Game Reviews

Isotope

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Isotope

The simplest chemical compounds often produce surprising results. Inert baking soda and a splash of vinegar produces an eruption that makes any kid's eyes widen in awe. You don't need to concoct a complicated experiment to have fun: just a few basic elements.

Isotope does precisely that, building on the twin-stick shooter formula with elements of depth and strategy that make it a fun-filled, straightforward game.

The shapely shooter gives you control over a chemical element across a series of stages packed with geometric foes. Shooting through each level earns you valuable credits for purchasing new ships and ability modules, not to mention experience that lets you enhance your ships' combat power.

Isotope parallels Geometry Wars, but additional strategic depth and customisation make it distinct. Experience, for instance, is specific to the ship that you're using when earning it. A different ship with greater upgrade potential may initially be less powerful when switching from a less-experienced element, but the trade-off comes in accumulating experience in the new ship to level it up.

Decisions on how to spend credits also add to the game's strategic appeal. With only so much cash on hand, the choice between buying a new ship or CPU module that boosts attack power or shields can be critical.

Tinkering with different ships and load out, seeing what works and doesn't can be immensely satisfying. There's a lot of value packed into Isotope, ensuring that you have plenty of reason to come back a second and third time to try alternate approaches.

The game's most glaring problem pertains to accessing much of that customisation. Outfitting your ship is easy enough, though purchasing components and ships in the store is completely confusing. A total overhaul is needed to reorganise modules, ships, satellites, and abilities into plain, easily understood categories.

What needs no change are the controls. A green virtual analogue stick to your left enables you to move your elemental fighter, while a red stick on the right controls its fire. Truly brilliant is the ability to reposition either analogue stick at will with a tap of your thumb on either side of the screen. In this way, you're free to situate them in whatever spot feels most comfortable.

Flexible, responsive controls make all the difference, especially when facing a torrent of neon-coloured foes. Isotope throws an array of aggressive enemies at you with each progressively difficult level, capped with challenging boss fights.

The levels are well-designed and appropriately balanced, ensuring that you're always pressed in battle but never frustrated or outmatched. Enemies are recycled too much for our liking, but at least in a way that's always challenging.

Much like chemical volcanoes made of baking soda and vinegar, Isotope combines simple elements that explode with entertaining gameplay. Some components are unnecessarily complex and need simplification in future updates, but the compound of action, strategy, and customisation is fundamentally good chemistry.

Isotope

All the elements of a great twin-stick shooter are here in Isotope, even if the solution needs dilution to make customisation more accessible
Score
Tracy Erickson
Tracy Erickson
Manning our editorial outpost in America, Tracy comes with years of expertise at mashing a keyboard. When he's not out painting the town red, he jets across the home of the brave, covering press events under the Pocket Gamer banner.