One of my fondest experiences with any PAX I attend is finding cool indie games. While there are tons of them on the showroom floor, I particularly like finding hidden gems at a local event called the Seattle Indie’s Expo, or SIX. I’ve gone there for the past few years, and it’s nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the main convention center and walking to a more intimate setting to see indies up close from homegrown developers.
Each year I cover a few games at SIX that stand out to me from the rest, and one that certainly qualified was Rival Star Heroes, developed by Spacewave Software. This co-op / competitive take on the SHMUP genre had me hooked with a unique, splashy art style and a very different approach to a genre I really enjoy. Basically, you are competing on a split screen with another pilot, blowing up ships and getting a high chain count to transform into a giant ship and attack them head on. I had a lot of fun playing it back in 2016, and had been anxiously awaiting more information since.
Well, today we have that information, courtesy of Degica Games. Rival Star Heroes, now called Rival Megagun, is slated to release on PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch and XBox One later in 2018! Not only that, but it will feature both local and online co-op play. This is a really big step for a promising indie, and I can’t wait to play the final version. If you’re gonna be in Japan in April or May, you can also check Rival Megagun out at the Tokyo Sandbox and BitSummit events. Be sure to stay tuned to oprainfall in the coming months for more information about Rival Megagun!
