Remote Life from Ratalaika Games and Next Game Level is a solid side-scrolling shoot ‘em up with a sci-fi theme. Learn more in our Remote Life review!
Remote Life from Ratalaika Games and Next Game Level is a solid side-scrolling shoot ‘em up with a sci-fi theme. The game was developed by a single individual – Mario Malagrino – which makes this one even more impressive. He took inspiration from a ton of shoot ‘em ups played over the last few decades to give us Remote Life, a game with a great-looking 3D presentation that makes it look like a game that pays homage to the classics in the genre while also doing its own thing.
A menacing Alien Hive is approaching the planet, and the only way to defeat it before it’s too late is to hit its core with everything you got. You’ll take on the role of one John Leone, an ambitious pilot who is ready to risk his life as he uses his spaceship’s arsenal to reach the center of the Alien Hive and unleash all of its might. You’ll be taking on enemies of all shapes and sizes as you work your way through each mission to get to the big boss at the end of a level.
For this shoot ‘em up, you’ll control your ship with the left analog stick or the D-Pad, with the left analog stick allowing you to move your ship at a slower or faster pace depending on the applied pressure. The L2 and R2 buttons will be used for shooting your weapons, and you can switch between them as needed by pressing the L1 and R1 buttons. You can use the right analog stick to change where your cannon is aiming. The Circle button can be pressed to use your mighty special attack, which can deal considerable damage to enemies. There will be different special attacks to use, so be sure to try them all!
You can customize your Remote Life experience with a variety of options. The game can be played in one of four difficulty settings to lower or increase the overall challenge: Easy, Normal, Hard, and Very Hard. You can also apply an arcade filter or an 8-Bit filter to the screen. You can also activate or deactivate the controller vibration and enable or disable a radar that will let you know when enemies will attack from the back. There are also three graphical settings for effects, which will either enable all effects, disable minor effects such as explosions or smoke, or disable all effects.
Trophy-wise, this is a Cross-Buy title with two separate trophy lists to work on so that you can add two new Platinum trophies to your collection. The list includes 2 Bronze trophies, 7 Silver trophies, and 9 Gold trophies. To get all of those trophies and that shiny Platinum, you’ll have to complete the tutorial, as well as all 17 stages in the game… and that’s it! Yes, that does mean that as long as you complete Remote Life, there are no missable trophies to worry about.
Remote Life is a solid shoot ‘em up that was created by a single developer, which is certainly a huge accomplishment considering everything that Remote Life offers on PlayStation. And once you complete missions 3, 7, 5, and 15, you’ll unlock two additional spaceships, a gallery with illustrations and unused concepts and art, as well as the option of customizing a monster to play as the enemy. Remote Life is out as a Cross-Buy title with an $18.99 asking price, giving you access to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game, with each one having its own trophy list.
Disclaimer
This Remote Life review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by Ratalaika Games.
