Rogue Flight’s launch date trailer had me hooked immediately with the VHS scanlines. Those lovingly simulated, telltale signs of age, wear, and tear (and, let’s be honest, bootlegging) of VHS tapes from the ’80s and ’90s are a clear call to action for anime fans of that era. In fact, it’s one of many loaded audiovisual geek references that developer Truant Pixel and publisher Perp Games have lovingly placed into this work. Rogue Flight is a stylized, cel-shaded, arcade-style space combat shooter in the vein of games like StarFox, Galaxy Force II, and SoulStar, as well as anime classics like Gunbuster and Macross (a.k.a. Robotech). It’s undeniably impressive what this small, Ohio-based studio has accomplished here.
Rogue Flight’s plot is as classic as they come. Hundreds of years into the future, ARGUS, an AI once entrusted with maintaining peace and protecting humanity, becomes sentient and quickly turns mankind’s weaponry against its creators, forcing the remnants of the human race to seek refuge in tunnels miles below the earth’s surface. While hiding underground, former commander Griffin Dawes and scientist Mason Sul uncover a top-secret subterranean facility, along with blueprints for a weapon that could potentially turn the tide in humanity’s favour.
Three years later, humanity re-emerges with a last-ditch plan to destroy ARGUS. The plan involves using an experimental, singularity-powered starfighter called “The Arrow” and the gifted piloting skills of rookie pilot Nadia Sawas. But will it be enough?
“Rogue Flight’s launch date trailer had me hooked immediately with the VHS scanlines.”
While flying in Rogue Flight is somewhat reminiscent of piloting Fox McCloud’s Arwing in StarFox, players use the left analog stick to control both the Arrow’s flight path and to target enemies via a large targeting reticle. In other words, the Arrow is less “flown” by the player and more guided along the path created with the crosshairs. A key benefit of this setup is that the player’s view isn’t locked to the Arrow’s aft engines, allowing them to watch the fighter dynamically zip around and evade enemy fire from multiple angles. The downside, however, is the slight delay in movement as the Arrow follows the reticle’s shifts, making certain objects, obstacles, and enemy fire harder to avoid.
Despite Rogue Flight being a three-dimensional shooter with both a standard third-person view and a cockpit mode, it could easily be mistaken for a top-down shooter due to the optional weapon loadouts that “shmup” fans will find delightfully familiar. Aside from the main Vulcan cannon and Macross/Afterburner-inspired “lazy missiles,” all other powerups must be discovered and successfully retrieved during missions (i.e., without dying) in order to unlock them for use in other modes or modifications.
Collecting these powerups comes with some risk, as players must first liberate them from an enemy canister robot by shooting it and then either navigate toward the item or use the Arrow’s “Vortex” ability to draw the powerup in. During this time, the Arrow slows down, leaving it vulnerable to enemy fire. Eventually, players gain access to the Wave Cannon (a distortion gun that deflects enemy fire), the Lightning Cannon (which fires AOE electrically charged plasma), the Laser Cannon (for precise, powerful damage while also siphoning enemy shield energy), and the Seraph (autonomous drones that orbit the Arrow and multiply the damage dealt by its main weapon).
The Arrow also has two “smart-bomb”-like attacks that players can use when things get too intense. The first is the Wingtrail, a “High-G” 360-degree maneuver that slows time and creates a shockwave capable of slicing through swarms of enemies at once. The second is Boost mode, which propels the Arrow forward and deflects incoming fire. Like the Arrow’s shields, both abilities are recharged by successful combo kills and replenish quickly.
All these weapons and overall ship performance can be further enhanced through the game’s “Modulus Component Upgrade System,” which allows players to apply Aero Modifications and Tactical Modifications to the Arrow. Naturally, these upgrades are unlocked by playing on harder difficulties and earning various accolades.
While the game is no pushover in any of its five base difficulty modes (Easy, Casual, Standard, Hard, and Extreme), Rogue Flight isn’t intended to be a punishing, bullet-hell shooter where a single stray bullet will end you. In fact, it’s quite the opposite: With a wide arsenal of weaponry and modifiers that can be gradually unlocked through multiple playthroughs, the core gameplay loop encourages players to dive headfirst into the action and stay there. Combo-killing four or more enemies in quick succession replenishes precious shield energy for the duration of the combo, and barrel rolls performed when bullets make contact with the Arrow nullify damage.
