EARLY ACCESS REVIEW:

I generally don't play early access games and usually wait out until 1.0 is finished, however this was just sitting in my library looking like a juicy steak that I couldn't resist.

Obviously a homage to Star Fox, Ex Zodiac is looking to be one of the best Star Fox-like games that is not Star Fox or Star Fox 64. This definitely scratches that itch as the gameplay itself feels like a 1:1 creation of Star Fox 64.

Each level is vibrant and deep, each containing smaller secrets you can find to acquire more power-ups. The charm of the original Star Fox is here and you can tell the dev is a big fan.

Besides the "arwing" gameplay, you also get a bike that controls similar to the landmaster and also bonus levels, that plays like a homage to Space Harrier.

Ex Zodic feels like it's made by a mega fan of the rail shooter genre and wants nothing but to do it justice. At the moment there are about 9 stages that can be completed in about hour, but the devs says there's plans for 13 stages.

As the game is unfinished, my feedback would be to incorporate ways to make the game more replayable (e.g. Branching paths with different difficulties, challenges etc) and the moment it's a straight forward level by level game with not much reason to go back unless you want a higher score. Also a slight nitpick more than a complaint, similar to the OG Star Fox, it's hard to read the dialogue while concentrating on the action, so hoping for voice acting in the finished version. Since this is an indie game, maybe the Dev could also follow the trend of indie games and incorporate some kind of endless/roguelike mode as an unlockable after beating the main game.

I beat the Early Access iteration of Ex-Zodiac while sitting with my family, who were watching Food Network Star. The premise of the show is that a roster of chefs compete in various challenges head-to-head, and the last chef standing gets their own Food Network series. Interestingly, the contestant who went home on tonight's episode did so because they lacked a unique point of view which their hypothetical show could hinge on, despite being immensely skilled technically.

That's sort of how I feel about Ex-Zodiac. It's not a finished game, it's not a "Food Network Star" just yet. This pre-release, this competitor form (to stretch the metaphor further), is a technically successful Star Fox-like rail shooter. It plays quite well. But right now, to me, it mostly lacks a unique point of view.

Ex-Zodiac is obviously and clearly owed entirely to Star Fox (with the occasional straight-up Space Harrier mission thrown in). And given Star Fox 64 is my favorite game ever, really good indie Star Fox is a great thing. But I've not gotten sick of 64 to this point and I don't expect to - I'm happy to just endlessly return there.

So I need some original concept which takes the incredibly strong bones of Ex-Zodiac and fleshes them out (probably should stop mixing my cooking metaphors and my flesh metaphors). And I see it in fits and spurts. In the Radiant Silvergun, Treasure-styled bosses and their screen-filling 'WARNING' text. In the multi-target lock-on system. In the exceptional land vehicle stage, which is far more Akira than Star Fox Landmaster, which I really enjoyed.

Above all, I'm excited to see Ex-Zodiac grow, iron out its issues, and develop from a really solid Star Fox "clone" with excellent fundamentals into something that stands fully on its own two feet.

Note: This review was written while the game was still in early access.

Back during my futile attempt to learn the Godot engine, I ran into this game as one of the few examples of professional games made in the engine, and decided to pick it up. Ex-Zodiac is, for lack of a better description, a Star Fox clone. The low poly look of the game is meant to invoke memories of the original Star Fox game. The different types of levels, the enemies, even your ship and its controls are clear homages to Star Fox. However, I don't want that to sound like a negative, because I think this game is far better than the original Star Fox, and is a really enjoyable experience. The graphics, while simple, are really well done. The game controls and runs well and the enemy designs are smartly crafted. In addition to the rail shooter Arwing-esque gameplay, there are also open arena sections, a second vehicle to ride in one level and, to my pleasant surprise, the game reveals its also a Space Harrier clone during its secret levels. Even though the game is still in early access, I think what they have put out is solid enough on its own, even if I do have one nitpick. I think the level order as it is now is a bit lopsided, with two "arena" levels both at the end. With the addition of more levels, I think mixing them up would be more ideal. I do also hope they continue to rip off Star Fox and use its branching paths, which is one of the best examples of that system, although that would require a good deal more levels to be added. Even without a final release, I would certainly recommend Ex-Zodiac, and I look forward to each new addition.