Horizon Shift Review

There's been a multitude of good works pertaining to space. Star Trek, Apollo 13, Mass Effect, Out of Space by The Prodigy; the list, like the universe, is endless. We all still love space, as Prospector “Stinky” Pete would bitterly attest, which makes it no surprise that the long list keeps growing and growing. So, boldly going where nearly every man, woman, child, developer, publisher, and corporate executive has gone before, Flump Studios looks to stencil their names into that ever-expanding list with their new space shooter, Horizon Shift.

Horizon Shift is the latest game to use that nauseating phrase in gaming that makes everyone's stomachs drop. It's a space shoot 'em up...with a twist. The twist here being that it's a standard shmup, but the spaceship moves along a line in the middle of the screen, instead of at the bottom or the side, like in R-Type or Galaga. This allows enemies to come at you from both the top and bottom, and you can deal with both sets of fiends by shifting between both sides of the line. This is a neat idea and gamers will appreciate the earnest attempt at teaching an old dog new tricks, but having to focus on two groups of enemies is more distracting and confusing than it is exciting.

However, let's not discredit the dog's old tricks: as a straight-up shoot 'em up, Horizon Shift is tight, fast-paced and responsive. It requires fast reflexes to avoid the hail of cascading bullets, and equally quick wits; while playing, you will constantly be thinking, “Okay, I should take him out first before that guy – no, that one's too quick, he needs to go first” as you strive to keep yourself alive in the middle of space. Even if you have to negotiate the poorly-thought-out horizontal gimmick, the core gameplay of Horizon Shift has been too sharply observed and implemented for it to spoil the fun. Also, the challenge of the game can't be ignored: even seasoned shmup fans will have met their match here, as the game will swarm you with enemies, and you will die infuriating death after death. Horizon Shift is old-school, but in the best way – it’s challenging enough to become an addiction.

Initially, you might be blown away by the wealth of different modes to choose from, but try and remain standing on your feet, as Horizon Shift isn't as deep as the developers would lead you to believe. The base bread-and-butter mode is Arcade, where you get three lives and obtain checkpoints after bosses. Other modes include Arcade Arrange, Survival, and Tournament Mode, which sound like major changes to the game, but really offer little derivation: Arcade Arrange demands that you finish the game with no extra lives, but you get the benefit of checkpoints after every level. Survival gives no lives and no checkpoints, but will fully power-up your ship. Finally, the tournament mode offers no lives, no power-ups, no checkpoints, but will make the game twice as fast as it usually is; that is, you and enemies move at a faster rate. Players will likely find themselves disappointed at the selection; this is rather like waking up on Christmas morning and discovering a PS4 box under the tree, then finding out your parents have filled it with pants and socks.


However, if anything in the game truly stands out; it's not the gameplay, it's the stellar soundtrack. Inspired heavily by trance and EDM, and driven by electric guitar, Horizon Shift's soundtrack is never merely just there, existing for no reason, like so many other soundtracks; the pulse and flow of the music contributes to the game as a whole by complimenting the explosive action, making it a much richer experience. Players will find their heads bobbing along to the beat of the music, which oddly helps put your head in the game and makes your reflexes more astute, which is exactly what you want from a soundtrack – Horizon Shift's OST doesn't intrude, feel out of place, or unwelcome. It feels like the magic X factor that would make the game feel incomplete if taken out. It really is a treat, even just to listen to by itself – the soundtrack is on the Steam store, and the cost of the game is worth it for the soundtrack.

Finally, Horizon Shift has a neat little graphical style, and while that might sound diminutive and minimising, it's appropriate considering how it feels oddly close to another shmup – Geometry Wars. At first glance, they might not look too similar, but they both rely on a neon wireframe art style to bring both of their worlds to life. By no means is Horizon Shift an ugly game (it's definitely very easy on the eyes), but Geometry Wars just did it in a much prettier, more nuanced way, and you'll never be able to shake that feeling that, graphically, Horizon Shift is just living in the shadow of another game that lived in someone's Project Gotham Racing garage for years.

Brutally, is Horizon Shift the best game in the world? No. Its killer hook is a lame addition, the game has very little depth, and it gets outshined on its own stage by the music. However, what players can expect is a fun, robust, and challenging little space shooter that will keep you coming back for more, even after twenty deaths in a row.