I’ll admit that I had never even heard of the Truxton franchise prior to reviewing Truxton Extreme. I did grow up on a healthy diet of old school bullet hell shooters, but they were usually games that were easily accessible on Nintendo platforms, such as Gradius and Axelay. With Truxton being more closely associated with the Mega Drive and Japanese arcades, it simply never crossed my radar until, well, about a month ago. But if this excellent rebootquel of sorts is any indication of what the series has always been capable of, then I guess I’ve been missing out on some seriously good stuff.

A tough game at first. You need to collect powerups as soon as possible in order to survive.

At first glance, Truxton Extreme doesn’t look or feel like something completely different from other modern, though retro-inspired, bullet hell shooters released over the past few years: it’s presented in a top-down perspective, it’s polygonal, it’s hard as nuts, and it’s fully meant to be played and replayed over and over again, with the combination of its arcadey gameplay loop and difficult sections being enough reasons to make you want to replay levels and extend its somewhat brief length (though lengthier than your average bullet hell shooter). And sure, while it does feature innovative elements, none of them are things I’d consider to be game changers for the genre. Nothing here truly reinvents the wheel. The good news is that, well, Truxton Extreme never needed to. It does what it does well enough.

But once you do… hoo boy… you can pull off crap like this.

In my opinion, the most important aspect of a bullet hell shooter is game feel. If it can make you feel like an overpowered, laser vomiting menace, while still putting up a proper challenge, that’s the jackpot in my books. Truxton Extreme absolutely understands this, even if its controls feel pretty standard for the genre. You have your main fire button, a screen-clearing bomb, and a variety of powerups divided between different firing modes, increases to the number of shots you can unleash, and upgrades to your ship’s mobility.

Finally, defeating standard enemies gradually fills a meter that can be spent whenever you please to unleash a concentrated and accelerated version of your main weapon. It’s essentially your “delete everything in front of me” button, and learning when to make the most of it adds another satisfying layer to the game’s already frantic combat. Especially during the five nanoseconds you will be given to think about planning your next move before another enemy onslaught fills up the screen.

Looks quite good for a bullet hell shooter, and the performance is impressive.

As mentioned, it’s standard… but it feels great when combined with the sheer ludicrous amount of enemies onscreen, and with the responsive controls. It’s also a surprisingly inviting game, at least at first. Truxton Extreme immediately throws you into a tutorial section when you boot it up for the first time, and even tries to publicize the inclusion of an easier mode called Heart Starter, one devoid of the “one hit kills you” rule seen in the rest of the game’s modes. Sadly, this mode is comprised of one single level, and a shortened one at that. If that was meant to act like a tease for the rest of what Truxton Extreme has to offer… well, it sure failed at that. That mode felt more like an insult to your incompetence at playing the game’s other main options, if anything else.

But I don’t want to sound like this is an impossible shooter that treats noobs like garbage. The clear goal to defeating any of Truxton Extreme’s levels and bosses is to focus on collecting as many powerups as quickly as possible. The beginning of each level might feel tough, but once you’re racked up and full of disposable bombs, this stops feeling like a challenge and starts feeling more like synthpop-infused power fantasy. One which even features comic book panels in between levels and a Stan Bush-esque soundtrack, to make it feel more complete, and also a lot goofier.

It’s not particularly well-balanced, but who cares? The homing white bullets are hilariously overpowered.

Truxton Extreme is a tough but rewarding bullet hell experience that doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but ticks all the necessary boxes with gusto. It’s packed with different modes, branching paths, interesting powerups, and, most importantly, it’s a blast to play. It can feel intimidating at first, especially considering how hilariously frail your ship is, but the real joy comes from collecting powerups as quickly as possible and gradually turning yourself into an absurdly overpowered machine capable of pulverizing bosses in mere seconds.

Throw in some excellent visuals and a fantastic synth-infused soundtrack, and Truxton Extreme easily ranks among the most interesting bullet hell shooters I’ve played in recent memory. It’s a must for fans of the genre, and you certainly don’t need any prior experience with its predecessors to enjoy it. To be fair, you don’t even need to know they existed. I sure didn’t.

Truxton Extreme is available now on PS5, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch 2.

Reviewed on Switch 2.

A copy of Truxton Extreme was provided by the publisher.