Redex is a new arcade shooter from developer NipoBox and retro specialist publisher EastAsiaSoft. It’s out now on PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, priced at $4.99. We’ve played the first couple of hours of the Switch version and bring you our initial impressions on what we’ve experienced so far. Redex is a run ‘n’ gun style shooter that fixes the player to a single level that acts as a base. The object of the game is to survive as many waves as possible.
Each wave of enemies becomes more difficult, but you do have the opportunity to build up your base with various defences that act to either distract the enemies from attacking you or provide extra firepower to help take down the oncoming hordes. Some of the items you can build also act as buffs, such as more ammo or armour for your soldier. Each enemey downed in Redex will leave behind a few coins that act as the game’s currency to purchase the buildings, defences, and extra items.
Every ten waves opens up a tough boss battle that will take every arcade skill you have to overcome. We found ourselves dying quite early to start, but as you progress, you can add additional stats to your soldier, and once you grind for a few rounds, you’ll suddenly be starting each game in a much better position due to increased health, quicker reload, and other advantages. Whether or not you’ll find Redex too tough really depends on how much you want to grind.
After about half an hour of dying early and going back to add points to our stats, we were finally in a position to deal some real damage and start getting through the seriously tough boss battles. The controls take some time to get used to, as you use one analogue to aim and the other to move and jump. You can mix the controls around a bit, but we felt that having an auto-shot in the direction you’re aiming would’ve improved the overall experience. You can also perform a dash move, which is great for skipping through enemy fire and attacks.
Anyone who enjoys a real hard-as-nails shooter will certainly get a lot out of improving with each run. Redex makes no apologies for its difficulty, and this is what will give it longevity for those who are gluttons for punishment. There is also some light strategy to learn in deciding what base buildings to buy next, or when to deploy certain pieces of equipment. As with most other aspects of the gameplay, this takes some experimenting and simply trying again and again to get the right balance between attack and defense.
Overall, Redex is quite a simple game at heart, and pure arcade lovers will appreciate its no-nonsense approach to the gameplay. Those wanting something a little deeper may not want to grind through the difficulty, and this isn’t a game for someone wanting a casual experience. This feels like the perfect game for those who enjoy a tough challenge alongside some classic action and retro-style graphics. Shooter fans may also be interested in EastAsiaSoft‘s Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer, which we also played recently.
