Retaliate from Romans I XVI Gaming is an old-school-inspired shoot ’em up on PlayStation 5. Check out our Retaliate review!
Retaliate from Romans I XVI Gaming is an old-school-inspired shoot ’em up on PlayStation 5. For this vertical shooter, you’ll be trying to find out who has seized control of all weapons in the galaxy so that you can end this and bring back peace once and for all. The twist for this one is that you won’t have infinite ammo to shoot at everything that moves. Instead, you’ll be using your shield to destroy enemies and absorb their weapon, so you can then use your enemies’ weapons to attack them. To retaliate, if you will.
You can take on the game’s main Story Mode, in which you’ll have a set number of lives to make it to the end as you try to avoid getting the always dreadful game over. Another option is going for a more challenging Endless Mode, where you’ll aim to get the best score possible with a single life. Play the Trials Mode to master the gameplay mechanics as you try to destroy all enemies in one go. Or you can go for a more old-school journey by playing through Classic Mode, which gives you a look at the original proof of concept that inspired Retailate.
With this one being inspired by retro shoot ’em up classics, the controls will be simple and to the point. You’ll pilot your spaceship with the left analog stick or the D-Pad as you fire at enemies with the Circle or Square button and activate your shield by pressing the X or Triangle buttons. As you absorb weapons, you’ll add more bullets and weapon types to your arsenal, which will help you survive as you take on the different enemies and bosses trying to stop you. It will start simply enough with regular small bullets to absorb, but you’ll soon be absorbing
And now, let’s talk about the trophies! This one, unfortunately, does not have a full trophy list, which is always odd to see for an indie release in 2024. The trophy list is split into 13 Bronze trophies, 4 Silver trophies, and 7 Gold trophies. You’ll have to score 750,000 points in Story Mode, score 100,000 points in Endless Mode, get 100% on any Trial Mode level, score 10,000 points in Classic Mode, survive for 20 seconds without using a shield, hold 100 or more bullets at once, destroy 100 enemies in a single life, destroy 10 enemies with a single shield use, destroy 8 enemies with a single bomb explosion, destroy 8 enemies with a single aerodive use, and destroy 8 enemies with a single laser use.
On top of all of that, you’ll also need to win a boss fight, run out of lives in Story Mode, complete Story Mode, use the hangar to customize your ship, respawn 100 times, absorb every weapon type, activate your shield 10,000 times, absorb 1,000, 10,000, and 100,000 weapons, as well as destroy 1,000, 10,000, and 100,000 enemies. Yes, this one is going to be a bit of a grind, which is why it’s odd that there’s no Platinum trophy to drive you onward to your goals.
Retaliate is an old-school-inspired shoot ’em up on PlayStation 5. Its main gameplay loop will have you using your shield to destroy enemies and to absorb their weapons so that you can then use them to, well, retaliate. It’s an interesting premise, but the game sends enemy groups at you slowly, making for an overall dull experience. Retaliate is out on PlayStation 4 with a $9.99 price tag.
Disclaimer
This Retaliate review is based on a PlayStation 4 copy provided by Romans I XVI Gaming.
