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Just over three years ago , Housemarque denote in a headline - catch blog military post that " ARCADE IS DEAD . " Not only are colonnade game still alive and kicking , however , but they ’re always improving , too , result in some extremely fun swordplay experiences for fans reckon in the veracious place . choose on the sameDefenderbuilding block as Housemarque’sResogun , developer Bitbull’sJetboard Joustis a side - scrolling shooter with roguelike elements and plenty of rad dash .
participant take control of a astronaut armed with a peashooter and the titular reverse lightning board , blasting across a circular single-valued function to rescue innocent civilian from alien invaders . Let the kidnaper take them all the way up the screen and they mutate into horrible creatures that hit hard and take shots like a pro . Defeating every enemy gives way to an optional boss battle with a worthful randomised reward and a portal vein to the next level . This is all simple enough , but it ’s in the intricate point thatJetboard Joustshines .
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As is required in any estimable arcade game , Jetboard Joust ’s controls are spot on . Players can turn on a dime without much worry , although the hoverboard will sometimes boost a bit further than intended . That does n’t feel like a fault , it feel like something to get used to , an example of the board ’s raw force and the source of the secret plan ’s acquisition ceiling . That power actually comes up as a weapon as well , with the player capable to promote through groups of enemy and burn them up in the hoverboard ’s afterburn . This is always satisfying to pull off , and navigating through screens of enemies to clean up power - ups and reparation becomes cardinal to staying alive as the enemies keep come .
WhereJetboard Joustreally steps things up is in how it borrows from the games of today to improve the arcade experience . The guns players can pick up at the end of certain level are wide-ranging in their physical body and function , clear each playthrough a little number dissimilar . None of the weapons that protrude up ever palpate like they ’re without use , although the more volatile spreadshots and black jam whirlpool incline to serve the gamebetter than close - range shotguns . The game also encourages participant to use all their power - ups at all times , as newfangled ammo and charges for the board ’s pusher are always just one screen over .
In addition to these roguelike qualities , the game builds in a corpse run that challenges player to grab their jetsuit from where they last pall to retrieve whatever money they had leftover . This helps , as enough coin will allow instrumentalist continue after a single death , essentially earning a unornamented quarter with straight - shooting . It ’s decidedly one of those games that gets easier and easier as fourth dimension goes on , enamour the impression of the best adjective games where each destruction lead to more forward motion and aa tighter grip of the simple gameplay loop .
Beyond just gameplay , Jetboard Joustborrows a trick from low-pitched - fi games likeDownwellorGato Robotowith its visual style . Each rivulet has a somewhat different shade of colour overlayed on mere sprites . This simplicity allows the game to have blaze fast action without skipping a cadence , but it is tough to tell the difference between some foeman variants in the midst of the action . Still , for a genre where style often trumps complexness , Jetboard Joustbalances both with way to spare .
The good colonnade games palpate like they would fit the right way alongside the 80s classics and bring in just as many coins . Jetboard Joustisn’t going to take over anyone ’s living the way thatgames likeHadesorGriftlandsdo . However , as something to kill in and out of between other games , players could do much worse than Bitbull ’s PC debut . It has a style all its own and gameplay that borrows from several late hits and the classics of the past . Considering that it costs just a single sack of quarters , that ’s more than worth it .
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Jetboard Joustis available on PC . A Steam computer code was ply to SteamRant for the purposes of this followup .
