PC, Mac, Linux •
World-class style isn’t just reserved for the catwalk in Milan. Going by the likes of Mixed Bag, Santa Ragione and now Antab Studios, Milanese game development is about matching substance with impeccable visual kung fu. Having had my senses tickled by the likes of forma.8 (currently on sale, you know what to do), Futuridium (first-person or bust) and FOTONICA (PC or iOS; a personal pick for endless runner), it’s time to stir a little Last Starfighter into Lawrence Angelo’s coffee.
Behold, the freshly-released GRIDD: Retroenhanced.
Billed as an intense arcade-style cyberpunk hacking *breathe* shoot ’em up, GRIDD: Retroenhanced makes terrific use of its synthwave aesthetic inclinations. A VHS fever-dream of blues and violets, there’s something captivating about Antab’s creation. Retro-themed throwbacks are a dime-a-dozen these days, but on sheer looks alone, the Gibsonian hues make GRIDD seem like a lost ancestor of Rez, or if Panzer Dragoon was a 1980s demo reel from Japan Computer Graphics Lab.
Pilot your craft to hack through an evolving set of punishing enemies, deadly lasers, and other fiendish obstacles as you attempt to take down an unrelenting security mainframe to take out the system’s AI, and cement your place on the leaderboard!
Inspired by cyberpunk dystopian films, early home computing, and a pulsing synthwave soundtrack from Dream Fiend, GRIDD takes a classic bygone era and evolves it into a modern arcade experience.
Good enough for me. There’s something in the water in Milan. Maybe it’s the food or the fashion or the art, or a cocktail of everything listed. Whatever it is, Milanese developers, don’t stop doing whatever you’re doing. It’s working.
Also, thumbs up for Mac and Linux versions in addition to the PC. The Apple-shackled Stately Play officer corps [that’s me! Alex talked about me! -ed.] salute you.
Start the discussion at discourse.statelyplay.com