CrushBorgs
Developed/Published by Xitilon
Released for Xbox One (4/19/2022)
Also on PC
INTRO
These retro-styled throwback games seem to be a dime a dozen these days, which can make it tough to pick out which ones are worth your time and money. Today we'll be delving into CrushBorgs, a run 'n gun developed by Xitilon using GameMaker Studio 2. Brought to us by Ukraine-based indie developer Xitilon, CrushBorgs pays homage and plays very similarly to the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) ports of Contra. Let's drop in and start blasting!
PRESENTATION
CrushBorgs does a decent job emulating the 8-bit aesthetic of the games it was inspired by, both in the graphics and sound departments. The graphics are composed of pixels that look just like something you would've seen on your NES just without the sprite flicker. While the graphics look true to 8-bit, the enemy designs are rather unimaginative, consisting mostly of boring robots and turrets. Stages suffer a similar fate of just being uninspired and forgettable. The music, much like the graphics, does a good job sounding true to the time period but fails to stand out in any way other than being background noise. The game looks true to its 8-bit inspirations, but lacks too much in originality to really stand out amongst the sea of retro-styled shooters that have come out in recent years.