Iridium
James Roberts · 2020 · Action, Indie, Shoot 'Em Up, Retro, 2D
PC
Positive90% · 10
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About Iridium
Iridium is a retro styled 2D shoot 'em up, taking inspiration from: Uridium, Xenon 2 Mega Blast, Nemesis/Gradius and R-Type. Each game in its own right is considered a classic by many people and offered some very unique features including massive ships, upgrade shops, in-level upgrades and a multitude of weapons.
The game is a multidirectional shoot 'em up where the player is allowed free movement within each level. Unlike traditional 2D shoot 'em up games were the screen scrolls at a fixed rate the player can change speed and turn around in a similar manner to Uridium. The maps can be very large and often have a great number of enemy ships and other objects on screen at one time. Icons representing enemies and other important structures that are not on screen yet are shown around the edges of the screen. This includes a flashing star guide which shows where the player needs to be going in order to progress along each level.
At the beginning of each game the player is given some basic weaponry as well as the ability to upgrade it during the level. The weapon and system upgrades which are currently available to the player are shown along the bottom of the screen along with how many upgrade credits the player has collected (similar to R-Type). Each upgrade will also show what level they are at by displaying a small progress bar in the upper right of their graphic. Later in the game the available upgrades can be changed. (NB: All references to shop, credits or currency is virtual, no additional spending is required for this game).
There are 6 levels in total, each having its own custom graphical theme and being made up of four large stages. In total there are 24 maps to discover and explore. Each stage features 6 different enemy ship types as well as multiple larger multi-part ships. Some of the ships and ground structures release coins, health pickups or even weapon upgrade credits. A check point system has been implemented to help the player progress and avoid repeating large sections of a stage. As the player progresses through a stage the enemy structures and attack patterns are dynamically changed.
Once a level is completed there is access to a shop where the players ship can be upgraded. Many different upgrades become available as the game advances, these can be purchased using the in-game coins collected from destroyed enemies and structures from the previous levels. The current game can also be saved from within the shop giving the ability to carry on again.
The game is a multidirectional shoot 'em up where the player is allowed free movement within each level. Unlike traditional 2D shoot 'em up games were the screen scrolls at a fixed rate the player can change speed and turn around in a similar manner to Uridium. The maps can be very large and often have a great number of enemy ships and other objects on screen at one time. Icons representing enemies and other important structures that are not on screen yet are shown around the edges of the screen. This includes a flashing star guide which shows where the player needs to be going in order to progress along each level.
At the beginning of each game the player is given some basic weaponry as well as the ability to upgrade it during the level. The weapon and system upgrades which are currently available to the player are shown along the bottom of the screen along with how many upgrade credits the player has collected (similar to R-Type). Each upgrade will also show what level they are at by displaying a small progress bar in the upper right of their graphic. Later in the game the available upgrades can be changed. (NB: All references to shop, credits or currency is virtual, no additional spending is required for this game).
There are 6 levels in total, each having its own custom graphical theme and being made up of four large stages. In total there are 24 maps to discover and explore. Each stage features 6 different enemy ship types as well as multiple larger multi-part ships. Some of the ships and ground structures release coins, health pickups or even weapon upgrade credits. A check point system has been implemented to help the player progress and avoid repeating large sections of a stage. As the player progresses through a stage the enemy structures and attack patterns are dynamically changed.
Once a level is completed there is access to a shop where the players ship can be upgraded. Many different upgrades become available as the game advances, these can be purchased using the in-game coins collected from destroyed enemies and structures from the previous levels. The current game can also be saved from within the shop giving the ability to carry on again.
features
- retro Styled 2d Shoot 'em Up
- Multiple layers of parallax for that retro vibe
- 24 maps split over 6 levels
- 6+ distinctive enemy ship type per level
- 3 main player weapons each with multiple power levels
- Destroyable multi part enemy ships up to 5 times the size of the screen
- Multiple types of rockets and missiles
- 4 types of external weapon systems
- Weapons shop between sectors
- Game progress saves
- Supports virtually all game controllers including arcade sticks
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
Iridium feels like a true successor to classic Uridium. While this is inspired by retro, don't let that put you off. The game feels fresh and modern. The game is split into sub-levels, which consist of space and cavern/indoor sections. There is a good mixture of small fighters and mid-range frigates throughout the levels, constantly altering your play-style. Each area finishes with a huge capital ship battle, which is in the style of Uridium. While the difficulty level is quite high compared to modern games, it is well balanced and feels fair. Unlike old-school shooters you don't lose all power-ups (and hope!) on a single death. You re-spawn close to where you died, allowing you to attempt the section again. The atmosphere is superb. Graphics and visual effects add so much to the battles; animation is smooth throughout. The sounds and voices throughout the game are well produced and add to the experience. You can hear when your weapons are charged,followed by satisfying explosions when you release a full volley of missiles and lasers on target. A nicely blended soundtrack fits perfectly to the atmosphere of the levels, and never seems overbearing. Iridium is the most fun I've…7 found this helpful
Very good shoot 'em up. The best part of Iridium is the feel. The momentum of the ship is spot on and fits perfect with the turning mechanic of facing left or right. This is where the game really excels, especially because the trance/techno tunes match so well with what's going on screen. It's bullet hell, and tense, but there's also a chill aspect to playing Iridium. There's a flow to the game that is hard to describe. All I can say is it works. If you're on the fence, I say purchase it. Iridium is unique, and stands apart from other shoot 'em ups, while also having a great arcade feel.3 found this helpful
One of the best Uridium clones on the PC to date. Gorgeous explosions and hectic gameplay. Recommended! (8/10)2 found this helpful
I really like this. Despite a couple of problems, I keep coming back. It's one of the best modern takes on Uridium and incorporates a lot of modern horizontal shooter elements that complement the flow and feel. The graphics are a stand out. I'll admit, I add scan lines via Reshade that, for me, enhances the look of most pixel art, but the whole look is very well composed and rendered. The game play is well balanced and provides an moreish challenge & once you master the controls, it's a fun feeling to pilot such an agile craft. On the down side, I cannot get my controller (easySMX) to work properly in most menus, giving the 'front door' of the experience a bit of a shabby feel. After the game loads, I can't move through the first menu options, and am limited to 'start game' unless I use the keyboard or mouse. The next menu seems fine! The settings menu locks me to changing the sfx volume entry only. Mouse and keyboard work fine. It's probably not a deal breaker for most (or me, really) but the sfx are a bit limited. They're functional, but I choose to turn off the music and the resultant ambience is a little empty and lacking character. Despite the menu issues - it's a qualit…1 found this helpful
EDIT: ATM the game has annoying technical bugs still to be fixed... is also unplayable with non-1920x1080 screens (big fonts out of screen, disappearing mouse pointer in fullscreen, badly positioned/truncated screen in fullscreen or borderless... clearly untested on different screens/resolutions rescale), so I can't honestly recommend it, especially after last update which introduced also sound bugs (!). No news from the author after many months. Dead buggy game. No support. What a delusion, was fun to play.1 found this helpful
Loving the atmosphere here, need more hours but this is one for all shmup lovers out there!!1 found this helpful
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