Astro Aqua Kitty

Genre: Shmup

Players: 1

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in Astro Aqua Kitty: Pawsome Collection, along with Aqua Kitty UDX.)

Astro Aqua Kitty is is a free-roaming Shmup with RPG elements released in 2021 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. This game is a sequel of sorts to Aqua Kitty UDX, but where that game heavily imitated games like Defender and Uridium, Astro Aqua Kitty is actually fairly original, making for an experience that has some slight gameplay similarities to its predecessor, but is really its own thing.

The presentation here is decent, making use of some good 2D visuals that are nothing impressive but work well enough for the gameplay, depicting a world that is both underwater and oddly also spacey. This is backed by an excellent synthesized soundtrack, though I unfortunately don’t have any examples to share with you at this time.

Where Astro Aqua Kitty really shines is in its gameplay. To describe it, picture a Shmup with freedom of movement in various levels to be explored, with players tapping the L button to change their ship’s left-right orientation (it takes a little getting used to, but feels natural before long). On its own, this is decent but nothing special, but Aqua Kitty UDX expands on this with numerous RPG-style upgradeable elements, with players beginning the game by selecting a pilot and engineer, each with their own skill set and upgrade options, and as they proceed they’ll be finding and/or purchasing new weapons and components to upgrade their ship, with quite a nice variety to find and choose from.

These elements combine to make an enjoyable experience that’s fairly unique in the realm of Shmups, and generally quite enjoyable. If I had to nitpick, my biggest complaints here are that the challenge level is fairly low by default (though higher difficulties exist and there’s even a permadeath mode), and enemy AI isn’t very bright. Also, the need to balance more powerful weapons against their recharge rates and energy needs can feel a bit stifling when you find a weapon that you really like, but discover that due to these issues it’s impractical to use. Also, I suppose I should mention that while the previous game featured a multiplayer mode, that option is missing here.

However, these issues are mostly minor, and do little to mar what is overall a solid Shmup experience. If you’re looking for some fun shooty action with an upgradeable ship, cool weapons to try out, and caves to explore, Astro Aqua Kitty will prove to be a solid addition to your Nintendo Switch library.

tl;dr – Astro Aqua Kitty is a Shmup with free-roaming movement and RPG-style upgrade mechanics. There are a few elements that could do with some tweaking here, but overall this is an excellent entry in the genre, well worth playing.

Grade: B+

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2021 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Action Game

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