Developed by Josyan
Published by Ratalaika Games
Released for Xbox One (4/2019)
Also on Linux/Switch/PC/PS4/Vita
Zeroptian Invasion pays homage to one of the all-time arcade classics, Space Invaders, and aims to deliver some retro shooter action. Featuring a low price point and an easy achievement list to complete, the game will without a doubt appeal to achievement hunters but let's take a look and see if it's worth anything outside of some easy gamerscore.
Graphically, Zeroptian Invasion is a simple affair. True to it's inspiration, the simplistic graphics look like something that came out in the late '70's or early '80's, featuring blocky enemies that typically consist of only a color or two. Sound effects are the bleeps and bloops that were common in the early arcade era. Though incredibly simple, the graphics and sound do a decent job invoking the retro feel that the designers were aiming for. There's also some nice-looking art featured on the sides of the screen that resembles the type of stuff you'd find on the bezels of old arcade games.
The gameplay is very similar to Space Invaders, with the player's ship being only able to move on a horizontal axis while blasting on creatures that slowly descend the longer they are left alive. Just like in Space Invaders there are three shields that will absorb enemy bullets but will disappear upon taking too much damage. Every so often a UFO will zip across the top of the screen, which will disperse a power-up when hit. These consist of helpful items like a faster shot or a shield. Zeroptian Invasion also features stages with enemies that attack in patterns similar to the arcade classic Galaga.
Every few stages the game throws in a boss battle which upon defeat will mark a checkpoint you'll resume from should you need to continue. There's a decent amount of variety between the bosses and they're much tougher than the average enemies. The designers were nice enough to include a life bar for the boss at the bottom of the screen. You get two ships in Zeroptian Invasion and once lost you'll see an old-school 10-second countdown to continue. There are unlimited continues available, so anybody with a little perseverance can see there way through the game. Using a continue will reset your score and restart you after the previous boss you've defeated, so there is still a penalty for using a continue.
At the title screen you can access the options menu which gives you the ability to rotate the screen if you want to play from a vertical orientation, turn on a CRT filter and toggle sound/vibration. The game also keeps track of your local online scores, which will help give the game at least a little replay value for some people out there.
You know how most games give you a prompt whenever you ask to exit out to the main menu during gameplay? It's a handy feature in case you accidentally select this option and don't want to lose your progress, but in Zeroptian Invasion no such feature exists, so be careful when pausing the game and navigating the start menu as one button press on exit will promptly send you to the title screen (trust me, I did this on accident!). Outside of this minor issue, I found Zeroptian Invasion to be a stable game and didn't run into any type of glitching or crashing while playing.
It's worth noting just how easy it is to obtain 100% of the achievements in Zeroptian Invasion. Containing one of the higher achievement completion ratios I've seen yet on the Xbox One, more than 50% of the people that booted the game up unlocked all of the achievements. There's a reason for this, as the entire set can be unlocked in about roughly 10 minutes. You'll only have to reach stage 7 and by the time you've made it that far chances are you've unlocked everything else along the way. The game's cheap price point and quick completion time makes this an ideal title for achievement hunters, but luckily for anybody craving some old-school Space Invaders shooter action this is actually a decent title. It's certainly not a great game, but it's an above-average retro-styled shooter that plays well enough and you could certainly do worse when it comes to budget-priced titles on the Xbox One.
Final Verdict: Zeroptian Invasion is a simple and somewhat generic Space Invaders style retro shooter. The achievements can be unlocked super quick but there is also a decent old-school shooter here as well.
Related Links:
Buy Zeroptian Invasion - Microsoft Store
Related Links:
Shmups - Xbox Overview
Zeroptian Invasion - Metacritic
Zeroptian Invasion - GameFAQs
Ratalaika Games - Official Site
Zeroptian Invasion - True Achievements
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