Bearplane is out now on mobile with a 1940s-inspired cartoon shoot 'em up

• Bearplane is available to purchase now on iOS and Android
• Blast your way through foes in this forties-inspired animated shoot 'em up
• Equip various tactical hats with different effects, fight through dynamic weather and enjoy local co-op

It's strange how coincidences work. Earlier today, we covered the long-awaited release of cartoon-style bullet hell Acecraft. Now, we've also got the arrival of another shoot 'em up that uses an animated style. Bearplane, available to buy now, offers a bit of a bloodier take on the shoot 'em up genre.

While not as intricate, Bearplane does depart from the rubberhose style in favour of 1940s-style animation. And rather than top-down, this is a side-scrolling shooter. But the real difference comes in the bloody havoc your titular rocket-powered bear wreaks on the various enemies in his flightpath.

With physics-based gameplay that encourages you to build up truly unbelievable and gory combos, Bearplane is loosely inspired by the story of Wojtek. This trained bear served alongside Poles in World War Two, and Bearplane brings the action to the air in his honour as he takes out some rather fascist-y foes.

Bearing straight ahead

It's tempting to purely compare Bearplane to Acecraft, but in truth, this has a heck of a lot going for it on its own. From the basics, such as 50+ missions to take on and 30+ tactical hats to equip with their own abilities, you'll also have access to a wild arsenal of weapons to cut through your foes.

That's on top of a dynamic weather system, local co-op with Rifle Rat and a live-recorded, swing-era big-band soundtrack. Suffice it to say, there's plenty that makes Bearplane stand out alongside its over-the-top concept.

Meanwhile, if you find it tough to figure out what the best new releases are for you, we've got you covered. Our App Army gives their various viewpoints on recent releases, with this week's being Oceanhorn: Chronos Dungeon. The App Army decides whether or not this retro dungeon crawler that's just been released is worth picking up.