Astro Party EX

Genre: 2D Space Shooter

Players: 2-4 Competitive / Team Competitive (Local)

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Review:

Astro Party EX is a free-to-play multiplayer-focused Space Shooter released in 2026 on PC and Nintendo Switch. This game has players controlling a spaceship that’s always moving forward using only two buttons – one that makes your ship spin in one direction and can be double-pressed for a dash, and one that fires.

These simple controls don’t seem like much at first, but there is some interesting depth here. Your weapon has three shots before it needs a moment to recharge, and you can also pick up expendable bonus ammunition from pickups that does things like shooting a screen-spanning laser or firing homing missiles. Additionally, while each ship can only take a single hit before exploding, you’ll still survive out in space while your ship respawns… as long as you don’t get hit by another weapon or run over while you’re vulnerable.

That said, the ability to only turn in one direction and inability to stop can get tiresome, and as-is the game doesn’t have much in the way of game modes or options – you basically only have a standard deathmatch and team deathmatch modes. Tis ties back to how this game is monetized, not through microtransactions but through a $5 DLC upgrade that includes extra game modes and content. And regardless of how you play it, this game can’t be played in single-player, and has no online play either.

The presentation here is pretty good, using simple but nice-looking 2D pixel art for its visuals, with decent techno-style music and a synthesized voice for an announcer. There’s nothing I would say truly stands out, but it’s all decent.

Overall, I don’t think Astro Party EX is a game I would be inclined to play if it were sold at a standard price – the gameplay is too limited, and there’s just not enough here in terms of content or game modes to make it worth buying into. But as a free-to-play game, this is pretty enjoyable, and a fun time-waster in between larger games. If you’re looking to pad out your multiplayer party game library, this game is definitely worth trying out.

tl;dr – Astro Party EX is a free-to-play multiplayer-focused Space Shooter where players control their ships using only two buttons. While this game is somewhat limited in multiple ways, it’s a fun multiplayer time waster, and when it comes to free games you could do far worse. If you have friends to play with locally, you should give this a try.

Grade: B-

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