Product Info

Platform

Switch, PlayStation 4, Vita, Xbox One, PC

Publisher

Tikipod Ltd

Developer

Tikipod Ltd

Genre

Action, Arcade, Shoot-'em-up

Players

1-2

File Size (Minimum)

316.05 MB

Release Date (NA)

Feb 3, 2014

Purchase From

eShop

PSN Store

Microsoft Store

Steam

Originally released on the PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and on Steam, Aqua Kitty UDX jumps into action for the Nintendo Switch and it’s amusing.

The Milk Must Flow!

The game’s story isn’t deep–it’s explained in one screen–but it’s entertaining. Milk has dried up across the world and a new supply has been discovered underneath the ocean floor. A team of cats have set out to mine the ocean for the delicious fat milk but they face hazardous extractions.

Players control a submarine to defend their feline friends who are mining on the ocean floor for milk. However, there are robotic fish swimming in the vicinity to prevent you from doing this, as well as jellyfish-like robots called “jellygrabs” that will scout for miners and try to take them out of the water. You must destroy the jellygrabs before the miners are taken away and eliminate all the robotic fish in your way.

Milk Ahoy!

To complete the stage, players must defeat a set of jellygrabs and survive the robotic attacks. Each robotic fish has a unique style of attacks such as beams, missiles, and diagonal bullets. After completing a set of levels, you’ll encounter bosses such as a giant crab. They’ll follow you across the ocean floor to prevent you from taking out the jellygrabs while the other robotic fish swim around and fire at you if too close.

By default, players start off with two different types of weapons: regular bullets that are infinite and a more-powerful spray of bullets that can take down enemies quicker. The more-powerful bullets are limited, but after being depleted, they will recharge after a bit of time. It’s advised to use this weapon wisely, especially when going against bosses.

While playing intense battles, players can obtain limited, timed power-ups to aid them. Those who have played classics like Contra or other arcade-style games will recognize the advantages to having these. Whether you are using the power-ups or not, they will go away once the timer depletes. Health replenishments will also appear instead of power-ups, letting you battle longer.

The stage’s layout is confined but wraps around, making it easy to navigate from one side to the other. To make sure players don’t get lost or fight their way through hordes of robots, there’s a simplistic map, which resembles the classic board game Battleship, at the top of the screen. The map displays color-coded shapes that indicate where the player, power-ups, enemies, boss, and jellygrabs are located. It’s not the most decorative, but it gets the job done.

Claw Your Way Through

The game’s difficulty paces itself, gradually increasing and easing in newcomers before making them battle those ferocious crabs. You can change the difficulty if things become too difficult or too easy, though.

There are several options to play: Classic, Arcade, Dreadnought, and Infinite Espresso. Classic and Arcade modes have almost the exact gameplay except with Arcade, you can collect gems and purchase upgrades for your submarine. Dreadnought mode pits players against large enemy crafts that extend over multiple screens. Instead of saving feline miners, players will need to save kidnapped cats, take down the craft by destroying sections, bringing down the craft core’s defense. Once down, players can go wild to take down the core. Defeat it and you’ll beat the stage. Each stage becomes more difficult so prepare for a cat fight. Infinite Espresso is simple; don’t die. Players don’t need to worry about saving miners but instead just have to survive against enemy attacks as long as they can. It’s an engaging way to test one’s submarine skills.

While these options are fulfilling, the game still feels like it’s not quite enough. There is a two player co-op to make the game more entertaining but no online matches or online co-op. Having these would beef up the game’s value. At least online leaderboards are available.

The game’s colors are very rich with simplistic character designs. However, don’t let that bother you since your main focus in the game is taking down enemies. The game’s soundtrack is enjoyable with fast-paced techno beats that fits right in place with the style of the game and its arcade-styled gameplay.

There is one weird design quirk that needs to be mentioned. In the course of playing the game, some players will be physically adding pressure to their controllers while surviving and dodging enemy attacks. When pushing into the joystick, which navigates the submarine, the controller menu will pop up. Pressing down on the joystick again gets players back to the game, but this menu issue becomes annoying in the heat of battle; it breaks the momentum of gameplay. There isn’t a way to adjust controls, so players will have to work around the menu command.

Playing Aqua Kitty UDX on the television is recommended versus the Nintendo Switch’s portable screen. That’s not to say you couldn’t play on the go, but the scaling becomes cumbersome when dealing with smaller obstacles on a smaller screen compared to a television’s.

Overall

If you enjoy arcade shoot ‘em up games, Aqua Kitty UDX is an amusing title to have in your library that’ll test not only your maneuvering skills but also your shooting. Even with minor issues about the menu screen popping up during battle and lack of online co-op, the game is worth your time. The milk must flow!

A Nintendo Switch review code was provided by Tikipod Ltd. for this review.

Update (March 8 at 11:20am ET): Tikipod LTD. is aware of the left joystick issue with the menu appearing and will have a patch to resolve the issue.