Retrobooster is a 2.5D survival shooter and cave-flyer. The idea is to not over shadow the flying elements by the much more classically popular shooting aspects. So a great deal of effort has been put into making piloting the ship equally as fun as fighting with it.
Retrobooster is a recent 2.5D cave shooter developed by Really Slick with precision gravity controls, sort of like Asteroids took place in a closed environment without brakes. You can shoot enemies, rescue civilians, and crash and burn the gloriously steaming hull of your ship against the cave walls. Mostly, it’ll be the third option. This is to be expected, since their promotional materials feature an entire video compilation of many, many ways you can splatter all over the planetary surface. However, Elle will put forward the innocuous assertion that one could make a simulation in which one does nothing but die, or a sim in which you do nothing but walk about examining the roses. Somewhere between these extremes is what most of us would recognize as a game, but the fact that progression is perilous and requires a lot of use of time restarting does not itself guarantee or generate quality.
AWESOMEoutof10's Andy Astruc learns that it's a good thing no one can hear you scream in space. Otherwise they'd be hearing a lot of obscenities and terrifying death-shrieks while he plays Retrobooster. "Retrobooster is a game that exhausts as often as it entertains. My time with it was undoubtedly enjoyable — flying through space while shooting shiny aliens tends to have that effect — but every minute I played was a struggle against certain death. It requires all the concentration of tightrope walking, while simultaneously needing the reflexes of a ninja and shooting skills beyond a large segment of the gaming population. That said, it is very pretty at times, and fun enough that you’re likely to remember that over the thousand fiery deaths which surrounded it. Just consider if you’re its target audience before strapping in to save humanity."
Matt of Greenlit Gaming writes: "Retrobooster is a fond stroll down memory lane. The pleasant memories may only apply if you were old enough to remember or have stumbled upon it through retro enjoyment of an NES title called “Solar Jetman”. This little gem was released nearly 25 years ago, and I fell in love with it from the second I played it so many years back."
