Chillaxian

Are you facing down a swarm of aliens that threaten to end all of human existence unless you wipe them out? Chill, man. No pressure. Just go with the flow.

Retro-themed space shooter Chillaxian doesn’t exactly offer a stress-free experience, but it does let you tune out while your fingers do all the work.

The game puts you in the cockpit of a tiny fighter ship that’s up against swarms of jagged alien “bugs.” You move back and forth by touching the sides of the screen, while your ship fires automatically with the help of a subtle (and optional) laser sight.

Occasionally, the aliens swoop down from the hive and attack your ship head-on. Your rate of fire is quite slow, whereas the aliens dart and shoot quite quickly, so you must devise your survival strategy accordingly.

Chillaxian looks and plays a good deal like its inspiration Galaxian, but developer Madgarden has made some significant changes to Namco’s classic arcade formula.

For starters, the aliens don’t stay put in orderly lines. They move in an undulating cloud that’s oddly hypnotic to watch - even relaxing. Despite the game's retro aesthetics, Chillaxian’s bad guys exhibit complex and dynamic patterns of behaviour.

The action comes at you in waves. Most challenge you to blast the aforementioned clouds of bugs, which gets more challenging as you progress. At first the aliens merely shoot and dive, but later they teleport, throw up shields, and phase out so that your shots go right through them.

You also need to take on boss fights and debris fields. The debris fields are a particularly intriguing challenge.

Theoretically it should be a breeze to weave in and out of the asteroids and drifting space junk. However, since you automatically fire at anything in front of you, you often wind up authoring your own death by hitting an asteroid that subsequently splits into shrapnel.

Chillaxian is pleasantly mindless, notwithstanding your trips through those accursed debris fields. The automatic firing mechanism and simple controls let you zone out while you play, making it perfect for the journey to or from work.

The pitch-perfect retro aesthetics help. The basic enemy sprites, limited colour palette, and flashing text emulate arcade machines from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, except without the screen burn. When you get a high score, you’re invited to write your name using three big, flickering letters ("BUM" is taken).

And if your competitive spirit is more high tech, you can go post your high score on the game’s online leaderboards.

Chillaxian is an uncomplicated arcade shooter that’s enjoyable for its simplicity. You might be compelled to move on to more complicated fare after you’ve racked up a few decent scores, but you’ll certainly have good, clean retro fun for as long as you play.