Whenever you start up a conversation on great arcade twin-stick shooting, in my opinion you inevitably need to be talking about Robotron: 2084. While it may have been released over 40 years ago now, in many regards it still remains a gold standard for what arcade-style twin-stick shooters should be. Sure, there have been many titles that have come since that have been bigger, bolder, or perhaps more attractive in a variety of ways, but the look, feel, and sounds of that classic still remain embedded firmly in my memories and it still holds up incredibly well now every time I load it up.

So that brings us to now, and specifically to Satryn DX, which I daresay is looking to carry the modern baton to some degree for that foundational title. Dismissing this somehow as a mere copy, despite many of its elements being similar at a glance, would be a serious mistake. It absolutely has bones that are in common, in particular many of its enemy types in how they behave in a general way. You’ll also be looking for people to save before they’re killed, yet again a throwback to the classic. Another aspect I really appreciate is the clear color-coding of pretty well everything on the screen. With many modern titles they worry over the aesthetics of how the games look in screen shots, in this case the focus is absolutely on the play experience instead. It didn’t take long for me to be able to start getting into the zone, less looking directly at my character all the time as I try to dodge enemies and enemy fire, and more on my targets. I found with my peripheral vision and classic dodging reflexes I was able to fare quite well, even when things got crowded. The thing is, outside of those fundamentals you’ll quickly begin noticing many differences that help make Satryn DX more unique.

The first and most obvious one is the inclusion of periodic, but temporary, weapon power-ups. Ranging from 3-way shooters, to missile launchers, to even flame throwers, these are an essential element to survival, but since they have ammo limits you’ll have to be careful how and sometimes when you use them. Another major difference is that there are what feels like bosses that show up periodically, and when you need to take on more than one at once the screen can start to feel really small. Lastly, while trying to get high scores was always a part of the classic arcade experience, Satryn DX’s take on racking up points makes more sense, with a score multiplier directly tied to the number of people you’ve saved, really incentivizing you to keep moving and try to grab or protect everyone you can. To top it all off, if you think you’re good enough you’ll even get a chance to post your high scores on the global leaderboard, though once things get rolling it will probably get very competitive.

Now, just how excited you could be over this game will have a lot to do with the type of fix you’re looking for. This doesn’t have roguelike trappings, unlocks, or other elements that you’ll often find in more modern titles. The game naturally feels different every run, can be quite unpredictable at times, but that also will keep you on your toes even if it may make high scores partially a function of good fortune rather than simply being all about skill. It may not have sounds that are quite as iconic as the classic Robotron, and its style may be a little more uneven, but that didn’t stop me from fighting tooth and nail to get up to #2 (at the time) on the global leaderboard… and I had a great time getting there.