A modern shmup makes it’s way onto the Nintendo Switch
CounterAttack: Uprising Review
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CounterAttack: Uprising has been on PC since 2019, Xbox since last year, and it just dropped on the Nintendo Switch last month. It’s a modern shmup that’s a ton of fun, chock full of challenges, and hours of replay value.
The story is kind of bare bones. Pretty much, aliens are invading the Earth and we’re their last line of defense from annihilation. Nothing extraordinary but it gives us a reason to fly around in space and shoot some alien robots.
CounterAttack: Uprising has a lot in its gameplay customization. First, you’ll pick a character that has different weapons and attributes. Some are very fast with low power while others are the complete opposite. Try out as many characters as possible until you find one that fits your play style. My favorite character to play as is Ayumi because her special attack is a missile that whips out anything in its area. You can also choose the color of your ship to make it stand out from the on-screen fire headed your way.
After picking a character, there are two sets of attachments you need to select. Modules give you better stats such as extra speed or fire rate. Weapons will change how your ship behaves. You can have the spread do more damage or replace your side attack with laser swords. Attachments are randomly dropped when you play the game, so replaying levels is encouraged. The weapon attachments will show a bigger gameplay style shift compared to the modules which only increase certain stats. A neat way to buff up the character you choose in areas they may lack in or boost their specialty overall.
The last choice to make is the game type and game difficulty. Difficulty is self explanatory and it goes from easy to very hard. Game type is how the game is played. In casual mode, you can save the game locally but the unlock rate for attachments is low. Arcade mode features no saving and normal unlock rate. Finally, hardcore mode has no saving, zero lives, and a high unlock rate. Definitely meant for people who are masters at shmup games for sure.
Once you get into the game, it’s an auto scrolling space shooting. The screen will be moving to the right at all times as you fire away at incoming enemies. The moment you touch a ship, a projectile, or the floor, you die. If you need more lives, that’s where the green lightning bolts come into play. They are used to upgrade your ship’s attributes such as speed, missiles, overall power, etc. While playing the game, you use the green lightning bolt to unlock the current upgrade it’s on or collect another one to let it slide to the right. The last upgrade is an extra life which means collecting 10 green lightning bolts to get another life. It might seem like a lot but some levels hand these out for free when you kill an area of enemies.
Don’t expect to finish CounterAttack: Uprising on your first run as it’s meant to be played over and over again until you finish it. As you keep playing, more alternative and harder paths unlock. If you’re looking for harder levels, blitz through the easy ones and make your way to the levels above. Because I am very unfamiliar with shmup games, I tried arcade mode and medium difficulty to see how I would fare. I quickly learned I need casual mode for the save states and easy difficulty, so I can actually finish the game for once. I am not ashamed of this because CounterAttack: Uprising doesn’t hand out extra lives and it’s still one hit to die on the easiest difficulty.
The game type does dictate if you lose upgrades after dying, so that’s where the “easier” difficulty works. Even then, I felt like I had enough of a challenge as I played CounterAttack: Uprising. Obviously I’m a noob when it comes to shmups but I liked what I played. The game really incentivizes you to play the game over and over again to try out other characters and attachments. There’s probably an “optimal build” for the game but that’s no fun to look it up. Play CounterAttack: Uprising and find out your defined play style and what works for you.
The game throws a bunch of different enemy types at you, so it’s good to pay attention to not just the projectiles but also who’s shooting them at you. The boss fights at the end of certain levels do give a challenge. They will for sure eat your lives away as you learn what their pattern is. Sometimes, I straight up walked into a laser beam or projectile because I wasn’t ready for it. All in all, CounterAttack: Uprising has a satisfying gameplay loop that should please shmup fanatics.
The music is quite good. It’s mostly techno stuff in the menus but in game, it’s more space-y music if that makes any sense. You will hear the menu theme a lot since it starts from the beginning every time you go back to it. The sound effects are nice and loud. I definitely had to lower my headset volume to not blow my ears out from the constant sound of explosions in the game.
CounterAttack: Uprising runs pretty well on the Nintendo Switch. Problems only occurred when I blow up a large amount of enemies on screen and the frame rate dips for a moment. Also, a graphical glitch happened during a boss fight where the back end of it turns pink. Still, CounterAttack: Uprising runs fairly well on the Nintendo Switch.
As someone who doesn’t play a ton of shmups, CounterAttack: Uprising is a ton of fun. With its hours of replay value, fans of the genre can hopefully sink their teeth into the variety of customization options and difficulty choices. The gameplay is enjoyable and challenging with only one hit to die and limited amount of lives available. The presentation is well rounded on the Nintendo Switch and should give console owners a shmup to play on the go. If you are interested in CounterAttack: Uprising, it’s available on Xbox, Steam, and Nintendo Switch for $15. Xbox Game Pass Core members can play it for free, so no harm in trying it out there.
Travis “tvsonic” Vuong
Business e-mail: travisvuong56@gmail.com
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