Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Xenocide delivers a wild ride through four distinct gameplay modes on each of the three alien-infested moons. You begin with a first-person 3D space flight simulation, guiding your ship over a rugged lunar landscape as you hunt for a hidden cave entrance. The transition from open sky to narrow caverns keeps the tension high, demanding precision flying and sharp reflexes as you dodge alien patrols and natural obstacles.

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Once inside the cavern, Xenocide shifts to a side-view scrolling shooter. Here, you explore winding tunnels in search of bombs to destroy the moon from within. The controls feel tight, and enemy patterns are designed to test both your aim and your memorization skills. The pacing is deliberate—enemies don’t overwhelm you all at once, but clever screen layouts and ambush points force you to learn each section before moving on.

Level three plunges you into an underwater environment, retaining the side-scrolling format but adding buoyancy and unique hazards like aquatic creatures and shifting currents. Gravity feels different, and your movement is more fluid yet more vulnerable. It’s a refreshing twist that keeps the gameplay loop from feeling repetitive and highlights how varied each segment can be.

The fourth and final level on each moon switches to a top-down, grid-based maze shooter. Here, you must plant bombs at designated sites and then navigate twisting corridors to reach the exit before detonation. Resource management becomes crucial—you’ll juggle explosive charges, health packs, and weapon upgrades while racing against the clock. The consistent theme of high stakes unites all four modes, making each moon feel like a self-contained mission with a clear objective.

Graphics

For its era, Xenocide’s graphics are impressively varied. The first-person flight segments feature textured polygons that, while blocky by modern standards, convey a convincing lunar terrain under an alien sky. This 3D engine achieves respectable draw distances, giving you ample warning of upcoming craters and rocky outcroppings.

The side-scrolling cave and underwater levels showcase detailed sprite work and parallax backgrounds. Each cavern wall boasts distinct textures—crystalline formations in the first half, bioluminescent algae in the underwater section—that help differentiate environments visually. Enemies are colorful and varied, from skittering insectoids to hammer-head leviathans, making every encounter feel fresh.

The top-down maze levels trade texture detail for clarity, using bold tile patterns and simple shading to keep the action readable. Bomb sites, power-up locations, and exits are clearly marked, ensuring you’re never left guessing where to go. While the overhead view sacrifices some atmosphere, it makes up for it in tactical transparency.

Across all modes, lighting effects—flickering cave torches, the glow of underwater flora, and flashing alarms—inject life into otherwise static backdrops. Coupled with a consistent art direction, Xenocide’s graphics unite disparate gameplay styles under one cohesive visual identity.

Story

At its core, Xenocide offers a straightforward premise: the three moons orbiting your home planet have been overrun by alien forces, and you must destroy them before the invasion reaches the planet itself. There’s no elaborate lore or branching dialogue trees—this is classic arcade-style motivation distilled into pure action.

Still, the minimalist narrative works in the game’s favor, keeping the focus sharply on gameplay. Brief text crawls between moons summarize your progress and build anticipation for the next moon’s unique challenges. Each moon feels like a new chapter in a high-stakes suicide mission, with the ticking clock of the bomb timer driving both story and gameplay.

Environmental storytelling fills in the gaps. Jagged alien architecture, abandoned research outposts, and skeletal remains hint at the fate of previous explorers. These visual cues create a sense of dread and urgency that pure cutscenes alone might struggle to convey.

While Xenocide doesn’t delve into character development or plot twists, it doesn’t need to. You know your role: infiltrate, plant explosives, and escape. That concise framework lets the varied mechanics shine without being bogged down by unnecessary exposition.

Overall Experience

Xenocide stands out as a genre-blending title that offers a fresh experience every few minutes. The seamless shifts from flight simulation to side-scrolling shooter, to underwater combat, to grid-based maze challenges keep the adrenaline pumping. This structural ingenuity makes repeated playthroughs feel rewarding as you refine strategies for each segment.

However, the steep difficulty curve may discourage casual players. Precise controls and memorization are prerequisites for success, particularly in the tighter corridors of the maze levels. Checkpoints are sparse, so expect to replay sections multiple times until you’ve mastered enemy patterns and level layouts.

Despite these challenges, Xenocide delivers a compelling package for those who crave varied gameplay and arcade-style thrills. The graphics hold up surprisingly well, and the simple yet effective story provides enough context to keep the action meaningful. Sound design and music further heighten immersion, with atmospheric cues that shift seamlessly between the high-speed flight and the tense, echoing caverns.

Ultimately, Xenocide offers a memorable, high-octane experience that rewards persistence and skill. It’s an ideal pick for players who appreciate vintage design sensibilities, genre-splicing mechanics, and a relentless pace. If you’re ready for a demanding yet exhilarating mission to save your home planet by obliterating its own moons, Xenocide is a ride worth taking.

Retro Replay Score

null/10