This game was pretty entertaining. The visuals were great, the combat and abilities were pretty sweet to use, and the overall presentation of the game held up fine. There was the occasional slow down, but nothing that frequent throughout my time playing. The games difficulty spikes can get pretty frustrating at times. With the lack of a dodge or sprint ability, completing the game on higher difficulties can become a chore.

The game is short, roughly an hour long, but the game does allow you to increase the difficulty after every successful play through. I believe there are a total of 10 new game + difficulties based off the achievements. It has procedurally generated levels, so each play through is somewhat different, even though the end objective of every level is always the same. Speaking of levels, there are a total of 4 + a boss arena.

There are collectibles that you can obtain through out each level. These collectibles allow you to purchase items from the shop using 'coins' (mostly health items), acquire perks using 'curios' (extensive hidden list), and even change a characters wear by collecting chickens 🐔. I will say after completing the game for the first time, you will have a bit of a grind collecting and unlocking all the perks available for your character. After my first play through, I was only able to unlock two out of what looked to be around hundred and that isn't even counting the tiers of the perks, which increase in cost.

Overall, the game captured my attention all the way through--albeit a rather short play through. I enjoyed the combat and really liked the playable characters. With a total of five survivors, each with their own skills and upgrade abilities, I would say the game succeeded in what it set out to accomplish. If you're looking to pick up a game and potentially play cooperatively with a few buddies and this style of game checks just enough boxes and you are okay with playing through a short but procedurally generated campaign numerous times with a great cast of character designs, then I would say go for it.

CounterAttack is a blast to play! Purchased it with my cousin and we were instantly hooked. I highly recommend it in it's current state, very playable and haven't ran into any bugs as of yet. An excellent shmup you and your friends will play for many hours.

~Gameplay~

A side scroller shmup that you collect power ups on the battlefield to upgrade your ship on the fly. There are two types of powerups you collect (along with other miscellaneous powers that are used right away) through out your play through; green for your primary weapon and orange for your ultimate weapon.

You have a primary weapon, which can be upgraded through out the campaign as well as a unique ultimate weapon depending on the character you choose. While collecting the power ups, you can choose to use them right away or hold on to them until you get further down the attachment bar for more powerful attacks, but be careful! If you die, you lose all the powerups you collected, but retain the attachments you've unlocked to that point.

~Story~

There isn't much of a story. Aliens have invaded and it's up to you to save the world. At the start of each level you get a brief dialogue of the situation from your captain and some one liners from your character.

The levels range from outer space, ground level, meteor showers, navigating through space ships, and defeating bosses at the end of each level.

~Graphics~

The game is beautiful. From the planets in the background to the sheer number of enemies on screen, you will have your eyes full. While collecting powerups and upgrading your ship with new attachments, you will be covering your monitor with a ridiculous amount of bullets. I was especially pleased with how incredibly detailed your spaceship is, along with the enemies.

I tried setting the graphics to 4K with Ultra details but my rig couldn't handle it. (i7-7700k w/ 1080Ti) I was getting about 20fps. So I set the details to Very High and I was hitting 30fps. When I went to High details I was able to hit the 60fps mark. Even with High details, the game still blows me away.

~Sound~

Loved the soundtrack. There were more then a handful of times my cousin and I were getting pumped up by music while playing. It really puts you in the mode and gets your blood flowing. There is no voice acting that I'm aware of while playing through out the campaign outside of the intro. Would of have been nice to have voice actors for each character to go along with the dialogue, but the game is fine without.

~Lasting Appeal~

Through the campaign there are multiple paths you can choose to go down. Some require a certain attachment while others simply require you to choose left or right. Each character you choose has a unique ultimate weapon. Along with choosing your character you can customize your spaceship with different modules and attachments before the start of the campaign. Upon gameover you can choose to change your setup to try something different or help you in a particular mission you may be stuck on. There are a few difficulty options along with 3 game types; campaign, survival and custom.

~Final Thoughts~

If there was one negative I would say about the game it would have to be the inability to save your campaign while playing in multiplayer coop. When you and a friend lose all your lives, the game is over and the both of you have to start from the beginning along with losing all your attachments in the process. If we were able to save or have checkpoints, it would be a more enjoyable experience, but as of right now its tough going back and playing the same levels over and over just to get back to the mission the both of ya'll died at.

Overall I think this a must own title if your into the shmup genre. Not only is it gorgeously detailed, but you will be hard pressed to find a better action packed 4 player coop with a rocking soundtrack for under 10 bucks.