Jet Lancer

Oozing retro arcade cool, yet still feeling modern and unique, Armor Games Studios have absolutely delivered with Jet Lancer.

Jet Lancer’s positives aren’t novel⁠—plenty of games where you control a plane nail the feeling of flying at the speed of sound. Lots of shoot-’em-ups provide the exhilaration of narrowly dodging a flurry of projectiles then tagging the enemy. Multi-wave bosses with clever, varied patterns are almost cliche at this point. But this is the first time in recent memory I’ve seen those elements married to elevate the experience to something that might be both my favorite indie so far this year and in a rare club of games I’ll keep playing for some time to come.

Jet Lancer is a great aerial combat game, giving you a real sense of freedom as you fly through the skies battling enemies that come at your from all directions. The story is nothing to write home about, and the timed missions can be a touch annoying, but Jet Lancer is a fun shoot 'em up overall.

When it comes to action-packed arcade shooting gameplay, few indies rise to the level of quality that Jet Lancer presents.

As tough and crazy as Jet Lancer can be, it’s so cathartic to blast away hordes of enemies while dodging every obstacle in sight. Jet modules and weapon combos provide a great deal of customization and can fit countless different play styles. While there are some issues with difficulty scaling and score based levels, there is still plenty here to love. Whether you’re a seasoned shoot ’em up pilot or a rookie to the genre, Jet Lancer will take you on a wild ride.

While Jet Lancer does become slightly repetitive in places, the tight controls, enjoyable action and massive, massive explosions all combine to create a shooter which is well worth a look – especially if you're a fan of this particular genre.

Jet Lancer offers some fine shmup gameplay that offers a good amount of challenge without being too oppressive. It's unfortunate that some missions are simply not all that fun to play and seem to inflate the difficulty. Some of these really should have been optional missions, as requiring them to be finished before moving on gates the rest of the game behind levels that simply don't work as well as others. However, if you do happen to get past those obstacles, Jet Lancer features fast-paced action, old-school graphics and music, and a talking cat-focused story that could make it a swell game for shmup fans looking for something new.