Sinister Planet

Sinister Planet isn’t especially sinister, and it’s not set on a planet.

In fact, any planets that might have once existed in its sparse universe seem to have been blasted to smithereens, judging by the volume of asteroids floating around.

We’ll forgive it the inappropriate title, though, because it’s a very fun shooter with a number of bright ideas that deserve to be built upon.

Things start simply enough, as you guide your little fighter ship around an area of space using a virtual analogue stick. Control follows a semi-realistic inertia-based pattern, so lateral movements are not the simple manoeuvres seen in most arcade blasters.

To begin with you can only shoot straight ahead by pressing anywhere on the screen with your right thumb. As such, you’ll grow accustomed to thrusting in one direction while rotating to line up a shot to either side.

Your main target is the assorted space rubble that’s floating about each level. The goal is to uncover a set number of gems buried within these chunks of rock.

While this sounds like a very traditional blaster (a feeling supported by some distinctly retro graphics and sound effects), Sinister Planet’s charm is in the way it plays with each of these systems.

For example, you have to earn the right to play the game as a twin stick shooter. The ability to have directional shooting control only appears as a power-up (alongside additional gun turrets).

The gem-collecting is also given a twist by the fact that enemies aren’t just mindless cannon fodder – they’re hunting for the gems too. If they pick one up, they turn into a far tougher breed of opponent, and if all of the gems are stolen from you you’ll enter into lethal ‘Witchspace.’

Then there are the special rounds that appear that send formation waves of enemies at you like an old-school shoot ‘em up. Such moments add a welcome dose of variety and are a real breath of fresh air.

It has to be said that technically, Sinister Planet is quite rough around the edges. The game didn’t run at a super stable rate on our Milestone, the menus are ugly and – it seems – downright broken and the visual style is a little confused.

Still, there are more good ideas here than in a whole host of big(ger) budget blasters we’ve played this year. Sinister Planet doesn’t do what it says on the tin – it’s far more interesting than that.