LOST ORBIT: Terminal Velocity

I'd seen Lost Orbit before and passed it by. This style of dodging game doesn't usually interest me. Most examples have less fundamental depth than even early arcade games like Space Invaders, which at least has both dodging and shooting. But when I spotted Lost Orbit on deep discount (with the enhanced Terminal Velocity edition tossed in), I picked it up on impulse, and overall I'm glad I did. You play an astronaut who loses his ship, cobbles together a thruster pack, and jets off to find rescue. A robot probe sees him and decides to help. The two become friends over the course of this story that's light on plot beats but heavy on tone, characterization, and goofy jokes. The probe also narrates the whole main story in past tense, which helps the isolated mood. Lost Orbit's action stands out in its genre. Controls with an analog gamepad are perfectly tight, with a turn radius that feels fine-tuned for properly swooping around asteroids. You're given 3 distinct levels of speed, your base movement and two levels of boost, the second of which is on a meter. The degree of extra control that's provided is much of what makes Lost Orbit feel better than most similar games. There's also a well-constructed set of stage elements that provide just enough depth. Pulsars serve as boost pads, wormholes warp you around, and planets can be orbited to charge meter or boost-grazed past for extra speed. My only real complaint in playing the main game was that parts of some levels have a Sonic pinball effect, bouncing you between stage elements in an attempt to show off. The space scenery looks pretty good, and I was impressed at how readable it usually is at high speeds. There's some smart touches to help you keep track, like the trails off of pulsars that give you more time to aim towards them, and the arrow that appears when you approach the left or right screen edge to show you where you'll appear if you wrap around. Each level ranks you on time, number of deaths, and collectibles grabbed, which gives more achievement-oriented players motivation to come back after the brief campaign to earn all platinum medals. Rank and collectibles feed into a simple upgrade system. I'm not in principle a fan of upgrade systems in arcade games, and this one doesn't provide many interesting choices. I was able to fully upgrade everything without much trouble before the end of the epilogue. This Terminal Velocity edition offers tweaks to graphics and gameplay that I can't judge, not having played the original version. It also adds an epilogue chapter, which I found ended the game on an off note. It's a very different experience from the main game, starting with the narrative. More characters are introduced, all directly voice acted, so the lonely mood is replaced with a comedic focus that didn't work for me. Gameplay gimmicks are introduced faster than in previous chapters, and their batting average is lower. The added ability to drill through asteroids on a recharging meter is cool and fits neatly with the existing mechanics. Other additions, like the Sonic-inspired grind rails (in space), are less interesting. The epilogue's low point is easily the escort mission, which has you flying ahead of a spaceship to clear out asteroids with explosive charges and your drill. It's somewhat forgiving, as dying and returning to a checkpoint returns the ship to full health, but it just doesn't flow like the game's better levels.

This game rocks. I haven't beat it yet but it's one of those games that just begs for a 100% completion. Every level has things to collect and a speed run timer. So I'm playing through first to collect the gems, to then upgrade my character, so that I can do the speed run timer missions after. It's just a perfect gameplay loop. And actual moment-to-moment gameplay is so much fun. You just blast through spacey asteroid covered levels. Rocketing around is super fun. Even dying isn't so bad. It's brutal and you get an instant restart from your last checkpoint, which is amazing.

Bastante divertido y adictivo. Hay que tener buenos reflejo y coordinacion para evitar estampillarte contra un asteroide o cualquier objeto solido. EL juego no pude aguantar en cag@rme de risa las veces que me estampillaba contra cualquier objeto solido, dejando los asteroide teñido de rojo con mis propios sesos o visceras. Ya ser algo tragicomico como muere estupidamente por cualquier cosa como si fueras un mosquito xD

Очень красивый платформер, о путешествии единственного выжившего космонавта и его спутника в лице механического дрона, через звездные системы. В пути игроку встретятся как красоты космоса, так и смертельные опасности, начиная от астероидных поясов и заканчивая пожирателями планет

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I didn't know what to expect before buying the game, I thought it would be too difficult. But in no time at all you can get the hang of it, and sweep through levels to beat your time records! It's fun, challenging, the dialog and story is amazing as well as having really catchy music. The dialog from your robot companion, Null, is hilarious every time you die. It's worth giving this game a go, and what's even better is that it's on sale!

💋

Неплохая идея.

Why do I have to play through the original game again before I can play this one.

Absolutely outstanding game. What an incredible display from an indie developer from a city like St. Catharines. The game is truly the perfect Niagara region experience. There's disappointment because you're upset that you're where you are, there's disappointment because you're upset you aren't where you want to be, and there's disappointment because you feel disappointed. But even though you're disappointed, there's hope. Hope that tomorrow will be better. The next time you get sent back to that checkpoint, there's hope. Maybe this is the time that it'll work out. And eventually it does. I will say, this game has bugs, this game is relatively short, and it doesn't play perfectly. The concept is awesome, and the fact that it comes from a place in Niagara really sweetens the deals. Only real problem is that playing with a keyboard is jank. Big ups from Mikey guys.