We first reported on Birdcage, a new arcade shooter from developer Polygon Bird and publisher EastAsiaSoft, earlier this month. The game was originally released on Steam late in 2025, but has since been ported to consoles after Polygon Bird teamed up with EastAsiaSoft. We’ve been putting it through its paces and are glad to report that it lives up to its billing as a proper retro arcade shmup. Birdcage is out now on PC, Switch (reviewed here), Xbox, and PlayStation, priced at $14.99. There is also a demo available on Steam.
Birdcage is a classic vertical arcade shooter that pays homage to the Treasure classic Radiant Silvergun, among others. The game could easily have been released back in the mid-90s due to its puropsefully low resolution graphics, hard-as-nails stages, and the Metal Gear-inspired presentation style and story. Birdcage is set way in the future when mankind has become a fragmented species spread across the solar system, with factions vying for position and power. You take control of an unknown hero who wakes up in the Halcyon fighter with only one thing on your mind. You don’t know why, but you must destroy a giant craft that is threatening mankind.
The game spans six short levels, each with a mini-boss, a main boss, and three secret tokens to find. The entire game can be completed in under half an hour if no lives are lost, but Birdcage is tough, even on the easy setting of the story mode, which is where most players will want to start. Between stages and occasionally throughout them, small stylized cutscenes appear that feel as though they could’ve been lifted right out of Metal Gear Solid. These short interludes uncover more about the hero’s journey and introduce some of the concepts around a larger world that can be learned in an extras section that you unlock with repeated plays.
As with many of these kinds of games, the story is largely irrelevant to the main gameplay, but it’s great to see an arcade shooter with a little more depth to proceedings. There are three difficulty modes to play in the story, and an extra arcade mode as well as score attack mode for when the main game is finished. We started on the easy mode of the story, and although we finished it quite quickly, we did have to repeat a few levels after losing all our lives. We then moved to normal, where an even stiffer challenge awaits. The hard mode is for those who get into the game after mastering the mechanics and provides a genuine challenge.
Throughout Birdcage‘s story mode, you control the Halcyon ship but do gain access to another one for the fifth level. We won’t spoil why it appears, but it plays mostly similar to the main craft, except it has a different secondary attack. Speaking of attack, one of the most important aspects of any great shooter is its control mechanics. In Birdcage, you have four types of attack, with each one having strengths and weaknesses that hold real value. Nothing on your ship is a gimmick; everything has a place and is used for different things.
The attack that will be used the most is the simple spread shot that is perfect for taking down waves of small craft. The other projectile that will be used often is the focus shot that fires a powerful concentration of your main weapon but also slows your ship down for precise movement to avoid bullets. This attack is mostly used on bosses or larger craft that require many hits to take down, but can also be used to gain control when the bullets fill the screen and you need that tighter turn or more slight movement.
The next attack in Birdcage is a powerful sword that can be extended from the front of the craft and moved around using the second analogue stick. It can also be released and sent forward like a torpedo and causes huge damage. This is the weapon needed when you need to get close to enemies or wipe away lasers that are causing obstacles. The final weapon is a powerful super shot that builds u pover time and allows you to unleash a barrage of high damage. as yo uwould expect, this is best saved for boss battles or those monents when you want to clear a screen.
The craft controls are very good, and hitboxes are just the right side of loose. Taking a hit causes the craft to lose one health point out of three, although there are occasions, mostly after a boss, to replenish health, grab extra credits, or get a score bonus. On that note, the scoring system is quite rigid and relies heavily on finishing levels without taking damage and finding the three secret tokens. Veteran shmup players will relish the score challenge in Birdcage, while novices may bemoan the steep curve to obtaining massive scores. But we found that the actual game is enjoyable enough without fixating on the score, as the story and presentation of the levels is engaging.
Overall, Birdcage is an accomplished shmup that hits heavy on the nostalgia while fully understanding what made those late 90s shmups excellent. The graphics, soundtrack, and style all feel different to almost anything else in the genre, and there is a real charm that oozes out, especially on the first few playthroughs as you learn the story. Fans of Treasure titles, or of arcade games in general, will get great value for money as the game requires a fair few playthroughs to unlock all the story elements. There are also online leaderboards to challenge on, as well as a couple of extra modes to test your skills on.
