If you've played earlier shmups like Gradius and Space Invaders you'll have a good clue as to how Habroxia plays, and what type of shoot 'em up it is. Even though it has it's own slightly different hybrid take on mechanics, and even features it's own unique visual design as well as it's own approach to gameplay the waves of enemies including how you approach them within the handful of modes made available will feel very familiar. Compared to other shmups, and bullet hell shooters Lillymo Games' creation is also a bit more tame, and entry level by design. Said design has it's ups, and downs to note. For example, it is somewhat too reliant upon the upgrade system that is it's base feature for progressing through the 15 stages of the main mode. Outside of that the alternate modes that you unlock such as Invasion, Rescue, and Shield Maiden at every five level completion will offer only slight replay value as well as a means to farm for credits which act as the game's in-game currency. Sadly, in all that it offers it does not include global leaderboards though. Thus making the chain combo scoring that is attached to the experience less than beneficial to those gamers looking to compare their feats of mastery with other worldly competitors.
In total Habroxia contains four modes of play, with the main story mode being the means for which the others are unlocked. Through fifteen levels of linear stage based gameplay you will pilot a ship that can not only fly from left to right, and vertically so, but can also shoot forward facing and sideways using the two shoulder buttons (L2/R2). The ship comes complete with a health bar that can be replenished with heart power-ups, and a speed boost meter that depletes as you hold down "X". Power-ups within the game that are not health, and shield related come in two varieties including buffs as well as single use abilities that allow for things like laser beams, shields, and bombs. Using the after stage shop, and the credits that drop from bosses, the enemies, and the destructible environments will allow you to improve upon your ship's performance by improving upon things such as health, rockets, shot power, the pick-up magnet, shot speed, and other functions that are crucial to making it further into your playtrough.
Progression in the main mode of play is done in five stage increments with the fifth stage being a boss fight. As you shoot your way through each stage you'll be able to rack up chain combo points by shooting every enemy that appears. The only way to drop the combo chain is to miss an enemy within an approaching wave or by getting hit. Getting hit can be done against the environment, the enemy shots, or the enemies themselves. When it comes to health on a per stage basis your health bar remains as it was in your previous stage playthrough. Thus it makes the fight for survival all the more challenging as you go forward, especially if you don't go back to the level select screen, and play older stages to build it all back up. As far as stage themes go Habroxia mixes things up from time to time. Going from the strictly linear progression to having you rescue astronauts for bonus points. There's also the boss battles which are unfortunately duplicated throughout the 15 stages, and only made different in regards to their health bar, and their attack patterns. At the first 5 stage completion you'll unlock Invasion, at the 10th Rescue, and at the 15th Shield Maiden.
Invasion, as it were, is a bonus mode that plays out a lot like it's name implies. It is a vertical version of the same gameplay as the main mode, but with your ship made into a slider at the bottom much as it is with the oldschool Space Invaders. You'll still have access to all your shop perks, and in-game power-ups along with the health bar though. The main goal as you might expect is to survive as many waves as possible. It ends when one of the enemy ships makes contact with the bottom floor where your ship resides. Either that, or if you lose all your health, and die. In addition to Invasion the mode that is Rescue, which becomes available after you defeat the stage 10 boss, will have you trying to rescue as many astronauts as you can while avoiding death via the enemy. Getting hit enough will end the mode prematurely with your astronaut total being tallied up after you drop them off at the space station, and they give thanks for said rescue. Lastly the Shield Maiden mode gives you the most challenging challenge of all in that you will be limited to a starting single hit health bar, weaker shots, and only the occasional shield power-up to keep you going as the timer at the bottom of the screen ticks up per second, and you dodge to your best ability all the shots, and enemies.
Going back to the main mode ...
In each stage of the main mode you will end with a tally screen showcasing your combo count, top combo count, accuracy, remaining health, and a couple of other score based statistics that will end with a score, and high score total. Upon a death you'll also be greeted by a slightly less inclusive end tally, and the option to either visit the shop for upgrades or continue to the mode and stage select menus. At the main menu in all mode listings you'll see your highest scores pertaining to chain combos, waves survived, astronauts rescued, and best time. There is a local leaderboard that will ask for a short name or initial after each stage or mode playthrough. Unfortunately you'll be competing more against yourself and local players than you will a global listing of highest scores.
The verdict ...
