Galacide from Puny Human is a game that mixes up a shoot ‘em up with a puzzle game on Nintendo Switch. Learn more about it in our Galacide review!

 

In Galacide from Puny Human, you’ll be taking on a sidescrolling experience that mixes a shoot ‘em up with a puzzle game on Nintendo’s console. Because of this, you’ll be flying from left to right in classic shoot ‘em up fashion while also making the most of the, in this case, match four puzzle gameplay. Your first mission will ask that you take care of a Bits infestation. Bits are an invasive machine organism that consumes precious metals, making them a dangerous plague that needs to be dealt with. Your task will be to exterminate the Bits over different stages since they’ve started to propagate at an alarming rate. There will also be an Endless mode in which you’ll have to destroy as many enemies as possible as you try to survive the hordes and the large puzzle wall.

For every stage that you explore, you’ll be able to select from the three available difficulty settings. There’s Normal, which has fever enemies with less health, as well as a slower scrolling speed so that you can get used to how Galacide handles things. If you play in Hard, then enemies will be more plentiful and will be able to take a beating while the screen scrolls at a faster pace. The last one is Expert and, as expected, things can get quite hectic! Enemies will swarm in and will have a ton of hit points, and the screen will constantly scroll at a fast and steady pace, which means that if you’re not careful, you could end up feeling overwhelmed!

 

For this mashup, you’ll be controlling your spaceship with the left analog stick or the D-Pad, shooting with the A button, and using your special with the X button. For the starting mining vessel, this special will be a tractor beam that can allow you to pull items towards your ship – and yes, this does mean you’ll get to unlock new spaceships as you progress through the game. As you defeat enemies, they will sometimes drop scrap. You’ll have to stop firing your weapon to fly over the scrap to be able to collect it so that you can then shoot it into the different Bits you’ll run into. Match four bits of the same color with the appropriate matching scrap, and you’ll make them disappear. Pressing the B button will allow you to drop the scrap you’re currently carrying so that you can collect a different one. Some enemies will drop explosive cores, which can be used to destroy Bits as well as enemies.

If you’re holding a piece of scrap that is of a different color from the Bits on the screen, you can fly your spaceship so that the scrap is on top of the Bits and then fire away. What this will do is morph a Bit, changing its color, which can be a great way to start a chain reaction since the color you’re using to change the color of a Bit will also surge through your ship, which can help to complete a match. On top of this, when you manage to destroy a set of Bits, you can sometimes be presented with power-ups of the same color as said Bits.

 

For example, the purple power-up will increase your spaceship’s firepower and speed for ten seconds; the teal power-up will help to fix some of the damage that your spaceship has received; an orange power-up will reward you with bonus experience points. Speaking of which, destroying sets of Bits will give you experience points for your efforts. The more experience points you collect, the faster you’ll level up. Levels help to make your ship stronger, changing your weapon and improving some of your spaceship’s abilities. Since experience will passively drain as you play, if you don’t collect more experience points at a steady pace, your spaceship can end up losing levels!

Along with its Campaign Mode, Galacide also offers a Puzzle Play Mode. For the Puzzle Play Mode, you’ll be taking on ab assortment of predesigned puzzles that will be split into five groups: Basic, Circuits, Rapid Action, Linking Turrets, and Advanced. For puzzles under the Basic group, you’ll be using your matching and building skills. Puzzles in the Circuits group will have you using morphing and circuit completion. Those in the Rapid Action category will require multimatching and stacking combos. The Linking Turrets group will challenge you to stay one step ahead of things so that you can stay alive. The last group is Advanced, and, as its name suggests, it will present to your puzzles that use all of the above.

 

Galacide mashes together a shoot ‘em up and a match-four puzzle game into a hectic experience that you can take on by yourself or in the local multiplayer for up to four spaceships. Things are crazy packed when playing on your own, so when you play with all four players shooting around the screen, destroying enemies, and collecting scrap to destroy the Bits, it can be a bit overwhelming. The Endless Mode is also very fast-paced, while the Puzzle Play Mode gives you a better chance to do things slowly as you try to find the right way to solve each stage. Galacide is out on Nintendo Switch with a $15 asking price.

Disclaimer
This Galacide review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Puny Human.