Renegade Kid's Xeodrifter is a downloadable Metroid clone available for the Nintendo 3DS and on Steam. Like in Metroid, you control a space adventurer who runs and guns their way through different labyrinthine worlds collecting upgradeable items along the way.

While cruising through space, an asteroid hits your starship, forcing you to land in a system of four neighboring planets. Coincidentally, they all share similar obstacles to overcome and it's up to you to explore the four worlds and discover a way out. There isn't much of a plot of speak of in Xeodrifter, but keeping in line with its retraux look, the story is secondary to the gameplay.

The gameplay is similar to the Metroid games. You run, jump, shoot, warp and use special weapons and techniques once you earn them by killing bosses. You'll need these special techniques to go further in your adventure and with four different maps to explore, there's a lot of ground to cover. Unfortunately, the whole experience lasts about 4 to 6 hours, including backtracking and finding all item upgrades. The bosses, while tough, are very, very similar to each other. Still, Xeodrifter is still a nice little ride. Clean retro graphics, tight controls and a chiptune soundtrack doesn't hurt it either.

Xeodrifter attempts to fill the Metroid niche on the 3DS but ultimately comes off as Metroid Lite. But it's only ten bucks and will fill a couple of hours of your time if you're itchin' to blast space aliens.

Hint: When fighting bosses, learn their attack patterns. You might die a lot in the process but since there's a checkpoint before every boss battle, there's plenty of opportunity to learn how to fight back effectively until you eventually win.

by Ray n.