Razor2: Hidden Skies Demo

Back when they were still immensely popular, top-down shooters required a lot of patience and skill in order to beat, because each level was a challenge and the boss fights caused intense sweating episodes. Nowadays, while there still are a few titles released every now and again, very few of them manage to capture the same spirit and provide the players with a challenge.

Razor2: Hidden Skies is a retro shoot ‘em up with a top-down perspective, obviously set in space and featuring lasers, huge explosions, and the usual futuristic spaceships. Your role is to keep moving forward and shoot everything down between you and the end of the level. A boss also makes an appearance once you finish a chapter, which usually requires a lot more coordination and patience to take down.

The story is not emphasized on too much, which means that it quickly fades into the background after the first few minutes of gameplay. You barely have any time to pay attention to anything else anyway, due to the sheer number of rockets, lasers, and bullets flying toward you at any given second. In fact, you may sometimes feel overwhelmed regardless of how experienced you might be, which is a clear sign of bad level design.

Although it plays pretty much like every other shooter of this type, there are a few inconveniences you might stumble upon as you keep playing. The controls may be pretty sharp, but you’ll definitely have some trouble trying to navigate through the crowded levels and the camera is not always helpful, which can cause frustration and anger.

On the other hand, the environments are quite detailed and the graphics engine does a good job at rendering some breathtaking landscapes. Not only that, but you’ll be constantly surrounded by explosions, lasers, and decomposing spaceships, which helps a lot with the atmosphere. The soundtrack is unremarkable, but it’s certainly not horrible.

All things considered, Razor2: Hidden Skies is nothing special and it certainly won’t stain your brain with any memories. On the other hand, if you do not mind the unbalanced gameplay and you just want to see a bit of mindless shooting, then you could certainly have some fun with the title, at least for a short while.