Retro/Grade

One of the earliest novelties I picked up in my emotionally broken throes where I wasted so much money on Steam games, but only just now playing. The main appeal is the premise. A rhythm game in the form of a shoot-'em-up, played in reverse. I had, and still have, no experience whatsover with either shoot-'em-ups or rhythm games, and even *I* got excited by the promise. Of course then I forgot about it for a "decade", but that's beside the point. The gameplay is very simple. There are only two lanes, arguably counterparts to most rhythm games' directions/notes/keys/etc. You go back and forth between them, and you press- and sometimes hold- the spacebar when your shot in the presumable timeline comes up, while avoiding shots from the enemy ships. It takes some trial and error to understand- and I for one still don't understand the 'boosters' and how the multipliers work- but what you need to get through the level, at least, does eventually click. The imagery is simple and satisfying, with futuristic graphics that sell the spaceship wars archetype. It is empty, granted, but you're supposed to be flying a spaceship, not walking through a populated city full of civilians. Yes, it has that "crunch" of an early "2010's" 3D PC game, but that's more a feature than a bug, I think- and even if I'm just telling myself that, and/or one disagrees, the game's still clear enough in sight that once you can tell which shots are the enemies' and which are yours, you can dodge or touch them in time and it becomes a matter of skill. Also, the lower graphics mean this thing runs smoothly on my outstandingly non-gaming-oriented laptop, which is built almost exclusively for my betseferwork. ___ There is some flavor text for some missions that paints the protagonist, apparently named "Rick", as this narcissistic scumbag, but honestly, in these shoot-em-up games, who the heck has ever really cared about the character piloting the thing? There's no real story sequence, so you don't need to worry about the unlikability of Rick as you play. ___ Th really simple gameplay, timey look, and novelty of the premise have won me over. I do recommend it - though, given the shortage of individual levels (unless you count difficulty changes as entirely different levels), $10 is way too much. Wait for a steep sale; I'd say about $2, maybe $3 if you're an earnest rhythm game enthusiast.

Retro/Grade is what happens when a side-scrolling shooter gets absolutely blackout drunk, wakes up next to Guitar Hero, and nine months later gives birth to a time-reversing space-baby that nobody is emotionally prepared for. At first glance you think, “Oh look, another pew-pew spaceship game, big whoop.” But then the game slaps you across the face and says: “Surprise, idiot, you’re playing this backwards.” You un-explode enemies. You un-fire bullets. You literally undo your bad decisions — something I wish I could do with my dating history and the time I ate gas station sushi. The gameplay? Imagine if Guitar Hero and a cocaine-powered metronome had a threesome. You’re basically matching your ship to its past self like some intergalactic rhythm game, hitting notes, dodging chaos, and gracefully re-entering your past mistakes — kind of like texting your ex at 3AM, except this time it works out. It’s stylish. It’s weird. It’s unique. It’s like playing Rock Band while your eyes are being seduced by neon space candy. And honestly? It’s fun as hell. I blasted through the beginner campaign and had a stupid grin the whole time — Retro/Grade is one of those games that makes you say, “Okay, that was weird as f**k… do it again.” If you want something original, flashy, and rhythm-shooter sexy, buy it. Play it. Reverse-time-baby it. It’s a damn good time.

I had once played this game 10 years ago on my brother's PS3. I thought I would never play it again until I looked up "spaceship rythm game PS3" some time ago and was astonished to see it still had a steam page. Super fun game with great music and awesome graphics and fun features.

Not gonna lie, on higher difficulties this game runs into MASSIVE issues with visibility, and at some points it becomes next to impossible to see what you're supposed to be doing.

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Loveeeeeeeee this game and basically 100%ed it on PS3. The concept, feel and rush you get from runs is great, or at least for me! It's also great how this game was spawned.. "The idea for a backwards shooter came while creating a debugging mode for another shooter they were working on to pitch to developers."! I supported their game after this, Neverending Nightmares, in hopes that they would make another rhythm game in the future - but that never happened. :(

This game is too underrated. It's a wonderful experience with great music, enjoyable gameplay with different ways to play, and gorgeous (if a bit distracting) visuals. I also really like the concept; a reversed shooter that's actually a rhythm game is pretty unique and it's executed perfectly. A must-play for fans of rhythm games.