Shockwave Triggers is a $15 vertical shooter published by Eastasiasoft and developed by the Wings of Blue Star team. It is designed around being a skill-based, action-first, retro-style bullet hekk that requires practice to master, make progress, and climb the leaderboards.
The gimmick comes from three simple-to-understand forms of attack. Holding one button unleashes a rapid-fire spread shot. Holding another condenses the firepower into a smaller but more powerful attack that allows for more precise movement. The final button activates a super ability that can clear the screen but takes time to perform. However, the action remains simple: blast hundreds of ships, avoid their fire, and memorize boss patterns and spawn points with pixel-perfect accuracy.
Shockwave Triggers is a difficult game. After many runs, I still cannot beat the third stage, which leads me to my first complaint: no level select. With each game over, the player is forced to restart at the beginning. Over time, however, the pain can be eased a bit, as additional credits can be unlocked in the shop if you manage to hoard enough in-game cash. Playing local co-op can also help with the difficulty, a welcome feature, but not everyone has a couch co-op partner nearby. The action and gameplay are fun and well done, but this is one of those games that requires patience, tenacity, and plenty of trial and error. This vertical shooter only fills a fraction of the screen, too, meaning movement and positioning are even more critical when the play area remains narrow.
There are also two playable ships, both with positives and negatives. Each is designed to offer a different gameplay style and a good chunk of replay value. For example, I personally prefer the secondary ship for the first couple of stages but wish I could switch to the other ship later. There is no option to switch mid-game, but that is the point. The game wants you to master each stage with each craft, no matter how long it takes. Also, for those sickos who cannot get enough, a boss rush mode can be unlocked as well. Oh, and there are online leaderboards, but this feature didn’t seem to be working at the time of my playthrough. However, I am playing a pre-release version and assume everything will be fine and dandy upon release.
Shockwave Triggers is a quality shmup, but it might not be for everyone. The harsh difficulty spikes are soul-crushing. It took me days to reach stage three, at which point I rage-quit forever since I simply do not have the muscle memory or patience to progress. However, what is here should please hardcore fans of the genre. Also, on a stupid side note, the “SFX versus blast processing” joke found during the narrative is appreciated, even if it is unnecessary.
SCORE: 7/10
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
X/Twitter: @ZackGaz
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