Welcome to our review of Horizon Shift ’81, a very smart arcade shooter that takes the genre to a second level!
Horizon Shift ’81 is an explosive wave based single screen shooter (shmups) with a real Retro feel to it. You can even play the game in Tate screen mode! Horizon Shift ’81 is an explosive wave based single screen shooter with a real Retro feel to it. You can even play the game in Tate screen mode, which is made even better when playing with the Flip-Grip!
The player controls a ship in the center of the screen, enemies approach from the top and bottom and the player is able to switch up and down to deal with the encroaching hoard.
Different enemies react differently when they reach the horizon, some sit on the horizon, some destroy sections of the horizon and some run up and down the horizon. The player is equipped with a dash attack where they can knock enemies off the horizon and smash them into other incoming enemies for a score bonus. Dashing an enemy of the line refills the dash meter allowing for ‘Dash chaining’, this is where the big points are scored.
The player is also able to jump (jumping upside down is an interesting new challenge) and is equipped with a bomb which wipes the screen of enemies as well as restoring the horizon.
Horizon Shift ’81 offers some really great and smart gameplay, but there are some points that take down the score and they need to be addressed. First off, my praise for this game, it is fun to play and Tate mode alone is awesome! The entire baseline idea is fabulous and provides a serious added challenge to an already challenging genre of the shmups.
When you play a normal shmup, you are just looking ahead but now you also got to look behind you or should I say below you. I love the variety of enemies and their specific ways of annoying the living daylights out of you! The asteroids were my personal favorites (to hate) as they ruin the baseline for a few seconds, limiting your movability big time!
Sadly there are some downsides to the game. In Tate mode, I would have loved to be able to play with just one Joy-Con, but other than the 6 different layouts for the controls, I was unable to just play with one Joy-Con. I had to pick up my puppy controller so I could play. A minor disappointment but it does matter to me. Tate mode perfectly lends itself to taking out the bottom Joy-Con and then enjoy. But sadly that was no option, a missed opportunity in my humble opinion.
Another downside, I feel the difficulty spike in this one might be a little too harsh as well. Right after the tutorial, you are already hit with numerous enemies from both sides that you are unable to take down in full. So you either sacrifice parts of the baseline so you can focus on the other side and hopefully take out all the enemies, but during my tests, that proved to be a bad decision. I was stuck with a ruined baseline on more than one occasion thanks to those asteroids.
I wish it was easier at times, but that is a personal approach to the genre.
In conclusion, Horizon Shift ’81 is not a bad game, but it is not great either, some small annoyances here and there, but a great idea to add the fun. I just wish it was more memorable in itself.
