Originally released for Commodore 64 back in 1989, X-Out is an iconic side-scrolling shoot ‘em up title that a lot of players have fond memories of. Originally developed by Arc Development and Rainbow Arts, this classic shooter has now returned for modern consoles, thanks to the original developer Rainbow Arts, alongside ININ Games and Kritzelkratz 3000. Called X-Out: Resurfaced, probably because the game is set underwater and is now making a comeback, with its intense combat and haunting visuals. This is our review of X-Out: Resurfaced on the PS5, in which we try not to die repeatedly by hitting underwater seaweed.
X-Out: Resurfaced is your typical side-scroller shmup when it comes to gameplay. You enter missions, and you must kill enemies to survive until the very end of the level, where you must fight the final boss and defeat it to progress to the next level. Compared to most of the shmups out there, X-Out was never a forgiving one, even back on the Amiga. Its main challenge is in the fact that you only have one ship (submarine?) at the start of the game, and unless you get some money to add more to your arsenal, you basically have only one life. This means that if you die even one hit before the boss’s health depletion, you will be looking at the main menu screen quicker than you press that X button. Side-scroller shmups are mostly challenging, but nearly all games offer at least 3 lives, but that is not the case here. You need to clear at least the initial stage before you can add another ship (life) to your run and feel a little safer. Enemy bullets will deplete your life, but if you hit an obstacle, enemy, or boss, you are instantly destroyed, and based on the level design in X-Out: Resurfaced, you will be running into a lot of obstacles if you are not careful.
There is not much to talk about the game’s narrative apart from the fact that it took the aliens underwater instead of to space. Most side-scrolling shmups are based in space, but this particular title took the same idea but went underwater instead. This is visible from the enemy design, the bosses, and most prominently, the levels. For some reason, underwater appears to be even more haunting than space, which is great because X-Out: Resurfaced feels haunting at times and we can thank the new refined visuals as well because the developers have done such an amazing job at keeping the original visual style as close as possible while upscaling for modern consoles. You can still see the classic visuals mixed with modern upscaling when playing the game.
As you may have guessed, X-Out: Resurfaced’s most prominent feature is the ability to customize your loadout before heading into the game. There are three pre-built ship loadouts if you just want to dive straight into action, but these do not always work. You can skip the pre-built builds and go to the shop to create your very own loadout, which is where things get interesting. There are a lot of options to play around here to create your ultimate loadout. To kick things off, you have four different ship types. Each ship offers a unique customization experience. Depending on how many slots it offers for you to equip stuff in, you will need to dish out the required credits for it. Expensive ships offer more loadout slots, so you can go into the game prepped to take on the aquatic aliens, but having a few cheap ships will save your runs if you die during a mission.
The game gives you nine slots to equip ships, which means that you essentially have a maximum of nine lives in the game for one playthrough. Each ship is unique depending on what weapons and powers you equip it with. You cannot change ships on your own during missions, and these will appear in the sequence you choose on the customization screen. After picking a ship, you can start building on it, and depending on your available credits, you can create an absolute firepower house. There is a lot to choose from here. Your main weapon can be of three different types, and each of these types offers three shot configuration types as well. You have Heat, Titanium, and Uranium; each of these offers increased damage, respectively, but they also cost more, which means you need to keep your budget in check as well.
Apart from your primary shot, you can further add an Automatic Secondary Shot, which ranges from missiles to bombs, and then you can further add some additional firepower by purchasing and equipping Satellites, Upgrades, and Primary and Secondary enhancements, which grant active or passive skills depending on what item you purchase. Once you have exhausted the available slots or your budget, you can then start the game and complete missions to earn more money. This level of customization is not common for any modern or classic shmup, and this is why X-Out: Resurfaced, or even the classic X-Out, is easily distinguishable in the genre.
Similar to its visuals, the soundtrack of the game has received an overhaul as well. X-Out: Resurfaced features both the original quality and the modern version of the soundtrack. Chris Hülsbeck took the reign on the modern release as well, which is why the soundtrack feels so nostalgic and modern at the same time. Apart from the sound and visual overhaul, the game features some added accessibility features as well. The game has fixed hitboxes, which means that you will not get hit that easily when compared to the original one.
You also have a cheeky cheat trainer that pops up when the game begins, like those old-school PC trainers for pirated games, so if you are having a hard time playing the game, you can turn on some cheats, but there is a catch: you first have to unlock these cheat codes. The unlock method is a little embarrassing because you have to die a certain number of times before they are unlocked for you, so it is better to just get better and nail those bosses on your own. What we like about X-Out: Resurfaced is that while the game may be tough, you can turn it into your favor with ship customization. There are a lot of different weapons to try out and play around with, and some sort of combination always works in any given situation.
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Final Verdict:
X-Out: Resurfaced marks the return of the classic Commodore 64 shmup back to life in its best form possible. It not only keeps the spirit of the original title alive with its retro visuals and hard difficulty but also brings some added features for the new players, like some cheat codes and 2-player multiplayer. Intense boss battles, the challenge of surviving, plenty of customization options, and the threat of constantly returning to the main menu screen make it an intense shmup of modern times. If you loved playing the original Amiga release or, in general, love playing shmup titles, X-Out: Resurfaced is a gorgeous title to try out. It will keep you busy for hours as you try to master its levels and challenging boss battles. Highly recommended for all shmup fans out there, whether casual or hardcore.
Final Score: 9.5/10
A Review code for X-Out: Resurfaced was provided by PR Hound for ININ Games. Read our Review Policy.
