Phase Edge Demo

Shoot ‘em ups are not very popular nowadays, probably because the focus has shifted toward other genres in the meantime. However, you can still find a few indie projects out there that try to keep the flame burning. Not only that, but there are quite a few fans as well, especially among the older gamers who lived through the arcade era.

Phase Edge is a fast-paced shoot ‘em up with a pretty simple idea at its core: control a spaceship and survive a constant onslaught of vicious enemies. As a reward, the game provides you with better weapons as you manage to pass the levels, but the challenge increases as well. Thus, you never have an easy time, regardless of how powerful your guns might be.

The background story is not that intricate, but it obviously doesn’t need to be either. As such, your role is to protect your planet from a species of inter-dimensional mutants, which can only be defeated using the Phase Edge, a powerful weapon designed to annihilate them. There are no characters and no love interests to distract you, so it’s all about shooting and surviving.

The term fast-paced certainly applies in this situation, because you’ll need a bit of practice until you are able to keep up with the bullets and the enemy movement. However, the game is a bit of a letdown when it comes to the mechanics, because you cannot use the mouse to rotate the ship. Instead, you can only shoot left or right, yet the enemies come from every direction. It’s obviously more challenging this way, but it doesn’t feel natural at all.

Even so, you can have tons of fun trying to avoid hundreds of bullets coming at you at the same time. The weapons you receive later on make your job a bit easier, but you still have to keep moving to avoid dying. Certain enemies drop health packs after they die, but you are not always that lucky, and you have to restart the level if you die.

All things considered, Phase Edge is one tough cookie, but it is also very fun and engaging. Hence, if you are a fan of the genre and you do not mind dying an awful lot, this can very well keep you busy for a while.