Revolgear Zero

Genre: Shmup

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Revolgear Zero is a Shmup released in 2026 on PC and Nintendo Switch where players can select their ship’s loadout, making use of the “bit” feature to switch up how you play in a run.

The presentation here is very good, using 2D pixel art visuals with some excellent enemy designs, anime-style character portraits, and a synth soundtrack that does a good job giving this game an excellent retro vibe.

Revolgear Zero does a lot of things that make me think it was specifically inspired by the Gradius series, from its customizable ship loadouts, to its “bit” system that vaguely resembles that franchise’s “options”, to even some level designs that seem like they’re right out of the Gradius playbook. However, rather than simply copying Gradius, Revolgear Zero takes these gameplay ideas in some new, interesting directions.

Players have a standard attack, a gradually-charging powerful “burst” attack, and a button to alter your bit formation. However, the formation isn’t all this third button changes. Tapping it once will swap between your standard weapon and alternate weapon in addition to changing the layout, and holding it down for a moment and then releasing it will send the bits out to the enemies in a powerful “melee” attack. However, doing this will leave you defenseless until the attack ends or you tap the button to summon it back, making for a great risk/reward element. Do you send your bits out with all of your firepower to do some massive damage, leaving yourself exposed, or do you play it safe and keep them close?

If I had to point to a complaint, I do wish that the button to swap your weapon/bit layout was different than the button to send out your bits – I repeatedly found myself doing the former when I meant to do the latter. I also wish that when selecting your layout you got a preview of what your selection would do. However, small issues like these don’t do much to mar the overall experience.

Overall, it’s wonderful when I encounter a Shmup that makes me feel like I’m making real moment to moment strategic choices in battle, and Revolgear Zero pulls this off brilliantly with the way players are made to manage the use of their bits in different ways. I think any fan of Shmups should definitely be giving this game a look.

tl;dr – Revolgear Zero is a Shmup that seems partly inspired by the Gradius franchise, but that does some really clever things with its bit system that really make you think about how to use these bits on a moment-to-moment basis in battle. The result is a truly excellent entry in the genre that I think Shmup fans should consider a must-have.

Grade: A-

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