Galactic Glitch - Early Access [Impressions]
Crush enemies with asteroids in Galactic Glitch.
Galactic Glitch. Credit: Crunchy Leaf Games.
Galactic Glitch is a twin-stick shooter roguelite from Crunchy Leaf Games, developers of 3030 Deathwar Redux. It features satisfying physics-based combat to help it stand out from the pack.
From the game’s Steam page:
Galactic Glitch is a roguelike shooter, with Physics! Throw rocks, catch missiles, and rip apart your enemies - then use them as ammo! Craft your own builds from a large array of weapons and powers. Explore the far reaches of this simulated universe, become more powerful, and discover its secrets.
Galactic Glitch. Credit: Crunchy Leaf Games.
On the surface, Galactic Glitch looks and plays like a typical twin-stick shooter. Move in any direction with the left thumbstick and aim with the right. Fire normal or powered-up shots and dodge. However, what sets the game apart is its emphasis on physics-based combat using a gravity beam—you can grab small asteroids, projectiles, or even some enemies, hang onto them, and fling them in any direction.
Blowing up an enemy by chucking a boulder—or even their missiles—at them is exceedingly satisfying. It gets even better if you find one of the upgrades that lets you grab larger objects. I could only find it on one of my runs; I hope the devs realize just how much fun that is during the Early Access phase and make it more common.
Galactic Glitch. Credit: Crunchy Leaf Games.
Each of the game’s levels is a series of small interconnected battle arenas. Eliminate all enemies and pick an exit. You can backtrack and take other paths, which is a nice touch. The game awards new abilities as well as upgrade cards. The cards are a kind of currency that you can use to enhance individual abilities between levels, with different colors needed depending on the type. Even with the large variety of power and builds in the game, this is pretty run-of-the-mill.
Galactic Glitch is polished visually and feels great to play. Bullet and object impacts are crunchy, and enemy explosions are satisfying. I love it when a game like this gets the tactility of its combat right. Screenshake, particles, and other visual effects help sell the intensity of the combat. Each room is round with bouncy walls with a certain amount of give to them; this inventive addition is made even better by how the game handles it visually.
There’s already much to love about Galactic Glitch. The game’s biggest strength is its inclusion of physics-based combat and how good it feels to execute. I can’t wait to see how Crunchy Leaf expands on this during its 6-12 month Early Access phase.
Galactic Glitch is available now for PC on Steam Early Access.
Played on: Steam Deck
