The Daily Byte – Really Big Sky is Techno-Fueled Shooter Fun

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Overview

If you’re in the market for a game that’s low-maintenance, low-commitment, and just wants to have fun, then Really BigSky from Boss Baddie should be exactly what you’re looking for. It’s an arcade-style space shooter with a bitching techno soundtrack and an impressive repertoire of psychedelic geometric shapes intent on blowing up your ship. The skeletal plot involves invading aliens or something, but the game at its core is pure mechanics, which should be familiar enough to anyone who has ever played a video game in the last thirty years. Every once in a while you may have to drill through a planet or a boss, but other than that, it’s your staple arcade shooter, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s fast-paced, intuitive, engaging, and flashy — the perfect casual game.

Its flashiness, however, is also its biggest flaw. With so many things happening on the screen at any one time, it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish between what’s friendly and what’s not. Compounding the problem is the fact that your starting ship is extremely flimsy and prone to dying anytime a fuschia-colored blob so much as glances your way. Power through this initial stage, however, and you’ll be able to funnel your high scores into ship upgrades – an elegant feature that directly couples your performance to a reward mechanic and thus adds a lot of replay value. It’s damn addictive, is what I’m saying.

The classic arcade mode is only one aspect of the game. For example, there is Boss Rush mode for those who can’t condescend to waste time on trash, Pacifism mode for those who simply want to hone their piloting skills without the distraction of shooting at things, and Nightmare mode, for those who like to die a lot. There’s even a Retro mode for advocates of the 8-bit aesthetic. The whole thing is set to a bumping score which you can download separately here, as it is good enough to stand on its own merits.

For $9.99 on Steam, it’s on the pricier side of an arcade shooter game, but fans of stuff over fluff should certainly get their money’s worth.

The Good
+ Fast paced
+ Colorful
+ More replay value than most games in this genre
+ Sick beats

The Bad
- People who are easily distracted by shiny things may find it disorienting
- Slightly pricey

The Verdict
It’s damn fun, and that’s all that matters. Buy it!

Really Bigsky was released on February 24th, 2012 for PC.