On first glance could be forgiven for thinking Resogun was nothing more than a modern version of old arcade classic Defender and there’s certainly some evidence to back that up. The game involves shooting hundreds of alien ships while rescuing stranded humans and taking them to safety. But there’s more to it, much more…
For a start. these humans are boxed in and require a certain amount of energy, retrieved from destroyed enemy ships, to unlock them. Only then can they be picked up, though they’re also at the mercy of the aliens at this point, too.
While some of these energy cube automatically make their way towards your ship, many of them stay suspended in the air, making you come to them. This adds another layer to the strategy. With waves of aliens coming at you from one side and a tempting field of energy on the other, it’s a case of thinking on your feet.
Unsurprisingly, there’s a big reliance on multipliers, too, and not just for high scores. Some humans will die if a certain level of multiplier is not met and the frantic search for another big wave of alien ships is the only way to achieve this.
End of level enemies are also suitably hectic, with a huge arsenal of weaponry at their disposal. Their design often means finding weak spots guarded by lasers and moving parts. It reminds me of some of the better bosses from R-Type.
So gameplay is a mix of Geometry Wars, R-Type, Defender, and the sort of mad chaining of multipliers from Pac-man CE and Leaderboards help to reinforce this never-ending search for a higher score. It’s a social game in this aspect, as well as providing co-op play.
Resogun is a game that’s equally fun to watch as to play, thanks to the amazing graphical fireworks that take 
place on screen. With multi-coloured explosions, big neon lights and huge waves of enemies it often feels like someone plugged a Pink Floyd concert into several thousand monitors and displayed them all at once in front of a fireworks display for good measure. While the basic action is set on a similar rotating 2D plain as with Super Stardust, the action is so intense that you’re often too wired to notice.
The fact that this is one of the first free titles on PS4′s Playstation Plus is a blessing. It means those who may have passed this by as a novelty will be able to download it straight away and see just how good and, possibly, addictive Resogun really is. Only the initial learning curve and subsequent difficulty might stand in the way of their long term enjoyment, but I’d like to think that most will see the challenge as a fun one.
9/10
+ Amazing visuals
+ Frantic but fun gameplay
+ Global high scores for each difficulty constantly update the challenge
+ Excellent chaining mechianic
– It can get pretty difficult quickly.
– May be too Retro for some
