Xenoblast - a representative of a rare genre on ZX Spectum

June 23, 2021, 06:03 Mikhail Sudakov

Scroll-shooters don't come out on ZX Spectrum every day (unlike Commodore 64, where thanks to SEUCK engine they are like mad), so every new representative of the genre should be greeted with respect and smile on your lips. Even if he, the representative is the proverbial "solid middling.

That's exactly what the new game from Tony Kingsmill and his studio Loftcat Software Designs is. The events Xenoblast are set in the 23rd century when humanity colonized deep space and, of course, encountered evil aliens who began to attack human colonies. To fight back against the aliens, you board an ultra-modern (well, for the 23rd century) weapon and somehow fly alone to defend humanity.

On the whole, Xenoblast is playable, but it is insanely lacking in variety. Seven levels differ from each other only by color scheme and increasing complexity - the enemies are the same, their behavior is also not remarkable for originality, weapon upgrades seem to be absent as a class (judging by the first three levels), and labyrinth-like architecture manages to get bored very quickly. The excellent Redshift (highly recommended!) is as close to Alpha Centauri as the classics like R-Type, Zynaps or Light Force.

However, scrolling shooters, as we've already said, are few and far between on ZX Spectrum, so it's worth to try Xenoblast for a while. You can get the 48K version for free (download it from itch.io or from "Perfect Pixel"), but you'll have to pay $2 for the 128K version (https://loftcat.itch.io/xenoblast).

Oh yeah, there's also a real cassette edition - you can order it from Chronosoft's website for only $6.