When I review games, I have an open mind on all fronts. I don’t particularly mind the genre, the art style, the experience behind the developer, etc. If a game is fun in the end, those are just minute details that don’t matter in the scheme of things. Nevertheless, when review time came for Airstrife: Assault of the Aviators came, I threw my name into the draw as I enjoyed the pixel art and have fond memories of shmups like Ikaruga and Galaga.

Airstrife: Assault of the Aviators‘ take on the genre tasks the player to fly a war-faring airplane and take down dozens upon dozens of enemies, most of which will fire at you until you dispatch them. Your plane can only take so many hits before you’re greeted with a GAME OVER, but you can avoid enemy fire by “doing a barrel roll”, or, as Airstrife calls it, an “Aileron Rolling dash”. Boss planes will unleash tons of bullets your way in an almost-hellish fashion, so this is essential.

Unfortunately, it’s nigh impossible to time an Aileron Rolling dash while simultaneously firing enough bullets into the head-on enemy without taking damage yourself. It’s aggravating having to trade health for a kill, as the limited amount of missiles don’t warrant usage on anything but the boss, which is hard enough to reach on its own. If you’re not playing with friends, you’re immediately at a disadvantage, because after only a handful of hits you’re sent back to the start of the level.

While I lost several minutes of time forcing my way through some levels, I noticed something. It was gradual at first, then glaring once I came to the realization. Mission two in the first chapter is mere notes away from downright plagiarizing Super Smash Bros. Melee‘s Final Destination music. It is undeniable as the melody, beats per minute, structure, and everything but the pitch of the notes is a one-for-one copy of the iconic song.

Once I uncovered this, Airstrife left a bitter taste in my mouth from that point on. There’s nothing wrong with being inspired by something and to even wear this inspiration on your sleeve when you create art, but it’s another story when the end product is as blatant as this example. Pile this onto the frustrating gameplay that Airstrife: Assault of the Aviators exhibits, and it’s hard to keep that open mind that I aim to give every game.

It’s a shame that the developers, Kenisoft, made this design choice in what otherwise could have been a serviceable game. I can’t recommend a game such as this even if it were to have more forgiving/deep gameplay. It’s not a good look for a newer developer to show a lack of originality, and that’s the case in Airstrife: Assault of the Aviators. Here’s hoping this piece of the soundtrack is removed in a future patch; regardless, I won’t be returning to the mediocre title. Hopefully Kenisoft can learn from this misstep and find their own identity in the future.

Editor’s Note: After speaking with the developer, we discovered that the music track in question was changed. As a result we are updating the score from 4 out of 10, to 6 out of 10. 

A PC review copy of Airstrife: Assault of the Aviators was provided by Kenisoft for this review.

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Airstrife: Assault of the Aviators

$5.99

6

Score

6.0/10

Pros

• Supports 4 Players
• Solid Pixel Art

Cons

• Aggravating Gameplay
• Rough Controls
• Soundtrack issues