Starific's chaotic mix of explosions and endless chains might be your next arcade addiction
Keep up if you can
With colours shooting in all directions, white-hot starry explosions, and so much going on-screen at once that it's impossible to keep up with it all, Starific gets my attention.
Its creators call it an "endless reactor" that combines elements of Geometry Wars, Bomberman, and Breakout into one sublime and chaotic game.
The idea is to launch a star into an octagonal arena and use a paddle to keep it in there for as long as possible while building up a high score.
The catch is that the star can come out in any direction so you need to use the radial touch control to move it around the outside of the entire octagon.
Plus, inside the arena are deflectors that launch towards the outside of the octagon if your star hits them.
The deflectors come in three colours and each have a different effect if you catch them with your paddle. Blue ones increase the difficulty, red ones increase it, while yellow ones have no effect.
While this is going on, with various chain reactions popping off and explosions crashing around everywhere, you're steadily rising through the levels.
The levels are progressed simply by staying alive - it's time-based. The higher the level the bigger your score will be but the harder the challenge will be too.
Throw an aggressive, warbling and bass-heavy electronic soundtrack over all this and you have something frantic in your hands.
There's a lot of energy here and a lot going on at once. It won't be for everyone but those who enjoy a vibrant arcade experience Starific looks the part.
It'll be out for iOS and Android on November 3rd.
