Super Mega Space Blaster Special Turbo Review

Super Mega Space Blaster Special Turbo is a game developed and published by Bare Knuckle Development and is a mouthful to say. Originally released on PC, this new edition available on the Switch is a modern take on retro arcade shooters. It is a huge expansion from the original, but is this worth your time and money? Well, let’s find out!

The story in Super Mega Space Blaster Special Turbo is simple. There is no proper story mode or any indication of a story in the actual gameplay. However, the developers did include a little write up that can be accessed from the main menu. It is light and pretty normal sci-fi stuff, but it is a welcome to indie arcades that lack substance or any real connection to what is actually happening while playing.

You are tasked with protecting one of the Mothers, one of nine huge, unmanned ships that humanity launched into space in order to search for inhabitable planets. It is up to you and your piloting skills to save this ship from the alien attack. Are you up for the task?

Like I said, it is quite simple, but a lovely effort put in by the team.

Bare Knuckle Development never advertised Super Mega Space Blaster Special Turbo as anything more than a retro arcade shooter that is mostly about trying to beat your previous score, rise up on the leaderboards, and unlock new ships and abilities. After so much time with the game, I can confirm. It is so easy to get hooked in and tell yourself constantly, “Okay, just one more try.”

This is the strength of Super Mega Space Blaster Special Turbo. It seemingly never sought to be anything more than that, and it works great. There are 15 ships to unlock, 5 modes of play to enjoy, lots of items and upgrades to purchase, and cooperative play to boot.

Each new ship has different strengths and weaknesses that mix up the gameplay. This really helps to make the different playthroughs feel fresh and unique, and unlocking new ships is all part of the fun as well.

The 5 game modes are Protect Mother, Survival, Save The Colony, One Shot, and To The Death.

In Protect Mother, one or two players are tasked with protecting the Mother ship from enemy attacks. You fight your way through wave upon wave of alien ships, while also avoiding dastardly asteroids. You simply play until you ship explodes or the Mother ship’s health depletes to zero.

In Survival, one or two players are simply asked to survive as long as possible. Alien ships come pouring in, and you need to basically dodge and weave through the constant streams. This is, in my opinion, the most fun pick-up-and-play mode for two people.

In Save the Colony, survivors are floating through space, and you are tasked with retrieving and escorting them to a portal on screen.

Finally, we have the two Local 2-Player Only Modes, One Shot and To The Death. One Shot is a pilot versus pilot dog fight where both players start with only one shot. Naturally more can be received, but that first little bit is intense and tons of fun. And finally, To The Death tasks each player to either destroy the enemy Mother or take out the enemy space blaster.

It is a mix bag of modes, and the fact that all of them can be played in local co-op makes for a good time.

The audio is not anything to write home about. The soundtrack is some simple synth music that is not so memorable, but it serves its purpose. There are also not a lot of tracks (4 in total, with 2 remixes). You are mostly subject to the menu music and the stage music. This is where multiple stages could have helped liven things up, because it would have been nice to hear a good mix of songs while playing that changed with each new area. To hear the same songs over and over and over again with the same background images did not add much to the experience.

The vocals in Save The Colony were honestly the worst part of the game for me. I can imagine the developers thought the nasally, high-pitched voices constantly saying “Help!” and “Hey! Help me!” was cute, but in reality, it just makes the mode a bit unbearable.

Other than that, the other sound effects were all fine and served their purposes well. I particularly liked the ship’s blaster sounds! That felt particularly oldschool and nostalgic.

The visuals are also simple. From the menu to the models to the animations, nothing really stands out. Super Mega Space Blaster Special Turbo just looks like your common arcade shooter for mobile.

Thankfully, though, the game runs smoothly, and I experienced zero hiccups, stutters, or slowdown. It has simply accomplished what it set out to do, and that is to be a fast-paced, easy-to-pick up, twin-stick, arcade space shooter. And it does that well.

Super Mega Space Blaster Special Turbo is a fun and addictive game with a lot to offer. But for the price on Switch, it does feel a little bit steep considering you can purchase the original version of the game on STEAM for just $0.99USD.

If you are a fan of arcade shooters, then this is a quality game that will entertain for hours. But if you are only mildly interested, then I must insist on waiting for the inevitable discount.

I do believe it is a game worthy of your time and money, but that ultimately depends on your interest.

Super Mega Space Blaster Special Turbo Review Provided By Nintendo Link
Developer: Bare Knuckle Development
Release Date: Jan. 14, 2020
Price: $4.99, £3.99, €4,99
Game Size: 559MB