Developed by German team KRITZELKRATZ 3000 and Rainbow Arts and released through ININ Games, X-Out: Resurfaced is the latest retro-styled shoot ‘em up to hit the Switch. Originally a title for the Amiga computer, the game got a nice bump-up in visuals and is now part of Nintendo’s hybrid’s increasingly huge downloadable library of lesser known but still relevant game classics.
If you’ve played any side-scrolling shooter from the past 40 years, you’ll know what to expect from this one. This time, though, the action takes place underwater, and there are a few options to juggle around, giving you some variety when it comes to taking the fight to the enemy. You’re free to pick from a handful of ship designs, each with its own pros and cons, and are able to equip them as far as your cash reserves can handle.
The basic gameplay doesn’t stray far from your run-of-the-mill shoot ‘em up, with a button for your default weapon and others for whatever you equip as your secondary, some can even be charged up if needed. What could be considered a difference here is the presence of a life bar, meaning you don’t die on one hit like usual. The counter to that is having only one life throughout the entire thing, making it as tough of a time as any other of its ilk.
Presentation-wise, X-Out: Resurfaced is a colorful, detailed, and thoroughly pixelated affair that will have retro aficionados going ga-ga over. The developers have truly gone all out on this one, featuring a faux intro with a fictitious cracking group and a trainer, much like people were used to playing on their Amigas back then. Even though I never touched one, I have fond memories of playing a lot of similar gray market releases back when there was no Internet to speak of, with games hurriedly copied to floppy disks and traded all around school.
Add to that a filter that emulated the bevel and light blur from old monitors that complements the visuals quite well and you’ve got a game that will hit players right where it hurts nostalgically. Personally, I’m terrible at these but still have a passing interest in checking any new releases, so I was glad to get to know what X-Out was all about, having no prior knowledge of its existence.
The music is also a plus, with tunes ranging in styles and instruments, surprisingly catchy and atmospheric as it blares in the background while you blast the ever-living crap out of the waves and waves of enemies that come in all shapes and sizes. There’s nothing particularly noteworthy about the sound effects, they do their job providing the needed oomph to your attacks and the dying explosions all around you, much in the same way as other releases from the genre.
As it stands, this is yet another decent addition to the Switch’s digital marketplace of retro releases. X-Out: Resurfaced is a cool curiosity to pop out of what would otherwise be the depths of videogaming side catalog. That’s not to say it’s a bad game, though. While I wouldn’t call it a must-buy, it is a neat little download to have in case you get a hankering to play something old-school on the go.
