Assault Android Cactus First Look

Platforms – PC, Mac, Linux, Wii U, PS4, PS Vita

Note: This game is in Alpha/ Early Access stages on Steam.

Assault Android Cactus is a twin stick shoot ’em up with an emphasis on high pressure and stylish action. Expect screens full of enemies, buckets of bullets and high scoring combo chains! 

Take on the role of Cactus, an enthusiastic police android, who responds to a stranded space freighter only to discover it under siege by its malfunctioning robot workers. Cut off from the outside and in over her head, Cactus and the androids she recruits along the way battle through the crippled Genki Star to reach the brain of the ship and put things right before it’s too late.

The gameplay of Assault Android Cactus is similar to other twin stick shoot’em up games. The key features that separate it from the rest are multiple characters with unique weapons, dynamic stages, a performance based soundtrack per stage, and local co-op modes on keyboard/mouse or controller. 

The goal of the game is to complete the stage by killing all the enemies before running out of battery power. Your battery will deplete while fighting, and will drop significantly when you die. Dying does not result in a game over however. By tapping the fire button, you can revive yourself at the cost of battery power. 

I’ve put about five hours into the game, finishing all the stages available. At first they were a little dry, but things began to spice up around world two and three. The game actually became a challenge! My frustration was actually making happy, because I haven’t been challenged by a game in a while.  

Having multiple characters for a game can make balancing the mechanics tricky. The team at Witch Beam has done a decent job with this. Most of the characters have their own ups and downs. It all comes down to play style and preference. 

It definitely has an arcade shooter feel to it. But unfortunately, that’s all. There is little to no story in place so far in-game. The official site covers what story they have, as well as their design processes in making the game. It’d be nice to see these things in-game.  It’s been in Early Access stages for almost a year now. I’m hoping story and background will be in place for the final version. 

I’d like to also mention the music of the game. The higher your combo stacks, the more intense the music becomes. It also dies down when you lose it or die. Pretty fantastic. The tempo of the game corresponds to your performance. It’s a great way to build up your nervousness and pressure! 

Your final rank for each stage is dependant on your score, which increases at a higher rate with combos and fast level clears. 

As far as their early progress has gone, I’ve enjoyed playing the game. Especially in multiplayer mode. Many of the stages are incomplete with missing textures, dialogue, and VFX, but that is expected. So far there are 7  characters, and only 3 of the 5 bosses and 19 of the 20 stages are playable.

I feel like Assault Android Cactus has a lot of potential than more than just an arcade shoot’em up. The fact that it’s coming to multiple platforms is a plus, especially for multiplayer. However, the world could be expanded, the vfx could be fine tuned, and enemy spawn rates could be changed.

If you want to check out the game during early access, you can find it on Steam. There is a demo available, as well as the early access version for $14.99. 

Oh, and this quote sums up the game quite nicely. 

“Assault Android Cactus is a freakishly relentless twin-stick shooter that’s as finely tuned as Usain Bolt’s calf muscles.” – Lucy O’Brien, IGN AU