While Habroxia is made well enough, and is an entry level shmup with easy to earn PSN trophies it offers little challenge in comparison to other games of the genre. Sure there are bonus modes that offer light replay value, but when you have limited competition it does not seem worthwhile to keep going at it. Add in the focus on upgrades, and the lack of focus on basic skill, and it makes the game a little less than desirable to an oldschool shmup fan like myself. I also found the stages to be short lived, and the reuse of bosses to be somewhat lazy in regards to design. I know that's a lot of negatives, but seeing the trailer I expected something more, a proper shmup competition. Hopefully the developer does better next time if they get the chance to do so.
In total Habroxia contains four modes of play, with the main story mode being the means for which the others are unlocked. Through fifteen levels of linear stage based gameplay you will pilot a ship that can not only fly from left to right, and vertically so, but can also shoot forward facing and sideways using the two shoulder buttons (L2/R2). The ship comes complete with a health bar that can be replenished with heart power-ups, and a speed boost meter that depletes as you hold down "X". Power-ups within the game that are not health, and shield related come in two varieties including buffs as well as single use abilities that allow for things like laser beams, shields, and bombs. Using the after stage shop, and the credits that drop from bosses, the enemies, and the destructible environments will allow you to improve upon your ship's performance by improving upon things such as health, rockets, shot power, the pick-up magnet, shot speed, and other functions that are crucial to making it further into your playtrough.
Progression in the main mode of play is done in five stage increments with the fifth stage being a boss fight. As you shoot your way through each stage you'll be able to rack up chain combo points by shooting every enemy that appears. The only way to drop the combo chain is to miss an enemy within an approaching wave or by getting hit. Getting hit can be done against the environment, the enemy shots, or the enemies themselves. When it comes to health on a per stage basis your health bar remains as it was in your previous stage playthrough. Thus it makes the fight for survival all the more challenging as you go forward, especially if you don't go back to the level select screen, and play older stages to build it all back up. As far as stage themes go Habroxia mixes things up from time to time. Going from the strictly linear progression to having you rescue astronauts for bonus points. There's also the boss battles which are unfortunately duplicated throughout the 15 stages, and only made different in regards to their health bar, and their attack patterns. At the first 5 stage completion you'll unlock Invasion, at the 10th Rescue, and at the 15th Shield Maiden.
Invasion, as it were, is a bonus mode that plays out a lot like it's name implies. It is a vertical version of the same gameplay as the main mode, but with your ship made into a slider at the bottom much as it is with the oldschool Space Invaders. You'll still have access to all your shop perks, and in-game power-ups along with the health bar though. The main goal as you might expect is to survive as many waves as possible. It ends when one of the enemy ships makes contact with the bottom floor where your ship resides. Either that, or if you lose all your health, and die. In addition to Invasion the mode that is Rescue, which becomes available after you defeat the stage 10 boss, will have you trying to rescue as many astronauts as you can while avoiding death via the enemy. Getting hit enough will end the mode prematurely with your astronaut total being tallied up after you drop them off at the space station, and they give thanks for said rescue. Lastly the Shield Maiden mode gives you the most challenging challenge of all in that you will be limited to a starting single hit health bar, weaker shots, and only the occasional shield power-up to keep you going as the timer at the bottom of the screen ticks up per second, and you dodge to your best ability all the shots, and enemies.
Going back to the main mode ...
In each stage of the main mode you will end with a tally screen showcasing your combo count, top combo count, accuracy, remaining health, and a couple of other score based statistics that will end with a score, and high score total. Upon a death you'll also be greeted by a slightly less inclusive end tally, and the option to either visit the shop for upgrades or continue to the mode and stage select menus. At the main menu in all mode listings you'll see your highest scores pertaining to chain combos, waves survived, astronauts rescued, and best time. There is a local leaderboard that will ask for a short name or initial after each stage or mode playthrough. Unfortunately you'll be competing more against yourself and local players than you will a global listing of highest scores.
The verdict ...
While Habroxia is made well enough, and is an entry level shmup with easy to earn PSN trophies it offers little challenge in comparison to other games of the genre. Sure there are bonus modes that offer light replay value, but when you have limited competition it does not seem worthwhile to keep going at it. Add in the focus on upgrades, and the lack of focus on basic skill, and it makes the game a little less than desirable to an oldschool shmup fan like myself. I also found the stages to be short lived, and the reuse of bosses to be somewhat lazy in regards to design. I know that's a lot of negatives, but seeing the trailer I expected something more, a proper shmup competition. Hopefully the developer does better next time if they get the chance to do so.
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