Project Root review for PS Vita, PS4, Xbox One

Platform: PS Vita
Also On: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Reverb Triple XP
Developer: Pablo Testa
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: T

I hate Project Root, and I’m going to be totally up front as to why: I suck at it. A lot. I’ve put countless hours into it, yet no matter how much I play I always feel like I’m not getting any further.

To be fair, part of this feeling can be chalked up to the game’s visuals and design. Even though Project Root is an open-world(ish) “shmup” (really, it’s more a twin-stick shooter, but they’re calling it a shmup, so it’s a shmup), each level is set on one, same-y looking map and calls on you to fly all over the place doing missions that can be boiled down to “Go here, blow this up”. There’s not a whole lot of variety in the missions or the visuals, which means the whole thing gets pretty tedious really quickly.

Project Root 2Project Root 2

Of course, in my case the reason I feel like I’m not getting any further is less because the game’s layout doesn’t offer much feeling of progress, and more because I’m literally not getting any further. I’ve died in this game more times than I can count, which means that my progress is stuck somewhere between “nil” and “non-existent”. It doesn’t help that Project Root has no checkpoint system, which means that every time you die you get sent right back to the beginning to start over. Considering that most levels take at least 30-40 minutes to complete, you can see how it can very quickly start to seem as though the game is a boring exercise in treading water.

What’s disappointing about this is that the game’s concept is a pretty neat one. As I said above, Project Root calls itself a shmup, only it’s unlike any shmup I’ve ever played. Rather than being a unidirectional side-scroller here enemies always come at you from one side of the screen, this game gives you an overhead view and sends enemies at you from all sides. They couple this with an enormous map — one so big that, while the game may not technically live up to its description as “open-world”, the reality is that the map is so large and your ship so small and so slow-moving, it could practically be open-world. Taken together, the whole thing feels like the most expansive twin-stick shooter I’ve ever played.

As you can probably tell from that description, however, the incredibly high level of difficulty is written right into the game’s DNA. Not only do you have enemies constantly coming at you from all sides non-stop for about 30-40 minutes, they can also fire at you from off-screen. Plus, as you quickly discover (and then have reinforced for you again and again and again), just because your enemies have been shot down it doesn’t mean that their heat seeking missiles were, too.

As far as I’m concerned, however, no matter how interesting the concept may be, the fact the gameplay doesn’t measure up makes Project Root a non-starter. Or, to be more specific, the fact that the developers didn’t choose to include any checkpoints at all in a game that involves massive levels and constant death makes Project Root a non-starter for me. I can handle dying a lot, and I can take a challenge, and I can even handle a little repetition. But having all that plus a sense of pointless tedium? Then yeah, I’m going to pass.

Grade: C
Matthew Pollesel

Recent Posts

Koei Tecmo releases a Wild Hearts S demo for the Nintendo Switch 2

Check out the first few stages of Koei Tecmo's enhanced "fantasy hunting" game before it…

13 hours ago

PS Plus Game Catalog for July 2025 – Cyberpunk 2077, Abiotic Factor, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

Heads up PlayStation Plus subscribers, the next set of Game Catalog releases are almost upon…

18 hours ago

Nintendo eShop Update – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY, System Shock 2 Remaster

There's a pretty well-rounded selection of new Nintendo eShop titles, content and sales launching today/soon…

19 hours ago

Iron Galaxy details Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4’s accessibility options to ensure skating will be fun for everyone

You really have no excuse to not digitally go outside and shred.

2 days ago

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves sees a 33% percent discount on Amazon’s Prime Day event

Think of it as SNK not charging you for Salvatore Gannaci and Cristano Ronaldo.

2 days ago

Fahkuram, the Muay Thai juggernaut to set foot in Tekken 8 on July 11th

So who’s going to be the first person to put the Atelier Yumia Hair accessory…

2 days ago