Everyday Shooter Review

If you're reading this, chances are that you're into arena/twin stick shooters, such as Geometry Wars, Super Stardust HD, Asteroids, and countless others. Just to simplify everything, read the following statement: Go buy this NOW! Everyday Shooter is an exceptionally well designed and innovative twin stick shooter available on both the PSN and Steam. For optimal scoring, you're probably going to want to use a controller, so make sure you've got one available with two sticks, since using the WASD and arrow keys aren't going to cut it here. While many have overlooked or just forgotten about the game, in many ways, it can be considered just as good if not better than the original Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved and Super Stardust HD. While it many not have the fancy, excessive particle effects or flashy graphics, the simplicity of visuals along with a well developed soundtrack (and some neat sound effects), and some of the most creative levels that are all different from one another make this a game that belongs on everyone's hard drive, especially for its low price.

Graphics - 9/10

Everyday Shooter was a game developed by a single person, and as a result, it was free to much more freedoms with it's artistic style. Instead of having an insane number of particles, bullets, and explosions going on, each level in ES has it's own distinct visual aesthetic, such as the etheral look of the 3rd section, the retro designed 4th stage, even to the simplistic, yet charming 2nd level. Every single one of the environments functions not only as a beauty to look at, but gives you gameplay clues. The enemy designs start off by appearing basic, but the further you go, you start to see some things that look like they were ripped straight from a dream. One of the nicest design choices is that the game doesn't give you an excessively complicated HUD. Instead, on the bottom of the screen is a long bar that slowly turns brighter, which technically tells you how long the song is, but when the song ends, so does the stage. There's also a life counter and a score present and that's about it. Since you ship is consistenly just a white triangle and there aren't any crazy particles, you'll have no problem losing yourself in the world and you'll always know exactly what it is that needs to be done and what to dodge, saving the player from a lot of frustration. The only reason I didn't give this a 10 is because I do realize that the visual style definitely isn't for everyone, but even if you don't think it looks that great, you can't deny that it's incredibly functional and easy on the eyes!



Sound - 9/10

Phenomenal. That one word could sum up everything that needs to be stated about the sound easily. Most games like this nowadays have a blazing techno soundtrack with the constant "PEWPEWPEW KAPOOSH" sound effects constantly going on, eventually causing your brain to hemmorage from how long you're guaranteed to be hearing those sounds. Jonathan Mak, creator of ES, decided that...that was stupid. Not only was he going up against blockbuster titles Super Stardust and Geometry Wars, but every time one of these games came out that wasn't that, it was immediately dismissed as just being another twin stick shooter. Instead of filling the sound effects and soundtrack with the generic stuff that you always here, he whipped out his guitar and laid down a few tracks that are completely related to gameplay. The end result is a game that's as easy on the ears as it is on the eyes, with a melodic, slighty distorted electric guitar being the background for all of the constant shooting action. It's actually incredibly relaxing to just pick a stage and relax while the music plays and you play the game at your own pace, but that doesn't do anything for that constant sound of explosions that you hear everywhere. To alleviate that issue, all of the sounds of enemies exploding are just different notes played on the guitar, indicating what type of enemy you've just taken down. While this could lead to issues with the entire headache thing, instead it's an amazingly zen-like experience, occasionally making you feel as though you're adding to the soundtrack instead of just shooting flying enemies. Another nice touch is that every song has a definite beginning and end, marked by the meter that goes across the bottom of the stage. As songs progress in intensity, you're usually confronted by swarms of enemies, and as it slowly eases back off, so do they, meaning the music in the game isn't just an afterthought and is actually vital to enjoying the game. As far as twin stick shooters go, this is easily one of the best soundtracks out there and you'll never get the feeling of wanting to turn it off since it's so peaceful.

Gameplay - 10/10

The motto for the game is "Everyday is another shooter". Most games give you a mechanic and scoring system and force you to go as long as you can. With ES, every single level lives up to that theme, each feeling like it could be fleshed out to be its own game thanks to all of them having different scoring systems to learn, new music, new enemies, and a new art style. The most compelling aspect of the gameplay is the fact that it feels unlike anything you’ve ever played before. While many titles would be perfectly fine with mimicking the gameplay of Geometry Wars or Super Stardust, Jonathan Mak really dug inside and has pushed the genre in a completely new and refreshing direction, proving that there is always more that can be done even when you think everything has been tried. As a bonus, there are a bunch of different things that you can unlock, ranging from stages to art styles that give you an extra incentive to play, not to mention there’s the entire high score that’s constantly there on each level if you’re a fan of challenging your own limits.



Overall - 9/10

Believe it or not, this was one of the main reasons I bought a PS3 and I feel that it was completely worth it. Everyday Shooter was one of the first games that proved that the psn was more than capable of pumping out high quality, fully realized titles for a low price, and not to mention that this is an indie developer and not some gigantic corporation. ES deserves a place on everyone’s hard drive. While it’s easy to look at it and brush it off as another twin stick shooter, there’s so much more present than that and thanks to the creative levels, each one feels like it’s own self contained game. The soundtrack helps to further immerse yourself, and if you find yourself growing tired of the regular game options, there are always those challenges that you can do in order to unlock different levels and miscellaneous effects that alter the experience. It’s also not that much, meaning that if you’re on a budget and looking for something to play, this is highly recommended.