A.R.E.S.: Extinction Agenda Demo

Sidescrollers may have gone out of style in the last decade or so, but there are still plenty of fans out there that would much rather play a 2D platformer than enjoy yet another generic shooter that uses the latest graphics engine out there. However, these platformers need to respect a few standards as well, because it’s not enough to just jump around from place to place and kill stuff.

A.R.E.S. Extinction Agenda is a retro sidescroller that features everything you might want from the genre, as well as a good story and plenty of action to keep you interested until the end. It also feels and looks a lot like something that could have been released two decades ago, which should make the nostalgic that much more keen on giving this game a run for its money.

As such, the story talks about a distant future in which humanity manages to somehow fix a man-made apocalypse and restore some kind of order back on Earth. However, the space station that made the breakthrough possible is suddenly hit by a mysterious projectile and goes silent. Your role is to play the advanced robot that goes to investigate the event and eliminate any kind of threat while exploring the station.

Gameplay-wise, everything revolves around your ability to jump, avoid traps, and shoot everything that wants to hurt you. The mechanics are very similar to what you might have seen in Metroid or Mega Man, but they also feel a tad different, in order to make the experience memorable. However, if you are a fan of the genre, this should come as close to the classics as possible.

Visually, everything looks marvelous and the designers put a lot of work into the levels and the game world itself. Every stage seems different and it conveys a certain atmosphere, while the enemies and Ares himself look incredibly detailed for a 2.5D graphics engine. Moreover, the soundtrack is solid as well, even if it’s not as good as it could have been.

All things considered, A.R.E.S. Extinction Agenda’s only big mistake is the fact that it is quite short, so you might not get to enjoy it for as long as you hope. However, the content is packed with action and fun, so even those few couple of hours should be enough to consider the money well invested.