14 DAY TRIAL // 
Galak-Z is the only space sim that has managed to make me feel as if I were piloting a Viper in Battlestar Galactica, and I love the development team at 17-Bit for giving me a chance to experience the joy of using short bursts of power and momentum to move around clusters of enemies and shoot them out of the sky.
That happens when my plans and my abilities work in conjunction with each other, and I manage to avoid both the weapons fire delivered by the enemies and the perils of the environment for an entire level.
Galak-Z is also a rogue-like that loves to kill players and never shies away from delivering seemingly impossible situations, mainly in areas so narrow that there's no way to destroy enemies without taking a lot of fire or becoming a genius of maneuver warfare.
Both permadeath and randomly generated levels are present and well implemented, but as I was playing, I constantly thought about how much better suited they would be for a Battlestar Galactica title, putting gamers in the combat seat of a Viper and asking them to deal with the Cylon fleet in a variety of situations.
Galak-Z can also be played on the PlayStation 4, but the version on the PC is more polished, although gamers might still want to use a controller to guide their ship.
It will be interesting to see whether it's possible to mod the game to deliver that exquisite Battlestar Galactica experience I have been long dreaming about.
Story
Galak-Z is a game about loss and revenge, one of the most familiar themes for video game lovers, but the game does adopt a rather unique approach, soaked in nostalgia for the '90s and a combination of serious narrative and over-the-top moments.
Gamers become A-Tak, the only pilot who manages to escape a terrible ambush and needs to go out once again and traverse the cold reaches of space in order to find survivors and then deal with those who killed his friends.
The story is split into five seasons, each of them made up of five missions, with gamers required, in true rogue-like fashion, to get through them without dying, to make progress, and see more of the narrative as well as witness some tweaks to the core gameplay.
Failure means, for the most part, starting off a season or a mission from the top (depending on difficulty), which can lead to some frustration and long breaks from Galak-Z, but also creates stakes for the player and adds a lot of tension to the experience.
The narrative from 17-Bit is not original or very smart, but it does manage to capture the atmosphere of Japanese-created science fiction series that dominated the childhood of many gamers.
I often found myself smiling and thinking about my favorite, Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, which I watched religiously as a kid and I cannot now remember in any detail.
Galak-Z manages to create the same warm feeling in the pit of my stomach, and it's great to get lost in the game for hours at a time and feel like a hero.
Gameplay
Galak-Z is a two-dimensional rogue-like set in space that allows gamers to explore randomly generated levels and engage in complex battles that involve both solid ship use and a certain amount of luck.
Gamers start off in a relatively underpowered starfighter and will only deal with drones and other small enemies, but as the missions and seasons progress, the ship gains abilities, including the power to transform into a robot and tweak the core gameplay mechanics a little, in order to deal with bigger and more powerful opponents.
In Galak-Z, movement is all about thrust and momentum, with the ship able to execute some truly impressive maneuvers as long as gamers have good reflexes and at least a little tactical acumen.
Both forward and backward power can be applied to the ship, which means it's possible to actually dance around aliens to take them out, and a juke move is also implemented, basically separating the vessel from the 2D plane for a second to allow it to avoid projectiles.
Shooting is easier, with lasers offering the core offensive power, and missiles also included to take out more powerful enemies and clusters.
As Galak-Z progresses, gamers will get access to upgrades for their ships, found both in special areas of the map and when battling some enemies, but pilots should not become too attached to their toys because the game has a tendency to take them away quickly.
The experimental ship gamers have access to has two levels of shields and four for the hull, making it relatively fragile, and that means it's often a good idea to simply avoid enemies if possible, although that's hard without very careful maneuvering.
A Crash Coins currency and sets of blueprints are the only unlocks that carry from playthrough to playthrough, which means gamers are rewarded for exploring levels thoroughly, although that adds a new layer of danger to the mission.
“Being a pilot in a hostile universe with hordes of opponents moving around a level if very hard, and the development team at 17-Bit is ready to frustrate the player to force them to improve their performance.”
This is a rogue-like, but it feels like it's an especially difficult one, with big changes in the level of challenge from one encounter to another and with an environment that feels as much of a threat as the enemy ships.
Patience is required to learn exactly when circle strafing is a good idea and when a straight-line assault and a quick retreat work best.
But at the same time, a solid dose of adrenaline is the only way to deal with some of the more frantic moments, and those who do not have good reflexes are at a clear disadvantage.
Graphics and audio
Galak-Z is totally committed to its retro look, with the entire action designed to look like a space-based cartoon, which means there are huge explosions, massive enemies, impressive environments, and they are mixed to create very solid battle sequences.
The aesthetic is extended to the between-mission briefings and ship customization and even to the menus, which might mystify those who have never tried to operate a first- or second-generation VCR.
The visual spectacle of the game is very attractive, especially for the rogue-like genre, but there are moments when the level of movement and weapon fire gets so high that it's basically impossible to know exactly what's happening on the screen or where the enemies are moving.
The best way to deal with such situations is to track the player's ship and the weapon fire of the enemy vessels while trying to back out into a more open area in order to deal with enemies one at a time, if possible.
Galak-Z has weak voice acting and might have been better served by abandoning it altogether, but the actual soundtrack of the missions is catchy and can sometimes be so good that it distracts the player from the actual combat for a few moments, which often results in death.
The Good
- Movement and combat system
- Unique graphics style
The Bad
- Difficulty spikes
- Combat get become too frantic
Conclusion
The title also comes complete with a payload of nostalgia that will attract another segment of customers, those who loved Macros or The Last Starfighter and want to see how those universes can be replicated in the video game space.
Unfortunately, the game is a little too difficult for its own good, and I suspect that many of those who initially love its mechanics and its graphics will limit their time with Galak-Z or even abandon it completely because of the frustration that it can generate.
