Space Invaders Forever (Switch)

Somethings in gaming live forever, red barrels explode, cover shooters are clunky, open world games always have hundreds of diversions and Space Invaders. Inin Games have just dropped the latest space defence kit in the aptly named Space Invaders Forever. Is it still a timeless classic? Read on to find out!. 

Space Invaders Forever bundles together 3 Space Invaders titles in 1 tidy little package, Space Invaders Extreme, Space Invaders Gigamax 4 SE & Arkanoid vs Space Invaders for you eager defenders of earth. 

Space Invaders Extreme is aptly named as it is what is says on the tin, Space Invaders turned up to MAX!. 

The visuals are almost epilepsy inducing, the audio is loud, fast and upbeat. The gameplay has also seen a most righteous upgrade with special upgrades changing your shots, various mid game bonus stages, new Invaders and even boss aliens to take down.

The game puts you on a standard arcade tower/path and allows you to choose how difficult you want to go and also diverts you in regards to what rank you pull at the end of a stage. On the gameplay front it really is Space Invaders with a few tweaks to make it more “relevant”, the power ups add a bit of strategy to the mix as does the colour chaining system.

It is a good bit of old school addictive fun let down by the fact it is a single player only experience, easily the title I spent the most time with on this package and the one that keeps bringing me back when I’ve put my Switch down.

Space Invaders Gigamax 4 SE is your multiplayer Space Invaders allowing up to 4 players to take on a gigantic wave of Invaders and tackle boss fights. While not as flashy as Extreme it is still a touch different than your standard game of Space Invaders.

The main issue with this title is that if you are playing it solo, it’s a drag, the screen is far too big and there are far too many Invaders to take down meaning it gets insanely boring really quick when playing on your own, bring a friend or two and it does capture that magic from the originals other than that it isn’t really all that impressive. 

Arkanoid vs Space Invaders closes out our collection of games and is a port of the mobile title of the same name. Fusing the gameplay of Arkanoid (breakout as i know it) with the enemies of Space Invaders it’s an interesting title with quite a bit of celebratory umph to it.

Instead of bouncing a ball to destroy blocks and the Invaders, you bounce back their attacks which have different properties. You build a metre and are given a special arrow attack which also acts as a ball to dispatch foes and walls alike. 

There are many iconic Taito characters you can pick from the annals of history such as Bub and Bob which gives you an incentive to try and 3 Star each stage. 

The game is by nature a mobile title and this means stages are over very quickly and the title while fun feels slightly shallow. The game is single player only and requires touch controls and the switch to be held in Tate mode, quite a hand cramper in prolonged gaming sessions!.

All in all it’s a bit of a mixed bag of a collection, the multiplayer lacking from Extreme really hurts it but the price point for the collection is more than reasonable for the content. The lack of extras really just makes this feel like a quickly thrown together bundle rather than a celebration of the grandaddy of gaming and that was a real let down for me. All in all its a fine bundle but doesn’t really offer anything extra and I wouldn’t say it’s essential for Space Invaders enthusiasts as you won’t be getting anything here that isn’t already available.