Remote Life Nintendo Switch Review

There have been a few Shoot’em Ups released over the last 12 months and now they are joined by another. Remote Life is the latest release but what makes it different to other’s released recently is that it is a twin-stick control system. Developer Next Game Level have taken the classic retro side-scrolling shooter and made it into a 3D visually pleasing title for the modern-day gamer. So, let’s look below to see how it plays.

Publisher: Ratalaika Games
Developer: Next Game Level
Release Date: 27 May 2022

Thanks to PR Hound for the review code.

Time to fly

I was quite intrigued when I received an email about a side-scrolling Shump that is retro inspired. When I was given the chance to play it then I could not wait. Upon firing up Remote Life I was taken to the title screen where there was a choice of missions to start playing and each one offering a different challenge. When you start playing you get a familiar feel and my first thought was R-Type. It has monsters moving around a screen and attacking you in similar style to the classic shooters but does it very differently.

Remote Life offers a very atmospheric experience in its levels. Most are dark and contain many aliens that only goal is to stop you. The stages also have different styles and involve the standard scrolling stage which is fun and frantic. You have escort stages in which you play bodyguard and then there is the free-roaming stages which offers a nice welcome relief from the frantic gameplay of the other stages.

Guns Out

Remote life lets you have four power-ups equipped with main weapons being swappable. You only have limited ammo so you must pick and choose when to use your better weapons, as you may find that if you have a itchy trigger finger you will be of good firepower when needed. Only downside with the weapons is that you can’t have all main weapons equipped at the same time so they are selectable with different buttons.

Level Layout

The levels design is very unforgiven. It adds a lot of challenge to the game and even on the lowest difficulty setting you end up having a tough time. Throughout the stages there are very tight paths that you must navigate, but you also if this is not hard enough you have doors that open and close to bring an extra challenge. The biggest gripe is that the enemy bullets tend to blend into the background and you have trouble seeing them, which is not ideal during such quick-paced action.

Looking Good

The visuals are amazing as everything is pre-rendered. The levels are very atmospheric and each stage is detailed as is the ship and aliens. The soundtrack is rocking, but sadly the music drowns out the regular sound effects.

Final Thoughts

Remote Life is a fun, twin-stick shoot-em up. It certainly holds its own among the recently released Shumps but has a few issues which while is not a game breaker, it does bring some frustration, especially with the camouflage bullets. A worthy purchase if you are a fan of side-scrolling shooters.