Crystal Comet Review

Crystal Comet is an old-school co-op shoot ‘em up developed by RewdanSprites. In a once peaceful galaxy, a crystalline comet ruins it all by reigniting old grudges to fight over it. You play as part of a ragtag bunch of misfits: a pilot, a bandit, a robot, and an alien. Your squad has been sent on a mission to destroy the comet and stop the war. Can they make it to the Comet in one piece, or will they fall to the insane amount of enemies in their way? Well, let’s find out because this ship has no brakes! 

Let me talk about the story first. Now, it is rather simplistic at the end of the day, but as you’ll see, things get way more chaotic as you travel towards the Crystal Comet, dealing with, um… a lot of stuff that I’d rather save for if you play the game. It’s an absolute fustercluck with swerves so massive you might get whiplash. It sort of makes up for the so-so-voice acting because before and after levels, I really needed the calm before the constant storms that I found myself in as I played through the short campaign.

As for the graphics, I liked them. While I found character sprites and enemies to not look the greatest, I really enjoyed the backgrounds. They’re nicely detailed, and you don’t quite lose yourself in them. Now, that's a whole lot of other factors, but I’ll get into that in a minute after I gush about the soundtrack. The music is freaking awesome. There’s quite a bit of metal, it definitely fits all the sheer insanity during your playthrough. If I wasn’t in the middle of surviving and trying to find my ship in the middle of all the chaos, I would’ve been banging my head to all this. Paul Michael Kixx, check ‘em out.

And now onto the, uh, oh boy, I’m still reeling from my first playthrough, but let’s break the gameplay down. Before you start your mission, though, you have to select a ship. Each ship has its own stats and special abilities, however I can’t seem to find any sort of description of what those abilities are other than its name. Still, it shouldn’t be hard to work out after a quick run through the tutorial, where you’ll learn how to move, shoot, and use special universal techniques like warping to the other side of the screen. Controllers are seriously recommended, by the way. Afterwards, you’ll be dropped straight into the main campaign and into complete and utter chaos.

Once you are let off your leash, there is very little that stops you as the screen instantly starts to fill with enemies and bullets, it is flying at max speed with very little downtime. I could barely tell who I was, where I was, and what I was fighting because there was so much going on that you could get lost, and this was all in single-player. Crystal Comet has a drop-in, drop-out local co-op, being able to join the fight at any time. You will always have three other teammates to help you, human or A.I., which makes things much harder to keep track of outside of most boss fights. I do like frantic fights, but it’s moments like these that make me realise that there is a limit. It might be better on a bigger screen, but it’s still a lot.

For Story Mode, you’ll be going through it Star Fox-style by choosing your path to the Crystal Comet. Different planets bring different bosses but also different power-ups once you beat them. It very much encourages multiple playthroughs, especially since there are quite a number of different endings depending on certain factors. After beating the Story Mode, you’ll unlock Random Mode, which is essentially quick play. It will allow you to unlock and use ships not available in the Story Mode and randomise locations, enemies, and bosses, so it might be a good game to break out with friends. There’s plenty to do here, both by yourself or with company.

In summary, Crystal Comet is… well, I’m not sure how I can put it into words mostly. I definitely had fun, but about half the time, I had no idea what was happening. While you do get used to the insanity, it’s still a lot, even if you turn off screen shake and such. There’s a lot going on with Crystal Comet, and it can make for some great moments, but sometimes there should be some restraint. Still, give it a try. You’ll be pleasantly surprised what it can fit into an hour of playtime.