Every Friday, A.V. Club staffers kick off our weekly open thread for the discussion of gaming plans and recent gaming glories, but of course, the real action is down in the comments, where we invite you to answer our eternal question: What Are You Playing This Weekend?
Nex Machina
After years of riffing on his foundational arcade classics, the Resogun and Super Stardust creators at Housemarque have gone ahead and actually teamed with Eugene Jarvis for their latest game, Nex Machina. Jarvis is a legend of early game design, and his most lasting contribution is probably Robotron: 2084. It didn’t invent the concept of dual-joystick shooters, where you use one stick to keep your avatar safe from hordes of encroaching enemies and another to shoot in 360 degrees, but it did advance them well beyond anything that had come before and amplified that formula with kaleidoscopic visuals that were wild enough to match its tense, non-stop action.
It should be no surprise, then, that Nex Machina is a pretty direct reimagining of Robotron: 2084. Its several worlds are divided up into many individual arenas where your little dude dodges waves of bullets and killer robots while trying to save human civilians and rack up as many points as possible. Similar to enemies in Resogun, those robots explode into beautiful showers of tiny cubes that fill up the screen with their neon glow. The game is really leaning on its arcade roots, putting the focus on high scores while providing luxuries like ample continues and multiple modes, but it’s bolstered that purity with tons of secrets hidden in each world and a dash button that lets you make some particularly daring moves. It’s a glorious thing to look at and a simple pleasure to play.