Jonathan Mak is a visionary young man. With a notion to create something beautiful yet destructive his PSN title Everyday Shooter is a wonderfully polygonal window into a dystopia populated only with guitar riffs and silent explosions. It’s simultanously harmonic and abstract but with the premise of the twin-stick control method preventing the need for any introduction period it’s a familiar trip for Live/PSN gamers.
Such is the embryonic nature of the game that it’s total file size is less than 40MB, dispensing with unnecessary introduction videos and the product’s inate ability to create the ‘music’ as you play serves up a speedy download and a total absence of load times. Sure, it might look like a PC-based Flash title, and the in-game menus are simpler than Rez’s, but that’s not the point, Everyday Shooter is an exercise in repetition; a haven for high-score freaks, and it succeeds magnificently.
Gameplay sits just two seats away from the likes of Rez too, with the bangs and bullets composing a staccato symphony as you play, and each of the eight levels offers up a single theme, both musically and visually. Playtime is rewarded with points, which can be spent on single-screen game modes and several aesthetic tweaks presumably to extend the lifespan for less fanatical gamers.
Naturally, the left stick controls the ship, the right stick fires (although you’re strictly limited to 8 directions unlike most shooters of the ilk) and you’re left to work out the best way through each level entirely to yourself. High scores are mostly based on the chain reactions started by certain enemies on each board and finding the best way (and time) to start these is key, along with the twist that the ship moves faster when not spewing forth bullets.
Everyday Shooter took Sony by surprise a little, it’s certainly not the psychedelic Minter-like ‘experience’ they promised, but is instead a hardcore twinstick shooter with Mizuguchi-esque musical qualities (and indeed plays a little like Every Extend with a fire button). The game fully supports all resolutions up to 1080p and with a decent aural setup is an immersive, coherent title well worth the fiver entrance fee.
Sure, there’s only a limited selection of levels, no online, no multiplayer and little in the way of next-gen shine, but Mak has crafted an invigorating game and it’s also good to see Sony are happy to support indie development of this quality on their flagship console. We look forward to what’s coming next…