Antecrypt

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Antecrypt's a tight and addicting single-stick arena shooter! Yes, I mean it when I say "single-stick"! Your aim is dependent on a reticle that bounces around the arena and while shooting depletes your energy, standing close enough to the reticle while not shooting will let you recharge. Already this makes for interesting gameplay as you have to improvise with your and the reticle's positioning as you kill enemies, which [i]also[/i] have their own things going on like chasing you faster if you have more energy or infecting arena tiles which cause you to move slower and get chased more while standing on them. Cool stuffs! As for the full game itself, you tackle individual levels that have waves of enemies to defeat and as you complete certain levels, you'll gain permanent upgrades for the rest of the playthrough (having access to more levels to pick from, being able to bring more powerups into levels, making the reticle recharge range bigger, etc.) and powerups that you can use on the levels (different weapons, letting the reticle follow you for strafe shooting, starting with extra bombs, etc.), with a catch: Each powerup used on a level can't be used again until you beat the level again without that powerup. (Later you can unlock the ability to use more than one powerup on a level and say you use powerups A and B on a level but want to renew only powerup B. You can do so while still using powerup A to complete the level, if you wish!) I like being able to renew powerups like this, especially since you might not need the powerup anymore for previous levels due to your upgrades, and then you can save them for harder ones down the line...and you'll need them! ;u; At first I was a bit stingy with powerup usage but they can certainly help on some of the tougher levels Antecrypt has to offer. It's all good though, just some classic arcade-style stuffs! Speaking of arcades, I mentioned this in my Moonpong review already but a fair amount of Punkcake Delicieux's games feel like they belong in an arcade, and Antecrypt's no exception with its juicy visuals/effects, awesome music that fits the computery/cyberpunk vibes, little to no downtime between deaths (other than a powerup that revives you, you die in one hit) and restarting, etc.! It's a pretty fun (and challenging) time and if you're into arena shooters and/or experimental mechanics, Antecrypt's right up your alley!