Space God Review

Jellypig Games gives all would-be pilots the chance to suit up in their “hyper retro neon” shoot-em-up Space God. It may have plenty of enemies, power-ups, and multi-color bullets, but does it have the gameplay to match?

Space God Review

There’s not much of a plot to Space God, but then again, it doesn’t really need one. You’re the good guy, all of the enemy ships are the bad guys, and you must blast your way to your objective. Some levels might have you surviving for a set period of time, while another may have you scurrying along to a wormhole. The game moves at a fast clip, and the nonstop action prevents you from getting bored. The short length of each stage (usually a couple of minutes) works in the game’s favor as well, and a leaderboard incentivizes players to seek out the perfect run. The game does get a little repetitive after a while, but these bite-sized chunks make it easy to jump out when you need a breather.

The core gameplay mechanics of Space God are pretty simple, but they work for what they are. Utilizing a WASD and mouse setup, the gameplay offers a lot of versatility in its speed and maneuverability. Players can also speed up by using the space bar. Weapons are mapped to each mouse button, and firing is commonplace. The game tends to throw waves of enemies at you at any given time, so a solid control scheme like the one present here is an absolute godsend.

It’s just a shame that the AI does not have half a brain between them. Ships fire…and that’s it. Sure, these baddies don’t need something terribly advanced, but more often than not it’s a matter of getting around their fire while shooting off some of your own. This is made that much easier with the power-up system in play here. Collecting stars allows you to level up weaponry and pimp out your ride. Players can also buy themselves ships of their choosing, all varying on factors like their durability, their shield regeneration, and their max speed. Though there are a number of firing rates and drones to choose from, there is little difference between them all. It can be pretty easy to break the game with the right set of weapons – this is somewhat of a disappointment, as grinding outweighs the benefits of dexterity and skill when given enough time.

The levels themselves don’t offer much variety either. Everything is set across a generic space background, and the stages are more or less mazes. It can be somewhat hard to see where you are going, as blocks slowly fade into view the closer you get. Something a bit more exotic would have gone a long way.

In addition to the main mode (and its three difficulty settings), players can also place on the leaderboards of this title. Multiplayer is also available, though was not tested for this review.

Space God’s core mechanics are sound, but the gameplay present here is nothing too out of the ordinary. As a result, this title feels more like a tribute, rather than a trailblazer.

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