Reviews:
-
Walking the fine line between honoring and completely ripping off the classic arcade shooter Space Harrier
While there’s no doubt that the heyday of the arcades was now a long time ago, there are absolutely titles from way back when that are well worth drawing inspiration from today. What can be tricky sometimes is where you draw the line between paying homage to those titles and perhaps drawing a bit too much from them. As a huge fan of Space Harrier that’s sort of the uncomfortable spot I land in checking out Air Twister. There are absolutely aspects of this new kid on the block that have their own feel, specifically the ability to target multiple foes and the general feel of its typical boss battles. That said, there are also striking similarities to the general flow of the levels, many enemies, and just the general feel of the game that are so much alike that they feel like they’re pushing the line. Worse, I’m not entirely sure this much more modern game running on hardware that would put the old boards to shame is an obvious improvement. That leaves me in an odd spot. On the one hand this is a refreshing and very classic arcade-feeling game that doesn’t have many peers on the Switch, so that’s a positive, and for people unfamiliar with Space Harrier it may have a lot of surprises to it. But on the other hand it doesn't feel entirely like its own game, so take that as you will.
Justin Nation, Score:Good [7.8]