Final Boss: 2nd Apocalypse Demo

Vertical Scrollers have managed to remain largely unchanged for decades, especially when it comes to gameplay mechanics and graphics. As such, there’s not much of a difference between a game released today and another one released twenty years ago, because not much has changed in the meantime. However, the genre’s popularity is not what it used to be, unfortunately.

Final Boss: 2nd Apocalypse is a classic shoot ‘em up game with 2D graphics and all the lasers you could wish for, in which your primary goal is to survive the cacophony of bullets and rockets coming toward you at any given nanosecond. Hence, if you are a fan of the genre, this should be exactly what you expect it to be and provide you with some much-needed entertainment.

There’s not much of a story going on in the background, mostly because this is merely a demo and all the work went into the gameplay instead. As such, all you need to know is that the galaxy is in trouble and you need to defend it from evil aliens. There are many different types of ships and enemies you must eliminate, some of which are directly borrowed from other famous shoot ‘em ups.

As it is customary in the genre, the screen is constantly occupied by lasers, bullets, and various other types of destructive rays that are aimed at you. Naturally, your goal is to avoid all these and stay alive long enough to destroy the enemies sending them. At the end of each level, a massive boss makes an appearance and it makes your life considerably more difficult.

The visual component shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, because almost every vertical sidescroller ever released featured 2D graphics. Hence, even the game’s window is portrait-shaped and it makes it that much easier for you to navigate the levels. The controls are responsive and you can also enjoy a decent soundtrack as you go along.

All things considered, Final Boss: 2nd Apocalypse is about as classic as it can get in the genre, and that’s certainly a good thing. Thus, if you are in the mood for something old school and you do not mind the low resolution or the low-quality graphics, this is certainly a good option.