Some games are so foundational that you can twist their formula thousands of times and they’ll never get stale. That’s how I feel about Asteroids. I’ve played hundreds of games that riff on the classic space shooter at this point, from Geometry Wars to Hyper Meteor. Even the weakest variations still tend to hook me in some way. There’s just something satisfying about the primal joys of blasting alien ships.
I’ve got that feeling again while playing Galactic Glitch, which is out in early access today via Steam. On its surface, it looks like your average top-down space shooter — and it is. You can already guess the basics of play by looking at some screenshots. Developer Crunchy Leaf Games takes that one step further, though, by placing a retro game style into a more modern action-roguelike. It may not be the most complex game in the genre in its early state, but I’m still enjoying the jolts of reliable retro action that Galactic Glitch provides.
The premise here is straightforward. Players navigate a tiny spaceship through an interconnected maze of round arenas with bouncy walls. Each one contains some enemies to blast and some occasional rewards in the form of run-based upgrades, orb-shaped currency, and permanent abilities (think Dead Cells). The goal is to complete a run by blasting through different biomes and occasionally buying permanent perks back at a base between runs.
The action shouldn’t be too surprising to anyone who has played a classic space shooter. I can turn around a full 360 degrees while flying and pepper enemies with shots. Galactic Glitch does add its own spin on that tried and true formula, though. Its unique gimmick is that players can grab small enemies or meteors and chuck those at enemies. Each weapon also has a powerful secondary weapon, and additional upgrades add more depth to combat. One power I found let me occasionally launch a missile by dodging; another let me inflict backstab damage on aliens by shooting them from the side.
My favorite touch is even smaller: Enemies are prone to friendly fire, so they can inadvertently damage one another. That adds some evasive strategy to combat as I can carefully bait some aliens into blasting one another if I move just right. Games like Asteroids are all about finding your step in a sci-fi dance, and Galactic Glitch gives me a plenty of moves to accomplish that with finesse.
Considering that it’s only now launching in early access, Galactic Glitch can feel a little light in its early state. The core loop is there thanks to its progression hooks, but it’s admittedly a bit repetitive to fly through circular zones and hammer the shoot button. Thankfully, that does broaden out a bit even in this build. There’s a wealth of weapons to unlock that can change up my playstyle, like a short-range shotgun that forces me to stay close or a weaker but long-range set of homing lasers. Run-based upgrades help diversify my strategy more, though its currency payout feels just a bit stingy compared to the cost of items at present.
There’s still some tweaking to do if Crunchy Leaf Games is going to create a roguelike with staying power, but the foundation is there. Galactic Glitch shows promise thanks to some familiar action that’s so intuitive that I’m easily pulled into another run so I can unlock more tools. If you’re looking for an old dog that’s actually learned some new tricks, it’s worth taking the early access plunge and seeing where that wormhole leads.
Galactic Glitch is available now in early access via Steam.