“The story of a gutsy young pilot and their lone spacecraft against overwhelming odds never gets old for me.”
In this way, what might look like chaotic, suicidal gameplay to a viewer is actually quite Zen-like for the player. Bouncing back from the brink of death to full shields in seconds is a common occurrence. While lives and checkpoint restarts are limited depending on the difficulty level, players who quickly get used to watching their shield levels will rarely need them—except on Hard, Extreme, or other challenging variants.
Speaking of variants, Rogue Flight’s main campaign features a star map reminiscent of StarFox, with three branching paths: Alpha (α), Beta (β), and Gamma (γ). Players will want to explore all three not only to see the different endings but also to unlock New Game+ mode (which contains the “true” ending), as well as even more challenging “Rogueflite” and “Rogueflite+” modes, along with extras such as new weapon modifiers and additional cosmetics.
While Rogue Flight’s story isn’t one of the best anime or sci-fi plots I’ve encountered, with some of Mason and Griffin’s mission explanations coming across as technobabble, I’m still picking up on what the writers are aiming for thematically. They borrow from the best influences from the 1980s and 1990s.
The story of a gutsy young pilot and their lone spacecraft against overwhelming odds never gets old for me (The Last Starfighter, SoulStar). Meanwhile, the silent, soul-crushing vastness of space, the dangers of inter-dimensional travel, and the fear of not having enough fuel to space-jump back to Earth (Gunbuster, Macross) evoke a form of existential dread that lives in my mind whenever I look up at the stars. If any of this resonates with you, then Rogue Flight is your game.
Likewise, Rogue Flight’s highly stylized, VHS-era anime visuals are stunning in most areas, and the attention to detail in smaller aspects is truly charming. For example, Nadia’s 3D model in the Picture-in-Picture view on the HUD reacts in real time to incoming explosions and sudden movements on the flight stick. Equally cool and unnerving is the sound of space debris and rocks constantly pelting the hull of the Arrow as players blast through the Badlands, Earth’s orbital graveyard, at white-knuckle speeds. There’s even an unlockable, 16-bit-inspired “RETRO MODE,” which demakes all the audio and visuals into a reimagined throwback version, complete with pixel art character portraits, a PCM soundtrack, and scratchy vocals.
The soundtrack is composed primarily by video game duo Fat Bard with vocal contributions from Rinn. and Itoki Hana absolutely slaps. It’s a perfect mix of Japanese-style butt rock, electronica, EDM, and J-Pop that energizes players and keeps them in the fight. It also ventures into more meditative places during slower moments, and those interstitial tunes—like those played during the game menu, “bad endings,” or cutscenes—are some of my favourites. But that Badlands track… damn!
“Rogue Flight’s highly stylized, VHS-era anime visuals are stunning in most areas, and the attention to detail in smaller aspects is truly charming.”
Aside from the reticle guidance issue I mentioned earlier, Rogue Flight’s gameplay feels solid overall, and I’m pleased to say I only have a few minor complaints. The assignment of the Vortex ability to Down RS is frustrating, as it’s too easy to accidentally activate Wingtrail (Left RS/Right RS) or Boost (Up RS). These buttons can’t be reassigned in the settings, so the only workaround is using a DualSense Edge or another programmable controller. Another issue is that enemies that have passed by will sometimes camp just beyond the edges of the screen and take cheap shots at you, prolonging the engagement until you deal with them. Additionally, all levels could benefit from being about a third shorter.
Finally, all level bosses need a huge, satisfying final explosion, a la StarFox. No exceptions!
But enough with the griping. At only $19.99 USD, Rogue Flight is the perfect impulse buy for any top-down shmup fan willing to embrace a change of perspective or any space shooter fan whose heart still bleeds red for the ”80s.’s and 90’s anime, Sci-Fi flicks and premium arcade cabinet shooters.
