Developer: Mommy's Best Games, Super Soul LLC
Publisher: Mommy's Best Games
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Switch
Tested on: PS4
Explosionade DX – Review
Explosionade DX is a revised version of the original Explosionade that released in 2015 on Steam for PC. This version brings the game to consoles with updated graphics, maybe even a tad better controls, and as the title implies, a lot of explosions and destruction. Take up arms against all the nasty and slimy enemies with your powerful mech and blow ‘em all up!
Story
In Explosionade DX, all your friends and fellow soldiers are storming the Horronym Fortress while you are left guarding the supply depot as ordered by Colonel Bouche. You are not one to sit still, so you secretly take a look at what’s inside the supply depot you’re guarding. As you go inside, you stumble upon the gigantic prototype mech GRenaDOS, which is waiting for someone to take control and start blasting enemies. You can’t resist and you take it for a spin. A good thing you did, as you encounter a surprise attack of the enemy forces which are waiting for you to blow them to hell. Aside from some short explanations about new enemies or objects at the start of some levels, there is no story content to be found further in the game.
Graphics
Explosionade provides the player with some updated graphics scaling to 4K at 60FPS. We can’t really say that the upscaling of the original game’s graphics was really necessary as the game looks like a retro arcade game, but it definitely looks good. From the menus, the leaderboards, and all the creatures you encounter in-game, it all looks just like a game you’d play on an arcade machine, but without the pixels. While looking like a classic arcade game, everything in Explosionade DX is worked out with a lot of details. Your mech looks absolutely awesome, while all the enemies look very good as well.
Sound
The soundtrack of Explosionade DX doesn’t really have a lot of tracks, but is sure to please those reminiscing the good ol’ days playing arcade games alongside your friends in those popular arcade halls of the past. After playing for a while, the music could get a little repetitive, but that’s a part of it being a classic arcade game. Surely the cries of monsters dying might still haunt you even after quitting the game, but it adds to the overall explosive atmosphere.
Gameplay
Explosionade DX is an action platformer that is a classic throwback to mech-centric action platformers from a few generations ago. In this action platformer, you’ll run and gun in your powerful mech and shoot a lot of monsters and bosses on the way. With some retro graphics to boost, this is a great game that can be compared to games of the past. Explosionade DX features sixty levels full of monsters that are waiting to get their ass kicked by you.
The controls in Explosionade DX are very simple. With only two types of attacks, one defensive button that activates a shield, and a jump button, the game is pretty easy to handle. There are some other commands that improve playability like locking you in position so you can perfectly aim your machine guns and grenades. Your mech, GRenaDOS, is equipped with machine guns that will take care of the smaller enemies on your path, and a grenade launcher that fires MegaNades, used for taking out multiple enemies and obstacles. If you are moving in the direction you want to shoot your MegaNades, you can increase their range and velocity. Your shield, which engulfs you in a ball-shaped forcefield, not only protects you from incoming projectiles, but also makes you float when pushed in the air or bounces you off the ground when activated during a jump. If you do this right, you’ll go faster and higher.
Each level can fit on your screen if you zoom out, so these levels aren’t really that big. This makes moving around in these levels somewhat trickier when there are a lot of obstacles and platforms you need to destroy first before you can get past them. In each level, you’ll find a lot of concrete walls that can only be destroyed by your MegaNades. Clearing a level in Explosionade DX is somewhat different compared to other games. In most games, you need to clear rooms of enemies or find a set of items before you can continue. Well, in Explosionade, you can go straight for the exit if you want to. The latter is only protected by a forcefield that will automatically be broken when you blow it up with a MegaNade or touch it with your activated shield.
Explosionade DX features a leaderboards tab where you can check out your own ranking among all the other players. Each difficulty has its own leaderboard, so your scores won’t top those of other players that played the game on a higher difficulty. As you play, you gather points for killing enemies, clearing the whole level and finishing within a time limit of thirty seconds. Your score will keep increasing until you eventually die. When you die, your score will be reset to zero, but you can still continue from where you left off. The leaderboards are graded in both score and levels completed.
Conclusion
Explosionade is a fun action platformer for those who want to reminisce those good old days where you play similar games on classic arcade machines. This game is also perfect for a competition between friends to fight for the highest score. The controls of Explosionade DX are very easy to master and with not a lot of story content, you’ll be playing in mere moments. With sixty levels of content and the leaderboards, this game can keep you amused for quite some time, even more so if you want to compete in the online leaderboards. Overall, there’s not really anything bad we can say about the game at this point, so if you like retro platformers, then this game is perfect for you.
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