I.F.O

Genre: Arcade / 2D Space Shooter

Players: 1

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Review:

I.F.O is an Arcade-style 2D Space Shooter released on PC and mobile devices in 2017, ported to 3DS in 2018, and then brought to Nintendo Switch in 2021. This is a fairly simple game with visuals designed to resemble a classic LCD-style handheld game.

In this respect it succeeds fairly well, albeit while clearly not sticking rigidly to the mechanics of classic LCD games and how their screen works – your aircraft can rotate freely, shoot in any direction, and enemies move smoothly across the screen rather than blinking in and out from one location to the next as most old-fashioned LCD games used to do. The game even has a border designed to look like those classic LCD games too, complete with buttons you can press using the touchscreen (it’s far more practical to use the actual Nintendo Switch buttons, but this is a nice touch, regardless). These visuals are backed by a chiptune soundtrack that’s also better than the ear-piercing beeps of classic LCD games, although it’s nothing truly remarkable.

As for the gameplay, I.F.O uses pretty classic Arcade-style gameplay where players simply try to survive as long as possible while shooting down enemies. The aircraft you fly automatically fires out bullets, so your job is only to aim, to steer towards pickups, and to avoid enemies and their incoming fire. It’s a simple formula, but one that promises to be compelling in its “how long can you hold out” sorta’ way.

Unfortunately, a few problems keep this game from being as entertaining as it might otherwise be. Firstly, players can only use buttons to rotate their aircraft clockwise or counter-clockwise, and this lack of control over steering is pretty frustrating, especially when the analog sticks are just sitting there begging to be used. In addition, the way your ship fires intermittently can make it extremely frustrating if you’re aiming at an enemy but happen to be in a momentary gap in your gunfire, causing you to kamikaze-run straight into the enemy rather than shooting them down. Another frustration is that this game’s power-ups expire unless you’re constantly shooting enemies, compelling players to get reckless when they snatch one up, lest they lose it due to taking too long between kills.

As a result of all this, I.F.O’s classic gameplay is burdened by frustrations keeping it from being that better game it seemed to have the potential to be. While its low $4 price tag might still be enticing for players looking for old-school Arcade-style fun, but there are plenty of other simple 2D Shooters on the Nintendo Switch, and you’re better off playing one of those.

tl;dr – I.F.O is an Arcade-style 2D Space Shooter designed to resemble a classic LCD-style game, and while the presentation here is adorable and the gameplay had potential to deliver a classic Arcadey style of action, this simple gameplay is burdened with frustrations that keep it from meeting that potential.

Grade: C-

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