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We’re big fans of the retro-influenced arcade-style games in which the indie publisher Flynn’s Arcade specializes, so it was with some excitement that we reported on the announcement that Flynn’s Arcade would be publishing the Nintendo Switch and PC versions of a new arcade shooter named Viral Reload EX, which is an updated version of developer Retrocade Media’s retro-styled shoot ‘em up Viral Reload, which itself was an updated version of one of its previous games, Project Sanitize.
Since then, we’ve had the chance to get our (thankfully virus-free) mitts on the Nintendo Switch version of Viral Reload EX, and here’s our diagnosis of the game…
While Viral Reload EX may initially appear to be a vertically scrolling shoot ‘em up, due to the facts that it scrolls vertically, and it’s a shoot ‘em up, it actually pays more akin to the single-screen likes of Space Invaders and Galaxian, with enemies ascending onto the screen in waves.
So, Viral Reload EX is a very retro-styled shoot ‘em up, but its setting is rather different from the space bound likes of Space Invaders. As you may have been able to deduce from its title, the setting of Viral Reload EX owes more to the likes of the movies Fantastic Voyage and Innerspace, with you piloting a shrunk-down craft that’s been injected into the bloodstream of someone infected with a deadly virus, in order to blast it out of his body. And it’s this unusual setting of Viral Reload EX that gives it some truly stunning innards-based visuals as impressive parallax-scrolling backdrops, with you flying through your patient’s body in glorious pixel art-rendered detail.
But curing your patient in Viral Reload EX proves to be no small feat, as the virus is a tenacious wee bugger, and bullets and the particularly aggressive lasers soon fill the playing field in true bullet hell style, so you’ll need all the dexterity you can possibly muster, plus Viral Reload EX’s dash mechanic (which adds something different to the standard wave-based shoot ‘em up). Using the dash manoeuvre, you can briefly pass through the deadly lasers and bullet hell onslaught unharmed. And there’s no way you’ll make it through the non-stop attacks in Viral Reload EX without judicious use of that dash button!
The main mode of Viral Reload EX is its story mode, which tells the story of Kyle Kaboom’s nefarious plan to blow up the moon. For some reason. The story is told well, using some attractively rendered anime-inspired pixel art illustrations.
There are multiple aspects of Viral Reload EX that add some welcome longevity to the game. These include the Boss Rush Mode that unlocks upon completing Story Mode, and, of course, as with all of the best arcade games, aiming for the highest score possible is a challenge that never ends, and with online leaderboards available to compete in, there will always be someone else’s high score for you to try to beat. And we haven’t even mentioned the two-player mode! With all of this for under ten bucks, any fan of arcade gaming is sure to get more than their money’s worth from Viral Reload EX.
So if you’re a fan of old-school arcade shooters, and you’re looking for a game that feels and plays like an authentic arcade title in that vein (in more ways than one!), then we prescribe Viral Reload EX for you.
Viral Reload EX was developed by Retrocade Media (who certainly live up to both syllables of that name with this game!) and it will be published on Nintendo Switch and Steam on July 23rd, 2026.
