Once in a while a game comes around that looks like nothing you have seen before. Xotic is one of those games. It places you on foreign worlds with very unique designs as you venture through the game. The arcade shooter genre is dying but WXP Games knows how to deliver and bring style into an arcade shooter for the current generation. The visuals are mesmerizing and the gameplay is very well done.
The story is pretty weird with this title. To put it very simply, an entity known as the Orb is going around the universe draining the life out of, and ultimately destroying, planet after planet. You play as a being of “unknown origin” that is sent to stop the Orb once and for all. This leads you across multiple locations on a planet that the Orb is currently trying to reduce to dust and on a very different experience that most gamers have experienced in recent years.
As soon as you dive head first into this title you will feel like you are on an acid trip. Everything, and I mean everything, looks so alien and colorful. The style is so original and very appealing to the eye; it will draw you in from the moment you boot it up. Honestly, the
problem I had with the visuals is that because of the darkness of some levels I got somewhat sleepy. Thankfully, the action was generally able to wake me right back up.
The controls are pretty easy and feel very right for an FPS. The only weird thing that I found was the jump button wasn’t the A button, other than that it feels pretty natural. You use your weird bug gun thing to shoot at “scabs” on the planet. Scabs are what the Orb uses to drain the energy from the planet. Best thing about the Scabs is that when they are shot they detonate and can trigger a chain reaction, destroying the Scabs close to it that in turn explode and continue down the line. Every Scab you destroy, item you pick up and enemy you defeat gives you points. The main purpose to the 20+ levels, other than saving the planet, is to get as high of a score as you can. You get bonuses to your score after finishing the level depending on how well you did.
After you complete levels you are awarded experience points to use to upgrade your character and weapon. Your weapon gains different special abilities (like shooting fire) and you gain a good variety of enhancements for your characters as well. My personal favorite, although basic, enhancement was Barkskin which makes you take less damage. Some scabs and items on the levels also give you temporary enhancements.
The audio is somewhat lacking in this title. Other than sound effects I never really heard too much out of it. This really isn’t too much of
a negative thing since you are paying much more attention to beating the levels quickly rather than the music but I would have enjoyed more of a soundtrack than what was given.
One fatal flaw is that the game really only appeals to a certain breed of gamer; unless you enjoy arcade style gameplay you probably won’t find the game too entertaining. While Xotic is far from a perfect game, there is enough enjoyment to be had from it to keep fans of arcade shooters coming back time and time again to try to beat their scores.
Pros:
- Very unique look
- Many levels to try to beat your score on
- Brings a nice new touch to classic style gameplay
Cons:
- Not too great of a soundtrack
- Dark visuals on some levels can make players tired
- Appeals to only a certain type of gamer
Score: 3/5
