Futuridium EP Deluxe review for PS Vita, PS4

Platform: PS Vita
Also On: PS4
Publisher: MixedBag
Developer: MixedBag
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: E

To some extent, Futuridium EP Deluxe is cut from the same cloth as TxK from earlier this year. It, too, is a space-shooter thatโ€™s very, very heavily indebted to some of the earliest video games. Itโ€™s got relatively simple graphics and gameplay, and it wouldnโ€™t be too hard to imagine playing it on an old school arcade cabinet.

At the same time, though, thereโ€™s something undeniably modern about Futuridium. Part of it is the graphics; as retro as they may be, if you look closely youโ€™ll see little flourishes โ€” things like intentional ghosting of the little squares youโ€™re blasting โ€” that separate them from the straight lines and angles of a game like TxK. Likewise, even if the gameplay itself is pretty basic, consisting of nothing more than flying through space and shooting at enemies and cubes, itโ€™s still got a present-day sensibility as far as its level of difficulty goes. Like a lot of todayโ€™s retro-inspired games, Futuridium is unforgivingly punishing, and leaves little margin for error. It may only have fifty levels, but theyโ€™re fifty of the hardest levels youโ€™re likely to come across.

Futuridium 1

And then thereโ€™s the music. Futuridiumโ€™s gameplay may have its roots in the โ€™70s and โ€™80s, but its pulsating electronic soundtrack could only have been created now. Itโ€™s a mixture of drum & bass, breakbeat and electro, and itโ€™s not at all surprising that it can be consumed separately on a 45-minute soundtrack thatโ€™s being sold independently of the game. In fact, I wouldnโ€™t be at all surprised to discover that the music works even better outside of the game than it does as part of it; here, the beats donโ€™t always match up with the music, leading to little moments of audio-visual dissonance.

Theyโ€™re not so great that they impede Futuridiumโ€™s overall quality, of course. Whatever minor dissonance may be created by the occasional wrong note, itโ€™s more than made up for by gameplay thatโ€™s simple, fun, and insanely addictive.

Grade: B+
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