Why doesn’t Sega make arcade shooters anymore? Seriously. In the 80s they were thriving with games like Thunder Blade, After Burner and Space Harrier. And for a while there, we saw a renaissance with the likes of Planet Harriers and After Burner Climax. Sigh. Despite this bummer, however, we’re seeing titles inspired by this lovely era. And that includes Rogue Flight.
Released by the good folks at Perp Games, Rogue Flight reminds us of the golden age of 3D shooters. You guide a pilot through nefarious missions, shooting down enemies with guns and missiles. Oh, but there’s more. You also get to perform a wondrous tail whip technique that can wipe out all enemies within its range. It’s like a roundhouse kick if it were performed by a jet.
The gameplay is superbly balanced, and you can adjust things to make it harder or easier. It also has a ridiculously good anime style that will remind you of other faithful fare of its type as well.
It does have slight hitches with performance, but never mind. Rogue Flight turns on the afterburners and delivers an old-school punch for fans of the genre. This is easily one of my favorite games this year.
Fly Into the Danger Zone With Rogue Flight
It’s the future, and, surprise, AI has wiped us out. A defensive system by the name of ARGUS has turned on those that built it – Skynet style. Now, humans need to fight back, with the Arrow – a devoted fighter jet – leading the charge.
You portray Nadia, the only human left that has any shred of flight experience. You’ll need it, as ARGUS’ defensive systems are ramping up. Luckily, as mentioned above, you’re armed to the teeth, so you can fight back.
Following a fascinating anime intro, you’re thrust into a tutorial that teaches you the basics. From there, you’ll take on missions, making crucial choices and shooting down everything around you.
It’s awesome how well the gameplay clicks in Rogue Flight. While it does borrow elements from Sega’s After Burner, it hones them well. The lock-on missile system is worthwhile, though you’ll need to pick up more during the mission. Your gun is incredibly responsive, and you can use it to hit successive enemies and build up combos. There’s also parrying, so you can deflect bullets, and dodge incoming attacks. Along the way, you can pick up secondary weapons as well, including a neat sonic shotgun.
But the tail whip…oh baby. Used sparingly, you can activate this and start a slo-mo spin. As you do, you let off a charge wave that obliterates nearly everything in its path. It works really well, especially when several foes pile up on screen.
There are several stages to conquer, along with fantastic boss encounters and other little maneuvers (like halting your ship speed). It all comes together with barely any hitches. Plus, you can adjust difficulty settings however you see fit. Seeking a difficult high-scoring challenge? Step right up. Want a cakewalk? You can get that too.
What’s more, there are tons of unlockables. You have 24 earnable badges, along with aero designs and liveries to change your ship. Not to mention a bunch of weapons on hand and a wild Retro Mode, which converts everything to a 16-bit style. It’s surprisingly packed for an arcade shooter, and makes us wish there were more like it.
If you’re not a fan of the genre, Rogue Flight may do little to sway you. But if you grew up on the likes of StarFox and After Burner, this is an absolute must-own.
A Bright Future
The developers did a bang-up job packing Rogue Flight with stellar visuals. The game moves nicely at 60 frames per second (even on Nintendo Switch) and doesn’t miss a beat on its effects. There are low poly effects here and there, but nothing to throw off the performance overall. I also truly enjoy the anime-style sequences, as they remind me of older 90s fare. It skips here and there, but never to the point of annoyance.
I also love the soundtrack, which is top-notch. The in-game music generates a good deal of excitement, and the sound effects are killer. The voice acting is really something too, matching the quality of the anime provided. Oh, and make sure you turn up the volume for Retro Mode. You’ll really enjoy it.
Overall, Rogue Flight has killer looks and sounds. And it reminds us of a simpler time of high-flying arcade fare. That’s just what we needed.
Don’t Hesitate, Take Flight
Even with its arcade-style nature, Rogue Flight is a tour-de-force in fun. It’s a thrill-a-minute to play, and packs superb gameplay techniques. It also has a lot to unlock, and comes with just the right level of presentation. And it’s reasonably priced, considering what all you’re getting.
With Rogue Flight, we’re getting a reminder of how incredible arcade shooters can be. And who knows, maybe it’ll inspire to give After Burner Climax a chance on the Switch. We’ll fly these unsafe skies in the meantime for sure, though.
GAMERHUB RATING: 4.5 (out of 5) JOYSTICKS
Thanks to Perp Games for the review code! Rogue Flight is available now for Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC!
Oh, you want more old-school reviews? Check out our coverage on Aero the Acro-Bat 2 and Castlevania Dominus Collection!
