Polychromatic Review (X1)

BrushFire Games have develop Polychromatic the latest score chasing twin-stick arcade shooter game on Xbox One, but how does it compare to others. In this one there are only three modes to play. The leaderboards to be on the top is what will be your goal if you love the glory of being in the top 10 or 200. The visuals of this game are nice with the catchy tunes for the level. There is only one level map that you play. The gameplay is solid and works well. No bosses in the game like modern score chasing arcade games but still provides an enjoyable game.

Gameplay

The gameplay is basic with moving with left analog stick and shooting with the right. Dash is the left trigger and right trigger for bombs. There are variety of shape color enemies in the game with there own design attack pattern to add challenge to the game. Unlike other twin-stick shooters where you must clear all the enemies to advance to the next wave. In this one they will continue to spawn on the level which will make it more difficult to pass if you don’t shoot them. Enemies appear fast on the screen and makes the challenge more harder in higher levels with more variety of enemies spawning. Enemies included are ones that multiply after shooting them, homing ones, quick dash ones, and many more variety. In order to beat them is by shooting them, using your bombs, and dashing from trouble while shooting.

HUD

The HUD for the game is creative. There is only one level map and it is a big circle. In the center while playing it will show the Score Points total piling up as you blast the enemies. Below that it shows the number of lives, bombs, and dash stock pile. It is unique and does not distract you while playing and it is more helpful since you won’t be distracted to look at the corner of the top screen like others. The leaderboards are nice showing you where you place right after you end a mode. If you look at the leaderboards it shows you the number one spot if your curious or your friends score. It shows the Rank first then, Gamertag, Score, Wave number, and lastly kills accumulated in that play.

Modes

Now for the three game modes for the game. The first mode is Endless mode where you play by starting with five lives to get the best score possible. Second mode is Timed mode where you have three mins and infinite lives to get the best score possible. Lastly the One-Life mode like the name suggests, you have one live to get the best score possible. These are the only three modes in the game with the same level map to be play on all modes. On the side the achievements for this game add extra challenges to get for each mode.

The achievements to this game are done nicely. One includes reaching round ten without dying. Another one is to get 250,000 points when reaching level ten. One great one is not using a bomb or dash moves to reach round ten. These achievements add challenges that are fun to accomplish and add a bit more value to the game. I wish they would have added a specific mode for specific challenges to pass the levels.

Final Impressions

Overall it is an enjoyable game to play for fun arcade score chasing sessions. It offers the basic score chasing addiction to be in the top of the leaderboards. It is short on modes, only one level map to play, no bosses in it, but still provides a blast to play with the catchy tunes. Polychromatic little additions to the formula with it’s awesome HUD and variety of enemies make it a fun game to play in order to achieve the highest score in the leaderboards. It has potential to be more addicting in the future if there is a sequel to this with more maps, bosses, and modes.