Galactic Glitch is a fast-paced twin-stick roguelike shooter that has just launched from its Early Access phase. Set in a simulated universe, you control an AI-piloted spaceship tasked by a mysterious entity, Siren, to escape a glitched simulation. What will definitely catch your eye is the physics-based combat, letting you manipulate the environment and enemies as weapons.

The core loop of Galactic Glitch involves navigating interconnected “bubble” arenas, clearing enemies, upgrading your ship, and battling bosses. You wield a gravity gun to grab and hurl objects such as asteroids, missiles, mines, or even enemies, turning them into powerful projectiles that deal more damage than standard weapons and can stun foes. For example, picking up an enemy’s rocket and tossing it back or smashing foes into asteroids creates dynamic encounters.

Plenty of weapons to try and enjoy

Standard weapons like lasers or railguns, more unlocked as you play, complement the gravity gun, featuring a special shot that charges during combat for powerful bursts. Also, the dash mechanic lets you dodge attacks or ram enemies with certain upgrades, making the combat feel smooth and responsive. However, relying on environmental objects can make fights in sparse arenas less exciting, and the screen can definitely get clogged with objects.

Each bubble you enter contains enemies along with rewards like orbs, credits, power-ups, or optional high-reward Rift Battles. Teleportation portals let you backtrack, but the map’s simplicity limits strategic navigation. In other words, there are several lines connecting each bubble; sometimes they can be blocked, forcing you to unlock a special ability that can unlock the path or force you to move to the open nearby area.

Galactic Glitch offers various biomes with a range of enemies, but they grow repetitive as rooms in the same biome feature similar waves, making bosses much more enjoyable than regular enemies. There’s plenty of bosses, each requiring a unique strategy to get defeated and they get stronger as you keep playing. Each run lasts 30–60 minutes, letting you pick your path through shops, upgrade stations, or boss arenas.

“Explore, loot and fight your way through hostile space.” 

Upgrade system is a big let down

The upgrade stations feel oddly designed, making it unclear what you’re actually improving or what might be useful. You pick from three upgrades, but it’s confusing, at least for me, since there’s no color coding to show what’s being enhanced, just vague stats like an 18% weapon damage boost. Plus, you can finish a level in two ways: clearing all bubbles or opting for a quick win by beating the biome within a time limit. Rushing works decently with strong starting stats, but to get more powerful, exploring everything is advised, which makes speedrunning feel costly and frustrating.

My biggest issue is the upgrade system, it feels like you’re not improving since upgrades are rare, which feels strange. Additionally, there is a shop you can find, but every item inside is vaguely explained. I don’t want to spend a good 10 minutes clearing a biome to find an upgrade station, as it gets repetitive and I just want to move on. Plus, you get healed after finishing a biome, making the risk of taking damage seem less significant.

To be honest, taking everything in consideration, the gameplay is quite fun, with each battle lasting about 15 seconds and offering a proper fast-paced action. You can deal more damage by getting behind enemies and shooting them in the back, though it’s inconsistent since it’s not clearly marked what counts as the back. Still, you won’t waste much time playing this game overall.

“The gameplay is quite fun, with each battle lasting about 15 seconds.”

Fast-paced roguelike experience that’s fun to play

When it comes to graphics, Galactic Glitch boasts neon-soaked visuals blending cyberpunk and sci-fi vibes, reminiscent of Tron. Its 2D art shines with glowing pink, purple, and blue colors against a dark space backdrop, while explosions and debris scatter in colorful arcs, creating a psychedelic show. However, the graphics focus more on function than flair, with simple designs that don’t challenge modern style.

Given its price, solid roguelite structure, shooter elements with innovative physics-based combat, and simple controls, Galactic Glitch can definitely get addictive, especially if you’re a fan of the genre or Dead Cells. It offers a strong replayable setup, though the upgrade system feels lackluster to me, while the bosses stand out as the game’s best feature. Plus, you can enjoy it on Steam Deck.

Review copy provided by the publisher

3.8

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Drawing inspiration from the straightforward yet challenging Wii Play Tanks! minigame, BOMBSHELL BLITZ elevates the twin-stick shooter formula with roguelike mechanics and a charming cast of characters. You take on the role of a cadet at Bombshell Military Academy, navigating a series of themed testing courses. Each course features unique environments that shift the style of combat, requiring players to adapt their strategies to succeed.

Combat in BOMBSHELL BLITZ centers on mastering a variety of specialized tanks and platforms designed to test your skills. By learning enemy patterns and devising clever tactics, you can conquer each course’s challenges. Beyond standard tank upgrades, you can unlock special tactical abilities like commanding allies, deploying drones, or calling in airstrikes, adding depth to the fast-paced battles.

Between exams, interact with a colorful cast of characters, from shy to explosive personalities, building relationships to earn extra credit or leniency in combat tests. The game’s roguelike structure keeps each run fresh, with predetermined exercises presented in random order and modified by positive or negative effects, ensuring no two playthroughs are the same.

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As a top scientist at Protagenics, a cutting-edge genetic research lab, you’ve been working to solve the global food crisis. Your team has pushed ethical boundaries, using gene editing to create livestock that grows 100 times faster than normal animals. But when an experiment is mysteriously sabotaged, it unleashes a horrifying creature, a virally spreading mass of tentacles that devours everything in its path.

Demon Spore offers both solo and co-op gameplay, allowing you to team up with up to three friends in local co-op mode. You’ll have to choose your character and role carefully, as teamwork is essential to survive the tentacle-infested hell. It’s important to watch each other’s backs, share resources, and strategize to outsmart the creature. The lab is filled with tools and systems you can repurpose to slow down the creature’s growth or create diversions.

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Viscera brings a gritty, futuristic world to life, paired with a love for excessive gore. As you fight through hordes of enemies, blood splatters across the ground while bullets and explosions fly around you. The game is laser-focused on gameplay, with more than 50 different weapons to discover, from machine guns and plasma rifles to more unusual options like a saw gun or a black hole generator that reduces enemies to nothing.

In addition to the wide range of weapons, Viscera includes a perk system with over 80 abilities. Players can modify their characters with body implants or unleash strange powers like time manipulation or poison clouds to weaken enemies. The fast-paced action requires players to constantly adapt as new weapons and abilities keep the gameplay fresh and exciting.

The post A brutal, no-nonsense shooter Viscera is coming in 2024 first appeared on IndieGames.