PixlBit

The wonder of some indie games that go for that retro aesthetic is they kind of live up to our brain’s memories of what those old games were like, without the warts we seldom remember.  Sort of like a period film, it might not be like how things really were, but while catering to our modern tastes, a finer piece of art is sculpted, one that has learned the mistakes of the past.  Luftrausers is a game forged out of what once was – not only with its 8-bit aesthetic, but also with its satirical Nazi artwork.  Both of these themes work for and against it, but overall what we have here is a great game that is a commentary not only on the past, but on the future. 

At first, I was a bit put off by Luftrausers because I didn’t understand it.  But as I spent more time with it, I realized I had both played the game before, and was also experiencing something entirely new.  Sort of like a shmup, but also sort of not, it’s basically a 2-D aerial dogfighter where you have freedom of movement in a set, finite space (between sky and sea), where you’ll do battle against planes and naval vessels. 

Sepia toned and clad in a chiptune soundtrack, the game has an obvious look and feel like an old Game Boy game.  When I first ventured into its world, I worried it would also have a lot of that era’s drawbacks: merciless game play, limited goals, and repetitive life and death after repetitive life and death.   But despite the aesthetics, Luftrausers is quite modern, and is how I wish most arcade-like games actually were, rather than their usual, frustrating selves. 

Sure, you’re going to die a lot, but once you learn how to play, you can really keep your life going, and even when you do die, the game is engineered so you want to start again as quickly as possible, and makes it easy to do so.  Similar to arcade games of lore, Luftrausers is about as unbeatable as Pac-Man or Donkey Kong, though apparently one person on Gamefaqs has beaten it – but I don’t know what that means.  I reached my limit at about six hours of play, including a marathon of a couple hours that left my hand hurting like hell – but I didn’t want to stop. 

The goal is to score as many points as you can on your sorties, and the game uses a combo system that racks up the points if you keep annihilating enemies in succession.  By opening up new levels (by reaching scoring benchmarks) you are allowed access to upgrades to your ship.  This way you can get better armor, different weapons, and faster engines.  Most of these have advantages as well as drawbacks – the heavy armor makes you slower, the different weapons have recoil or slower recharge time – so you can pick or choose what you want, depending on your style.  Some of these upgrades are cool, others are a little useless, but they are all fun to unlock, and really change the game play up.

So you’ll do battle against other propeller planes and jets, sink battle ships, take out blimps – all worthy opponents for sure.  The game also rewards you for various achievements, like taking out three ships without being injured, or eliminating an enemy while your plane is on fire.  Simple goals like this make the game more interesting instead of being just a mindless arcade game, and give you more structure to play with.

I don’t believe I’ve ever really seen any other media represent the war in the Atlantic between the Germans and the Americans, and I don’t know a thing about it.  Mostly, movies and games focus on the war in the Pacific between the allies and the Japanese.  Of course, the game never mentions any of these nations, or the war itself, but you can tell from the cartoonish designs that the characters are supposed to be “German” or “Nazis”.  There is no real Nazi imagery such as swastikas, etc. but instead kind of a sarcastic caricature of German commanders (including a severe looking woman with an eye patch who dominates the stats screen). Is Luftrausers really in good taste?  That’s not for me to decide.  But I feel in relinquishing our fears of these things and poking fun at them, it helps us close the door on the past and move on into the future. 

Luftrausers is a great arcade game with cute aesthetics and tight control.  It’s also quite difficult and can be repetitive, depending on your tastes.  The game looks, sounds, and plays great, but it isn’t enormously deep, there is no story, and ultimately if you want to beat it you’re going to either have to use the Force or develop insane skillz.  But it’s also a very charming and inventive game, with a lot of the drawbacks of old school arcade games edited out.  If this sounds like your type of game, check it out.  If you are mildly interested, wait for a sale.