THE BASICS
What the Heck Is a Shmup?
The noise your shoe makes when you step in squishy mud? Not quite.
“Shmup” is videogame shorthand for “shoot-’em-up.” Tracing their origins to the classic 2D arcade games of the 1980s, most modern shmups put you in control of a small ship facing overwhelming odds, with the action generally taking place against a scrolling background.
Power-ups—maybe a wide-beam blaster, or a bomb that vaporizes everything on the screen—give you an edge. But survival requires deft reflexes as you try to avoid incoming fire while getting your own shots to hit the mark.
Game creators have developed some wild new takes on this familiar formula. Here’s a sampling of those that are well worth a shot.
A classic reborn
The action in Phoenix II is vintage shmup: Guide your auto-firing ship as legions of attacking spacecraft try to bring you down. This is a great example of a shmup offshoot known as a “bullet hell” shooter, where hundreds of enemy projectiles might be coming at you at once. Dodge, shoot, and try to survive.
While Phoenix II’s gameplay may be old-school, its visuals definitely are not. Explosions of color fill the screen as you unleash power-ups, like a mega-laser that can destroy most enemies with a single shot. The stirring score meshes perfectly with the silky-smooth action, making Phoenix II such a sensory treat that you might not care when you inevitably bite the bullet (or 10).
Into the weird blue yonder
Shooty Skies puts you in the cockpit of a blocky airplane facing down all kinds of outlandish foes. Flying boom boxes spit out deadly cassette tapes, arcade cabinets launch lethal joysticks, and bosses include a giant cat that shoots laser sharks.
Handling the game’s bizarre enemies is easy: Drag your finger to move and shoot; lift your finger off the screen to arm and fire your homing rockets or to scoop up a tiny flying sidekick to help you win the day. It’s game over when you take a hit, but with loads of goofy new pilots and awesome weapons to unlock, you’ll keep coming back.
Blast from the past
Plenty of shmups have a retro vibe, but Black Paradox feels like it warped in straight from 1985. Fitting, since you play as a bounty hunter who travels through time in a flying car.
Black Paradox transpires in landscape mode. Use one thumb to control your ship, the other to shoot and switch weapons. Need a hand? A double tap summons an A.I.-controlled twin.
Death in Black Paradox means starting back at the beginning of the game’s seven challenging levels, each of which ends in a boss battle against a powerful intergalactic criminal. It will require practice and dedication—and a few million missiles—to beat this one.