AST-Hero

The low system requirements allowed me to run this on my old, dusty laptop :D

Ast-Hero is a fun little one. I would classify it as a multidirectional shoot ’em up inspired by old arcade games such as Computer Space, Robotron: 2084 and of course, Asteroids. The gameplay is quite similar as those, meaning a single stick controls the direction you’re moving AND shooting. The difficulty is accentuated by this handling but actually give us a nice feeling of nostalgia and a challenge equal to the arcade machines we used to love. However, Ast-Hero offers the players five levels of difficulty in order to find the perfect balance between fun, strategy, and focus. Twirling and firing to the rhythm of a punchy retro soundtrack, you’ll find yourself among various enemy types, taunting you by dodging your little bullets and firing back relentless homing missiles… But so do you ! By finding your way to the shopkeeper, you can upgrade various capacities of your little ship to become a ruthless machine your enemy will remember. Boss fights are also a part of the game, adding some variety to the global experience. For the price, I think Ast-Hero has a great value and could become your little side game you launch from time to time, just to see if you can go a little fur…

This is a good revamp of the old classic Asteroids. The nostalgic, casual or younger players can happily play the easy / normal mode to remember or discover the good old feeling of infinite space and the increasing difficulty. Those who want a challenge will love the hard (and harder!) modes. I had some crazy cliff-hanger style survival moments while trying to test my skills and barely make it through some of the last nasty waves! All ticks are green for a simple, but fun and polished game. Graphics, gameplay, music and sounds, difficulty progression. About controls, be aware their targeting system (aim on screen direction with arrows instead of turning right or left from vessel) could be disorientating for the veteran Asteroids players, but you can always switch to the old-school setup. And I'd still recommend you try the new one, it feels much more efficient after a moment. And last but not least, as tester on the beta version I can also say that developers are listening and acting to balance the game and fixing the issues we raised, keep up the good work! This is a nice title that fits any game library =).

Tags: Shoot 'Em Up, Top-Down Shooter, Retro, Spce, Atmospheric **Small indie space-shooter that gives us 40 unique levels, 5 levels of difficulty, an upgrade system and dynamic and crazy battles in outer space. Hurricane! Unforgiving battles for supremacy!