A valiant effort. Xenogunner wears its love of Alien Soldier on its shoulders, which is exciting, but also makes comparisons inevitable. It’s a difficult standard to live up to. Nothing quite has the oomf, every sound effect or animation or song is just below what it’s gunning for. The game feel is good enough, but play lacks that delicious loop that made its predecessor so iconic. Boss design (which makes up the majority of the game) shows ingenuity and craft, and there’s at least one boss in this game that is absolute cosmic brain GOAT material. It’s trying its damnedest. Xenogunner is a valiant effort, but it will always be stuck in the shadow of Epsilon Eagle.