Galaxy Warfighter Review (Nintendo Switch)

Review code provided with many thanks to GTP Media

Galaxy Warfighter is a 2D horizontal scrolling space shooter or shmup. On booting up the game I was rather surprised that you’re planted into the main menu straight away. No story, no introduction. Just a retro inspired graphic of a pilot smoking a cigarette (doesn’t that break some sort of space rules?) A space ship in the background and some workmen walking around.

So since the game has no story I’ll just fill in the gap and make one up myself. I kinda like doing that anyway when I’m presented with these dilemmas. So, here’s my take on the storyline!

James’ Galaxy Warfight Fan Fiction

You play Hector or Hex as he’s known to his fellow pilots. Hex left behind his comfortable farm life on his home planet Vita to seek out his fame and fortune in space. He may come across as a man only in it for the money, a scoundrel and social outcast. Taking mission after mission to take down enemy pirates and aliens alike. It shows that inside, he has a heart. The money will one day help him face the family he ran away from and give them the retirement they deserve. After each mission he gets his ship tooled up. With time he befriends one of the engineers, who helps him in believing there’s more to life than just the money.

Back to the Review

OK, now let’s get back to the actual game.

When you first launch the game your space ship automatically shoots. All you need to worry about is moving your ship with the left stick. Or if you prefer the game can be controlled with touch controls in handheld mode. This didn’t suit me at all but the option is there if you’re fluent in mobile phone gaming.

The graphics are retro inspired, pixel graphics for the space ships. The backgrounds are quite detailed showing off colourful planets. Nice detail but I rarely had time to appreciate it with all the bullets and crazy stuff flying towards me. There is music which is fast and groovy. But it does loop and loop for eternity so you may find yourself plugging in a podcast or something else.

Destroy and Grab

Levels are fast, full of enemies and bullets. It’s all about moving your ship through all the mad goings on and reaching the end of level boss. As you destroy hordes of enemy ships they drop green coins which sort of rain down from the right of the screen. The game becomes this satisfying mix of destroy and grab as many coins as possible. Additionally the odd power up will drop which may help you out in a pinch. The big bomb was quite the life saver when the screen was filled with enemies and asteroids.

To start with, I thought not pressing some sort of fire button was a bit silly since I’m so used to it with other shmups. However, the simplicity and fast pace quickly became quite addictive and before I knew it, I had finished 10 levels and still not touched my cup of coffee.

Upgrade time

When you finish a level or when you die you can return to the main menu to upgrade your ship. Upgrades range from adding shields to the ship, to new abilities to use at the touch of a button (or touch of a screen tap). It was satisfying to see the upgrades having a noticeable effect on gameplay. The weapons felt genuinely more powerful making it very fun to mow down the enemy ships with ease. I also liked adding new drones to my ship which could be controlled with the right stick, allowing for some new strategies to assist with the more difficult enemies and boss fights.

A Boss Approaches

At the end of each level is a boss fight. Which in true shmup fashion takes many hits to destroy but I did find them quite satisfying to take on. The one that has a skull face always sent shivers down my spine since it was a right pain to destroy each time. Unfortunately there are only four variants of boss which was a surprise considering how many levels the game has. So you will see them again and again with additional health. On some occasions I’m pretty sure I fought the same boss three times in a row.

He looks just as scary as he is to fight

The game has 100 levels. As you progress levels get notably harder adding more enemies, asteroids and enemies required more bullets to destroy. Despite all the bullet hell on screen I was still keen to see how the game would end. Once you finish the 100th the game it just repeats level 100 over and over again forever until you get bored. No credits that’s just it. So I guess this is a great place to conclude the plot myself.

James Fan Fiction Ending

Hectors obsession with space got the better of him until it felt like he was repeating the same mission over and over again. Until he finally woke up. The main lesson from the engineer had been to ‘let go’ and move onto to other things. Hector left space behind and traveled home to be welcomed with open arms by his friends and family. While he still looks to the sky and remembers space, he realized everything he needed was at home all along.

Captains Log

Galaxy Warfighter is a simple, to the point shmup. If you’re new to the genre this is a cheap way to test the water. More advanced shmup fans may find this just a little too simple. The later quarter of a game also starts to become quite the grind. By that I mean I had to repeat levels over and over until I had sufficient upgrades to progress. But if you want another coffee game, something to dive into for a few games now and then, Galaxy Warfighter will scratch that itch. Despite levels and bosses becoming repetitive I couldn’t help but be compelled to press on with this game until I fully conquered it. At least to give my pilot Hex the happy ending he deserved.

Final Verdict: I liked it