Spacefighter Rukia 2

Short version: An indie third-person rail shooter that mixes the vibes of Space Harrier and Zigfrak. It’s rough around the edges, but fun if you know what you’re getting into. Full review: This game feels like a mix between Space Harrier and Zigfrak, but with its own twist. It’s clearly an indie project, so don’t expect flashy AAA graphics or polish — but if you’re into the genre, there's a lot to enjoy here. After a short tutorial mission, you choose one of three pilots to start with. Each one has three separate skill trees, letting you customize your playstyle a bit. Once you're done with that, you're dropped into a space station that works as the main hub. From there, you can buy and sell gear, upgrade your ship, assign skill points when you level up, and pick missions — either random jobs or story-related ones. As you level up, you unlock access to better ships: one at level 5 (a medium one), another at level 10 (a heavier one), and a final upgrade at level 15 (more focused on combat). Each has different loadout options depending on its type, so you can experiment a bit with weapons and gadgets. The missions themselves are pretty varied — from simple "blow up X enemies to s…

Has the exact same issues as the first game but even worse controls. And yes, this game's controls feel EXTREMELY clunky on controller. You lose all loot you barely scrape by due to tiny magnet radius and the fact loot can spawn straight up behind or below you while you are moving if you fail and you can easily fail due to scratching a TINY odd rock or so. You get not even a pity sum of credits if you lose, meaning you will spiral downwards further and further if you just keep losing if you want to try out different weapons in the shop.

Spacefighter Rukia 2, developed and published by AstroMonkey, is an energetic hybrid that attempts to merge the intensity of arcade-style space shooters with the long-term progression systems of a loot-driven RPG. As a sequel, it builds on a foundation that already leaned toward experimentation, pushing further into customization and replayability while maintaining a focus on fast, chaotic combat. The result is a game that feels ambitious in concept, blending two styles that do not always naturally align but can create engaging moments when they come together effectively. The core gameplay revolves around piloting a customizable spacecraft through a variety of mission types, most of which emphasize high-speed combat and constant movement. Encounters often resemble bullet-heavy arcade shooters, where the screen fills with enemy fire and the player must weave through attacks while returning fire. Controls are responsive and designed to handle this level of intensity, allowing players to maneuver quickly and react to rapidly changing situations. Combat is immediate and visually busy, with a wide range of weapons available that alter how engagements unfold. From standard cannons and m…

Spacefighter Rukia 2 is an indie-developed third-person shooter in the line of Galaxy Force II for the SEGA Mega Drive: the camera is sitting behind your spaceship and you control it zooming and shooting across different landscapes. But it is, luckily, much more evolved than Galaxy Force II - you can pick different spececrafts to pilot and there are different kind of missions, which not always focus on destroying as many targets as possible without being shot down. There are campaign missions with some background lore and story behind them, and in between them you can take on random challenges or "jobs" to grind experience and credits while you're readying yourself to progress with the story. There's an RPG component as well, as your pilot gain experience which can be spent to unlock traits and perks to fit your playing style, as well as the inevitable looting system which we didn't know we needed before Diablo (more like Diablo II actually) hit the shelves. Do games still "hit the shelves" these days? I wonder. Nevertheless, the itch to get that new weapon type that you've never tried before or an entire new spacecraft might be enough to push you through that "one mission more a…