Bit.Trip Fate

Genre: 2-Stick Shooter / Bullet Hell Shmup

Players: 1

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Review:

Note: Included in Bit.Trip Collection, along with Bit.Trip Beat, Bit.Trip Core, Bit.Trip Flux, Bit.Trip Runner, and Bit.Trip Void.

Bit.Trip Fate is a game that combines Bullet-Hell Shmup and 2-Stick Shooter gameplay with light Music-Rhythm elements. This game was originally released on the Wii’s WiiWare service in 2010, gradually making its way to other platforms, and eventually finding its way onto Nintendo Switch in 2020. This game is the fifth release in the Bit.Trip series, and has gameplay that takes a pretty standard 2-Stick Shooter and turns it on its head by forcing players to move only along a pre-determined line.

Much as in Bit.Trip Runner, the presentation here has players guiding the low-resolution pixel art protagonist Commander Video through blocky, voxel-style 3D landscapes. However, this time around, the players is flying through a spacey area, and this results in visuals that are a bit more bland and subdued than in Runner. These visuals are backed by a solid electronica soundtrack, though it’s not quite as instantly catchy as Runner’s was.

As for the gameplay, what’s here is pretty good, and limiting players to movement along a line does offer a unique twist on the Bullet Hell / 2-Stick Shooter genres, but this game doesn’t do much that’s original beyond that. Likewise, the Music-Rhythm elements of earlier games are toned down somewhat here – the only place it seems to have any effect is when defeating enemies, they won’t become cleared from the screen until it can be times with the beat of the music.

The result of all of this is a solid 2-Stick Shooter with a unique mechanic, but one that’s lacking much of the fun originality of the rest of the Bit.Trip series. Don’t get me wrong, this is still well worth a look for fans of Bullet Hell games and 2-Stick Shooters, but I can’t help but feel like Bit.Trip fans may be a little disappointed.

tl;dr – Bit.Trip Fate is a 2-Stick Shooter / Bullet Hell Shmup that makes an interesting twist on the formula by forcing players to stick to a single line when moving. It’s a solid entry in the genre that fans of 2-Stick Shooters should definitely consider, but Bit.Trip fans may be a bit let down by the lack of originality and the downplayed importance of Music-Rhythm elements compared to other games in the series.

Grade: B

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