Join Chris, host of 1 Hour 1 Decision, as he takes you on a RETRO journey through this "boomer" shooter!
Who knew “boomer” shooters were gonna be a thing in 2024? I did! Since I did a review for the wonderful Warhammer 40K Boltgun Forges of Corruption, the QTB folks were like, “hey do another one”. So here I am talking about Exophobia!
Ok, in reality, this game is more of a Metroidvania than a pure boomer shooter. In Exophobia you play as a nameless, faceless, and (sadly) footless protagonist that needs to find their way home. And you do so by barreling your way through corridors and trying to eliminate everything in front of you.
They said it was going to be a quick mission…when will we ever learn?
You start off as your ship crash lands on this spaceship and you grab a suit off of one of your supposed fallen companions. As you navigate the hallways, you’ll pick up powerups, health vials, and upgrades. Surprisingly, you don’t start with a weapon and you need to go get your soon to be trusty sidearm from an oddly similar presentation that Boltgun had done (well, not as bombastic but there were sparkles!).
See? I told you sparkles!
With your weapon in hand you can now dispose of the alien threat, called Zarconians, in all the retro 8 bit glory. Now this is where I actually had my first gripe with the game. Because there is no crosshair and your gun is off to the side of your screen, it threw me off all the time in aligning my shot. As you progress in the game, your gun gets a charge up shot (similar to another alien battling, space suit wearing protagonist that Nintendo just won’t finish developing - seriously just release Metroid Prime 4 already…) that surprise surprise opens up new paths for you to explore. The charge shot ends up being your de facto way of taking out large enemies and bosses. The boss battles were challenging enough that I had to play through them a couple of times but not keyboard or controller smashing like a FromSoft game. Now you don’t just blast your way through every room. Some rooms are littered with traps while others have some traversal puzzles you need to figure out. That variety keeps things fresh and keeps you wondering what's behind the next door.
The maps are fairly large and an interesting mechanic is you’re able to view a map while you’re traversing but it starts to fade out and lose charge like a 5 year old macbook that’s been plugged in all the time (you need to set them free every once in a while!). The only way to charge it is via your save points. Ah yes, no quick save options here, you’ll need to find designated save points to heal up, save your progress, and as mentioned previously, charge your map. In fact, there really aren’t any accessibility/easy mode options in this game. You can also pick up these discs (maybe laser discs?) that allow you to read more about past expeditions from fallen comrades. You want a retro experience, you got it with Exophobia.
Speaking of a retro experience, the game melds the 8 bit sprites with a fully 3d environment. It’s quite a treat to see. Zarkonians explode with a stream of red and are left in a pile of 2d gibs. There are 4 distinct levels that give each section their own story to tell. Audio is another thing I walked away impressed with. Whether it was the variety of grunts and screams that helped you recognize what’s in your way or the soundtrack that kept me bobbing my head on more than one occasion, Exophobia does a great job with tickling your ear holes.
I’ve been genuinely impressed with the care that this game was made with. The folks at Zarc Attack really did try to make an 8 bit 3d Metroid game. There’s a lot to explore and even some other modes after you complete the game like a Boss Rush and infinite mode. And apparently there’s an achievement to beat the game in under 2 hours? I’m not sure how that’s possible, but hey, more power to you speed run folks!
Nostalgia allows us to look back at the things that made us smile in simpler times - waking up to Saturday morning cartoons, beating that level in Metroid, or making up a game where you throw your dad’s tools at your sibling. Exophobia definitely brings a smirk back on my face and is definitely less painful to deal with.
Chris is a connoisseur of all things Xbox, especially Game Pass. He loves it so much, in fact, that he created the 1 Hour 1 Decision podcast with his buddy Tom to randomly play and review Game Pass titles!
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