Also On: PC, Switch, Xbox One
Publisher: 10tons
Developer: 10tons
Medium: Digital
Players: 1-2
Online: No
ESRB: T
Just so we’re clear: Jydge is the futuristic-looking twin-stick from 10tons that isn’t Neon Chrome, the futuristic twin-stick shooter from 10tons that came out last year. It’s also not Time Recoil, the sorta-futuristic (but more sci-fi-focused) twin-stick shooter that came out from 10tons earlier this fall.
It’d be easy to understand any confusion, though, since, really, there’s not a whole lot of space between Jydge and either one of those games. In fact, if you were to play me a clips of Jydge and Neon Chrome, I don’t think I’d be able to tell the difference. Sure, this game is a little more blue-tinged, and that game had a little more purple in it, but essentially, you’re doing the same thing with each game: running around a small map, shooting bad guys and collecting loot.
I may be overstating their similarities a little. Jydge, for example, has a handy map, along with a medal system for each level. It also offers a greater variety of weapons and loadoats. And the barebones plot is a lot more coherent: here you’re playing as a futuristic cop ridding your city of criminals and freeing hostages.
In other words, it’s a cross between Robo-Cop and Hotline Miami, thrown over whatever twin-stick shooter floats your boat. It doesn’t do much for me, and I suspect that, in years to come, if I ever try to recall Jydge I’ll have a hard time differentiating it from Neon Chrome, but if you just want a solid twin-stick shooter, it’ll do.