Review: Habroxia 2

The original Habroxia (review) a couple of years ago brought back fond memories of the Nemesis games and a phalanx of home computer shooters from the likes of Psygnosis and Thalamus. Tweaks like persistent upgrades gave it a enough of a modern twist, so its great to see a second title, the first new Vita game of 2021, that's hopefully looking to play with the traditions of the shmup format a little more. 

Visually things look pretty similar, with chrome rockets, bombs and laser pixels blazing out of every gunport. Habroxia 2 also has more of a rocky feel in the early going compared to the metal-walled levels of the original. Look closer and the heroine's ship has slightly groovier engine effects, while controls and reactions feel pretty much the same. But the big change is an upgrade to twin-stick controls (if you like, a day-one patch adds more traditional fire buttons). 

I like big guns and I cannot lie

After a hint of plot - set 25 years after the first battle against an alien menace - it is straight into the action, blasting away at the tutorial and first levels. Once past those early enemies, the universe opens up with different routes through the game. One path or end-of-level boss might make for tougher going, so save up credits to up-gun or up-armour the ship, and your single life, to even-up the battle and start outgunning those enemies. 

Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!

Or, with a bit of luck, enough shield boosts, big-ass lasers and other goodies might drop to help keep the plucky little fighter healthy enough to get through to any tricky sections. There's also astronauts tucked away in devious parts of the level to rescue and bounties to find by shooting tougher aliens as little diversions along the way. Some rocks are shootable and reveal new paths, while the swing between horizontal and vertical parts of level still lack a good "woosh" sound effect to make the transition. 

The best bit in Habroxia 2 is that feeling when I just think I've got the edge on a boss, and then the gameplay rotates 90 degrees, or the boss suddenly changes direction, attack pattern or weapons, and for a few seconds, thing get muddled and hectic until the sense of balance restores. With the twin-stick feature, a brief invulnerable boost and reverse fire your eyes have to be all over the screen and thinking about how to deal with the enemies, or waiting a few painful seconds for a weapon to charge, which means the game's sedate-looking pace is really full of split-second decision making. 

Mine, all mine, and some mines are a real pain! 

With Boss Rush, Boost Rush and New Game+ modes to extend the journey, there's plenty to enjoy in Habroxia 2, with charming chip tunes and great little visual touches throughout. For the first Vita game of 2021, we're off to a great start and I'd be happy with more of this sort of thing from Lillymo or any other developer that enjoys the legacy of shooters and knows how to modernise a classic. 

Score 4/5 

Price: £7.99

Developer/publisher: Lillymo

File size 90MB

Progress: Bossing it, but a few more to bring down!