First off, please ignore the negative review that talks about everybody either lying or being friends with the dev, the person played the game like 10 minutes and was just too impatient to learn the controls and see what this game actually has to offer, the controller support isn't perfect but even on a controller it's possible to play the game (more on that later).
That out of the way...
A solid remastermake* of a fantastic but unconventional and somewhat obscure twin stick shooter. I'll fully admit, I played the original game a ton growing up and as a result I've already learned the ins and outs of the controls, but it shouldn't affect things too much since I did have to learn those controls at [i]some[/i] point.
Seeing as how I don't exactly enjoy Raptor: Call of the Shadows now but loved it growing up, I feel like it's safe enough to say nostalgic bias doesn't fully affect my opinions, but nonetheless understand that it probably factors in a bit.
*It's ported from the original code into a new GameMaker version and as a result is not a remake, but adds far too much to be called a simple remaster, port, or update, hence it's both simultaneously.
The game's controls have you automatically firing in the direction your ship is facing, so you simply focus on moving to dodge and rotating your ship to aim, while also carefully moving your ship a little bit to aim slightly more precisely when need be.
This is decidedly pretty different from your every day twin stick shooter where you use one stick to move and another to shoot, it's kind of a tank control setup. Suffice to say, this takes some getting used to, but once you have it down it plays as a pretty unique take on the genre that almost feels somewhere between a twin stick shooter and a more conventional shoot 'em up.
The game also has a unique unlock system and a decent amount of content wherein getting a high enough score in any given mode will unlock new a mode and/or a new ship (depending on the score and mode), and simply killing enough enemies will unlock new palettes for old ships and new special moves for them.
If you're stuck on a mode, simply killing enough enemies will make that ship more powerful, making it a bit easier next time, and once you're good enough you get a new mode or a new ship to try, and as a result also a new ship to unlock paint jobs and special weapons for. It's a nice, rewarding feeling unlock system.
The game takes advantage of its unique control scheme for modes like Rescue mode, where, thanks to the unconventional controls, you kind of constantly "move forwards" across a large map while still dodging stuff in a more conventionally twin stick kind of way while trying to rescue people and bring them back to a central command ship of sorts. It's... kind of hard to explain what I mean, honestly. It's a pretty weird mode, but I like it.
The game also has a few game modes that are in pretty much completely different genres, they're pretty alright too.
New to the remastermake is that ships also have different stats, not just different special abilities. It's a pretty nice touch, really makes all the ships feel all the more different this time.
Also new to the remastermake is controller support. Gonna be honest, the controller support is a bit janky, probably best to use the left stick to move and the shoulder (not trigger) buttons to aim because for some reason the right stick and trigger buttons work a bit weirdly.
Overall, if you're looking for a quick pick up and play shooter, you may be best off looking elsewhere, this isn't exactly that. However, if you stick with it, overcome the obstacles the game throws at you, and really learn the ins and outs of how it plays, this is a pretty rewarding and fun twin stick shooter.
I recommend giving it a shot, just understand this isn't going to be like anything else you've ever played and you're going to have to get used to it, and as a result, if you don't have enough free time to really do that, this might not be for you.
