SketchFighter 4000 Alpha 9+

It's been over a decade since I last played SketchFighter, but I've never stopped thinking about it! In the olden days, you couldn't really play games on a Mac, but you could certainly play SketchFighter. It's still the perfect game for a lightweight work machine like the MacBook Air.

The game exudes effortless DIY charm. Its sprites are genuinely hand-drawn. And when your spaceship blasts a foe, it explodes, leaving behind a little smudge on the graph paper backdrop. Somehow I'm even worse at the awkward controls than I was in my 20s, but that won't dampen my enjoyment any. Thanks for bringing it back to a new generation of Macs!!

I enjoyed this game thoroughly in its original release, and I've been wishing I could play it again for a long time. It's just as fun as I remembered — the sketchbook graphics, the catchy soundtrack, the snappy gameplay, the Metroid-esque quest design, all of it.

Sadly the old level editor is not included, but hopefully this review will encourage more people to pick up the game, and in turn encourage the developer to keep adding features.

Played this in college. I think it was pre-installed on my original white MacBook. Great little app - thank you to the developers for updating to Apple Silicon. Would love a controller option but two player 'very local' co-op is fun on the keyboard too :)