Game Review: Satryn DX

By Manuel

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch

Satryn DX is a retro-inspired game that seeks to capture the chaotic magic of the arcade on a home console. Coming soon to the Nintendo Switch by way of publisher Flynn's Arcade, this is a title that definitely looks the part at the very least. Seeing as this is obviously a review, we're going to be taking a look at the game today, and see if it's one adding to your collection. There's not much else to say as far as intros go, so let's dive right in!

Even though arcade games can often exist with no story at all, Satryn DX does give us the general outline of one. Placed into the role of a lone soldier, it's your job to save your friends from the planet Satryn. As the game states: "If you do no save them, they will all be slain." That's it, that's the story. It is a rather simple premise, but the in-game manual actually does a decent job filling in plenty of world-building details. It's nothing ground-breaking, and it's all stuff I'll leave you to find out on your own if you end up playing the game, but it's worth a brief mention at the very least. Speaking of things worth noting, it doesn't take long for one to notice that Satryn DX bears a very strong resemblance to the classic arcade game Robotron 2084. The gameplay, the premise, and even some of the enemy types feel like they all reference that title. I'm sure this was at least partially intentional on the part of the developer, but it by no means detracts from this game as a whole. It comes off feeling more like a love letter to Robotron 2084 as opposed to a rip-off, and it even stands strong among other recent arcade revivals, like the ones from Atari. That said, I've only played Robotron 2084 a handful of times over the years, so don't expect a ton of comparisons throughout this review. With all that out of the way, let's move on and discuss gameplay.

Seeing as I just compared Satryn DX to Robotron 2084, it probably comes as no surprise that it's a twin stick shooter. Controls are as simple as can be, and that's a good thing. The left analog stick moves your character, while the right shoots in whatever direction you're pointing. That's pretty much all you'll ever do as far as controls go, though you can actually change your shooting action to be a button press in the options menu if you so desire. The goal in each level is to take out all enemies on screen, and these sometimes come at you in waves. Enemies often simply try to run at you to kill you, though some can fire their own weapons at you, or even explode when defeated. No matter how powerful they are, shooting enemies with your standard weapon will eventually take them all down. Scattered among the enemies are those friends you set out to rescue. Rescuing them is as simple as running into them in the heat of the action, or you can leave them on screen to be rescued automatically when all the enemies are defeated. The latter option isn't exactly ideal though, as your friends can be killed by enemy fire or by the enemies themselves. Each level gets progressively harder, with a particularly high difficulty spike happening around levels 13-15.

If there's an end to the game I never saw it thanks to that aforementioned spike in difficulty, but like all great arcade games, getting a high score is probably more important than simply "winning". You have the ability to send your score to the global leaderboards upon death, and said death will probably come quicker than expected as it takes only one hit to take you out. While there are items like shields that ward off enemy attacks, and extra lives can be granted by saving lots of friends, it only takes three stray hits to bring about a game over. Thankfully all enemies will scatter for a second when you respawn, but it's not a stretch to say that runs in Satryn DX are pretty much only measured in single-digit minutes. I mentioned that extra lives are gained from saving friends, and you need to save forty of them to get one. I only got an extra life once or twice in all my runs, but I'm sure friend-focused players could pull off getting more. More important are power-ups, which drop at every 70,000 points. These most often come in the form of limited-use weapons, and become more frequent as enemy numbers and types increase in later levels. Some power-ups allow you to fire in multiple directions at once, put up a temporary shield as you fire, or unleash slower but more powerful shots. Everything you pick up, kill, or save is noted in the in-game manual, and it can be fun to check it out after every few runs or so.

Presentation-wise, Satryn DX is perfect. The graphics are impressive and capture the retro vibes perfectly. Not only do they look like a long-lost arcade game brought to life, but they also have all sorts of modern touches that keep them from looking dated. The game is bright, colorful, and moves with the action. Each enemy killed turns into a colorful smear of "blood", and the stages look almost like abstract paintings by the time you move onto the next. Even the enemy types themselves look awesome, and there isn't a single one within the dozen available that doesn't look unique or imposing all on its own. Things are just as strong musically, as the soundtrack is one of the best I've ever heard in a game like this. It really keeps the energy up, and I never got tired of it even though I'm sure there can't be a lot of tracks within it. I'm not sure where the music came from, or even if it was created specifically for this game, but I was impressed with it nonetheless. Even the sound effects are good, and it's not often that I get to say something like that.

Even though I think Satryn DX is a really fun game that will provide countless hours of arcade fun, there are a few odd issues that keep it from being perfect. First off are the difficulty spikes I mentioned earlier. I'm not sure how one is meant to see the "end" of this game, but I found it strange that it played through dozens of runs and always they always seemed to end around the same place. It's almost as if there was a "kill screen" there, but without the arcade glitches that typically go with one. I guess players can keep going at it until they get past these sections, but the road to getting there is too long to justify repeated attempts. The biggest issue with Satryn DX's longevity though has to be the way it handles leaderboards. Getting a high score is pretty much the only real goal in a game like this, and placing your scores on Satryn DX's leaderboards requires the use of a QR code. I don't know if it was me, my phone, or the leaderboards themselves, but I was never able to access them once during my time with the game. This was not only frustrating, but it made much of my work feel pointless. I'm sure my scores wouldn't have placed too high, but the overly complicated process meant that I'm probably never going to bother trying it out again. If you're able to play an arcade-style game without caring about people recognizing your high scores, you'll probably do just fine here. On the other hand, those that live for that sort of thing might see this as too strong a negative to ignore.

At just $6.99, picking up Satryn DX is a rather painless process for those looking for a cool arcade-style game to sink one's teeth into, and I had lots of fun with it. It's simple, easy to get into, challenging, and fairly rewarding all things considered. It's not going to hold your attention for long stretches at a time, but I'm sure you'll find yourself coming back to it from time to time. I can definitely say that it's worth picking up, though you might want to double think it if you're not sure about the QR code-reliant leaderboards. I have another trip to Satryn booked, so I guess I'll see you in the next one!

Check Out Satryn DX on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/satryn-dx-switch/

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Story: A
Gameplay: B+
Graphics: A+
Music/Sound: A+
Value: A

Overall: A

Pros:
+ A fun retro-inspired arcade game that stands proudly among other retro revivals such as the recent Atari remakes.
+ The world-building details and stats found within the in-game manual are a neat touch.
+ Gameplay is fast and chaotic in all the right ways.
+ Graphics are amazing, and the colorful smears enemies leave behind are oddly satisfying.
+ Music is just as great as the graphics, and it helps to drive the action forward.
+ Priced perfectly at just $6.99.

Cons:
- Gameplay can sometimes be a little TOO chaotic, with runs seemingly ending after just a few stray hits.
- There seems to be an odd difficulty spike in levels 13-15 that pretty much ends all runs.
- While getting power-ups is rather common towards the end of the game, getting extra lives requires a lot more work.
- Having to use a QR code to get onto the leaderboards is just not where it's at in this day and age.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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