYX is available on all console platforms, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for providing the copy of Super XYX that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story for Super XYX.
Story – the year is in the far distant future of 3999, humanity has expanded past the solar system, setting up various colonies across the galaxy. With this expansion, humanity discovered and laid claim to many new worlds, harvesting their resources and enjoying peace and prosperity. Interactions with alien races have been rather peaceful, but that changed after the Black Serpent awakened, an ancient threat that threatens to devour the Milky Way Galaxy.
Gameplay – this title is a vertical bullet hell shooter, using a 2D style and retro aesthetics reminiscent of classic arcade shmups. The main game mode is arcade, where the objective is to battle waves of enemies, on the way to take down the end stage boss. The player can select one of six player ships before starting, with only two of them being available at the start. Each ship has their own unique attacks, with distinct bullet patterns and access to a special attack.
During a run of arcade mode, the stages play out in classic bullet hell fashion, where the player must dodge and weave enemy fire coming from all directions. The opposition forces will attack the player from the ground and air, with each of the stages having a distinct theme to them. In battle, the player ship has a rapid fire attack, as well as a special bomb that clears bullets from the screen. But these bombs are limited, and only refill between stages.
In the stages, the player will encounter gold ships, which will drop power-ups when they are destroyed. There are two types of power-up that can be collected, with the first being a fire power increase and the second being assist, adding satellite ships to increase rate of fire. Both of the upgrades have multiple levels that can be collected, increasing the overall power of the ship. However, if the player ship is downed, upgrade power will be lost.
The death and continue systems is a fairly big step away from tradition, being vastly different from what inspired it. When the player dies during a stage, they will immediately respawn to get right back into the battle. However, the player bombs will not replenish upon death. If all lives are lost, the player will get a game over, needing to use the limited credits to try again. Upon continuing, the stage will start again from the beginning with a fresh set of bombs.
As the player eliminates enemies, they will get gold nuggets and medals for quickly destroying them. These will be added to a total on screen, alongside a combo that will grow when dealing damage to enemy ships. The combo will also affect the amount of gold generated, with more gold being earned at higher combos chains to an extent. The combo and gold multiplier will reset upon death, losing all of the collected medal points up to that point in the stage.
When the player reaches the end of the stage, a warning will flash up, heralding the arrival of the boss. These opponents are large and can devastate the player with powerful attacks, alongside multi-phase capabilities. Each boss will have several segments, with each of them needing to be destroyed to defeat them. The bullet patterns for the boss battles can be very challenge, but they can be learned after a few attempts, making them beatable.
After defeating a boss, the player will be given point rewards based on their performance, giving a big boost to end score for the stage. These bonuses are for the maximum combo for the stage, the gold possessed after defeating the boss and remaining lives. There is also a special bonus for clearing the stage without dying, called the No-Miss bonus. If players can clear multiple stages in one life, the score will skyrocket, as well as being tied to special bonuses.
When the player clears a stage, they will be added to the practice mode, letting players replay stages to improve their skills. It is a very useful feature, giving players a chance to memorise enemy patterns and boss battles. With the main gameplay loop being a brisk six stages, there is a selection of new content for players to unlock. This gives greater replay value, offering players a reason to return to the game after completing the main six stages.
By simply playing the game, the player is able to unlock 4 new playable ships, additional gameplay modes and extra credits. The most important unlock during the early game is the extra credits, as the game will start with only three, making for a challenging experience. Then there are the bonus modes, with the traditional boss rush and a special GZR mode to name a couple. These special modes can change the game entirely, refreshing the experience.
The last the last thing to discuss are some of the various options. Super XYX has a vast selection of options for players to adjust, giving a fair amount of control over the challenge. These settings include adjusting the ship speed, the visibility of the ship hit box and the number of lives per credit. All of the settings can alter the overall feel of the game, modifying the challenge for players. There is also a difficulty slider between Standard and Challenging.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to cover the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – the control method for Super XYX is very close to the arcade inspirations, with a simple two button set up for the shooting and deploying bombs. Players can also use a ship slow down, along with an option formation toggle are on the triggers, which allow for quick usage while maintaining fire. All of the controls can be modified, letting players adjust the feel to fit the controller of choice, like an arcade stick or classic style pad.
Difficulty – Super XYX has two difficulty settings for players to use, with the choice of Standard and Challenging. The two settings affect the bullet patterns and shot density, but both have a minor issue with enemy bullets being hidden by player fire. The game is defaulted at Challenging, which can be punishing for inexperienced players. All of the unlocks can be obtained in both difficulty settings, so select the one best for you.
Presentation – there is a retro feel to the visuals of this release, using 2D sprite work and an art style based on classic bullet hell titles. The environments, ships and bosses look unique, fitting their distinct themes for each of the stages. Everything flows well, with no issues with lag or frame drops during action. The sound for this title is solid for the most part, with impactful effects and music that fits the stages well, but there is an odd bug where the music will cut out.
Final Thoughts – I saw this title a while ago on steam, but missed out on it, so when I was given the opportunity to cover the console release, I wanted to give it a shot. My first impressions were not the best, as the gameplay experience felt off due to the general feel of the action. As a default, the ship is set to the lowest speed, making it feel sluggish. This increased the difficulty, making it feel unfairly balanced, but after tweaking some settings everything improved.
After a few more attempts, things fell into place allowing me to get deep into the game on a single life. The content unlocks pushed me to keep trying, pushing me to keep going. This is a fairly solid vertical SHMUP, effectively using most of the foundations of classic bullet hell, but sadly has some flaws with hidden shots off screen shots. I can recommend this to hardcore bullet hell fans, but I don’t think newbies will enjoy it as much.
In the end, I give Super XYX a final score of 3/5. This is a solid vertical shooter, offering a challenging bullet hell experience that utilizes many of the foundation of classic titles. There are a few flaws, but there is plenty of content to unlock and the game can be beaten with practice. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
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