Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Sidewize starts with the right kind of arcade bluntness: aliens have attacked four planets, you have a jetpack and laser cannon, and the only sensible response is to start shooting. Choosing your first planet is a welcome touch. It gives you a little agency before the action begins, rather than marching you through a fixed route.

The key difference is how freely your jetpack lets you move. This is a horizontal shooter, but you are not locked into simply drifting forward and firing at threats ahead. Enemies can arrive from either side, so the first few minutes become a constant exercise in checking your flanks, repositioning, and resisting the urge to stare only at the right edge of the screen. When it clicks, that extra awareness gives the shooting a pleasingly active rhythm.

Power-ups supply the immediate motivation. Weapon improvements stretch across six expansion stages, and picking up a shield or extra life can turn a rough run around. That progression gives each successful stretch some momentum: you are not merely surviving, but trying to stay alive long enough to become properly dangerous.

Frustration can set in if you prefer shooters built around a tightly controlled forward assault. Sidewize asks you to manage attacks from both directions, and its free-form movement makes it feel less rigid than the usual side-scroller. For some, that is the hook; for others, it may feel like a game that trades clean lanes for constant vigilance.

Graphics

The action is shown from a 2D side view with horizontally scrolling stages. Your jetpack-equipped character, incoming aliens, laser fire, and collectible power-ups are all part of a brisk arcade picture where the important thing is tracking danger on both sides of the screen.

Story

There is not much ceremony to Sidewize’s setup, and that suits it. Four planets are under alien attack, so you head out armed with a jetpack and laser cannon to hit back. It is a direct excuse for the action, delivered with the kind of unapologetic sci-fi simplicity that old shooters often wear well.

The four-planet structure does at least make the mission feel broader than a single uninterrupted trek. Since you choose their order, the story’s tiny amount of framing folds back into play: you decide where your retaliation begins.

Do not come looking for characters, twists, or a world that develops around you. Sidewize treats its alien invasion as fuel for another run, another weapon upgrade, and another chance to clear a planet. In an arcade shooter, that is often enough.

Overall Experience

Sidewize is a solid, modest sci-fi shooter whose best idea is making you defend your space from both directions. The jetpack freedom changes the feel of its horizontal scrolling enough that you cannot coast on the usual genre habits. You need to move with purpose and keep your attention broad.

The reward is straightforward arcade momentum: choose a world, survive its alien pressure, collect upgrades, and enjoy the increasing bite of your laser. Six weapon stages give the game a useful sense of escalation, while shields and extra lives offer breathing room when things get messy.

At 6.3, it lands as an enjoyable but not essential entry in the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum shooter library. Give it a chance if you want a compact 1987 blaster with freer movement than most of its side-scrolling peers. If you want a more structured shooter experience, its two-sided pressure may wear thin before its power-up chase fully wins you over.

Retro Replay Score

6.3/10