Shoot, shoot, bang, bang
The shooter genre has seen a resurgence in the last few years, but it was definitely not on my Bingo card to be saying that we are getting a brand-new Genesis shooter from the legendary Yuzo Koshiro in the year of our lord 2025. Yet here we are. Earthion contains a lot of the nostalgia DNA of those old Genesis shooters with enough to make it feel like a modern game. They have nailed the look, feel, and most importantly the sound of those classic games.
Right out of the gate, Earthion makes a statement. The presentation is bold, crisp, and unapologetically pixel-forward. Environments burst with color, detail, and activity; each backdrop feels layered, like there’s life behind the enemy waves. That said, there are moments when the bombardment of bullets, explosions, and flashing effects clutters the screen. On the Series X, you get the benefit of performance headroom — frame rate is solid, and the input latency feels tight — but the visual density sometimes undermines clarity.
MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99
As with most modern games, we have options for all sorts of CRT and scanline filters to make it feel even more retro. The game defaults to this mode, complete with side art. I turn that stuff off immediately, but their use here is excellent. There is even a curve filter that gives it that extra pop. I love looking at these filters once or twice, but I still prefer to play with sharp pixels and in perfect rendering mode. This gives me just enough retro to coincide with my modern tastes. I graduated from CRTs for a reason.
The mechanics are interesting enough to keep players interested. It borrows a lot of ideas from other shooters, while bringing a few of its own. Your ship has a shield meter, so you don’t die in one hit. This doesn’t mean it is a cakewalk though. Earthion still delivers a hefty challenge. There are sub weapons as well, and players can swap them out with power-ups as well as switching between the ones that are carried. One glaring omission though is a lack of a screen-clearing bomb. This is a staple of shooters and it not being here takes some adjusting to.
Players can opt to pick up what is known as an Adaption Pod in place of a weapon. These don’t do anything in the moment, but if you keep it, it will allow for a permanent ship upgrade. This is a nice risk/reward system tossed into the mix. Players can also drop weapons, but once that is factored into the mix, things get a little dicey. With so much going on and trying to juggle the mechanics, the game starts to get really challenging. It would have been nice to have this streamlined a little more.
There are eight stages in the game, and it will take a while to master it enough to see them all. I spent hours trying to get past stage three, but I kept coming back for more. The way the game is structured really feeds that “one more run” addiction. Learning the patterns and mastering the bosses was super fun, and I found myself not minding starting back from the beginning, which is not something I usually embrace. There is an easy mode (and of course MUCH harder difficulties) but nothing in this game is casual. This is a hardcore shooter for the sadist fans of the genre.
We talked about the visuals earlier, and they are stellar, but the one thing that stood out to me while playing was the music. Earthion delivers a Genesis soundtrack that captures that gnarly, crunchy sound the console was known for. The compositions here from Yuzo Koshiro are memorable, and I found myself wanting to listen to the soundtrack outside of the game. Games today have sweeping orchestral tracks that fit the mood of the game, but so many of them feel empty and forgettable. I cannot remember the last big budget game where I can recall its theme. Not the case here, as Earthion delivers a soundtrack for the ages.
Earthion is a stellar shooter that not only captures the heart of Genesis shooters, but brings the genre forward with stellar visuals, interesting mechanics, and a soundtrack that I could blast on repeat. I love that we live in a world where a game like this can exist. If you grew up loving titles like Hellfire, Truxton, and Musha, this is definitely a game for you. I cannot recommend it enough.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
