Strike Suit Zero is everything I wanted it to be

For those that aren’t familiar with the name, Strike Suit Zero is a space-based ship combat action game. It was recently released by indie developer Born Ready Games and I picked it up on PC (via Steam) almost immediately. I had been following the development of this title since PAX Prime where I had seen a small demo being shown quietly in the walkway between the main expo hall floors. Of course, the problem with that is it leaves me with extremely high expectations for the final product. In the case of Strike Suit Zero, however, I am not disappointed at all. This is a game for serious fans of the space shooter genre, people that like transformable ships, firing swarms of missiles, or anyone with a PC and a pulse.

Strike Suit Zero is unbelievably pretty. I haven’t enjoyed a space combat simulation so much since the X-Wing and TIE Fighter games starting back in 1993. Yeah, it’s been a pretty disappointing 20 years. Strike Suit Zero really captures the essence of maneuvering in a completely open environment with nothing to ground concepts of up and down except for background images. You can boost, slow, roll (no barrel roll technique though), switch between gun and missile types on the fly, and dogfight to your heart’s content. That’s just while you’re in fighter mode, which is only half of what you can do. The other half is strike mode, where you transform into a humanoid robot form and unleash sci-fi space violence upon your enemies in a whole other way. That part of the game reminds me quite a bit of Omega Boost.  The soundtrack is superb and lends a perfect anime style ambiance to the whole affair. So just take X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, mash it with Omega Boost, then give the whole thing an anime treatment and there you have it. Strike Suit Zero is an amalgamation of win.

Personally, the only thing that came close to being an  issue with this game was the difficulty curve.  The challenge ramps up very quickly after mission 3 and I found myself getting blown up a lot. No, I mean a lot. Imagine a summer blockbuster movie and then just keep going for a while. The bad part is the length between checkpoints and my knack for exploding right before hitting one. That’s not really a fault of the game, it’s more on my ability to keep up. The difficulty wasn’t insurmountable, I just needed to restart and keep at it until I caught up to where the game was at and learned the rhythm of each mission. Frankly, it made finishing those missions more rewarding. I actually feel that it was just challenging enough. The last thing I want to do is buy a game and then breeze right through it without effort.

Speaking of rewarding, one of my favorite parts of the game is the use of optional secondary objectives. This isn’t a new device in simulation games by a long shot, but it’s always a welcome one and shows that Born Ready knows what makes a good game great. What I like is that on top of the kudos for going above and beyond, it’s the mechanic through which tangible ship bonuses are handed out. So if you’re having trouble with later missions and you haven’t done the secondary objectives in earlier mission, quit slacking and go stop those torpedoes in mission 2 for some upgraded shields. Like the missions themselves, these objectives can be pretty hard to pull off on your first try (unless I just suck at this) and are all the more rewarding when you do finally accomplish them. There were many a fist pump when that upgrade flashed on screen during the final mission summary.

I wholeheartedly recommend Strike Suit Zero to anyone that wants a phenomenal space shooter simulation experience. It’s pacing can be a little difficult, but the rewards feel well earned. The customization options for ships and their load outs make sure you’re playing the way you want to throughout the game. Beautiful graphics and a great soundtrack plus awesome game play make put this into my top 5 games of the year so far. I can’t wait to see what comes out of Born Ready Games next. If you’re still not convinced, watch the launch trailer below. Then pick a copy up on Steam, get out to the stars, and go save Earth.