Akka Arrh

Akka Arrh won't click with most people right away. It takes a while to understand how to effectively use the bombs and bullets while wrangling a free-aiming cursor. The inclusion of another level to travel to briefly when things get hectic can be a bit too much to handle all at once. When it does click, it becomes a beautiful destructive symphony that pushes a psychedelic landscape for a signature Jeff Minter title. This is well worth the trip if you want a shooter that moves away from the genre norms.

The result, Llamasoft's best game since Polybius, is dazzling in every sense of the word. [Issue#382, p.114]

Once the controls are sorted out, Akka Arrh reveals itself as an absolutely fantastic shooter that plays like nothing else out there. Levels become massive chains of exploding enemies, polygon-shatter pyrotechnics, fast shooting and careful bullet management, and power-up frenzy. New enemy behaviors show up at a regular pace, and learning to manage them so that what had been threats become another scoring tool feels rewarding. There’s an initial feeling of shattered attention, as the need to manage the platform shockwaves, keep an eye on the downstairs, be mindful of the bullet supply, and handle the mid-tier and stronger enemies can be overwhelming, but there’s a mental groove to Akka Arrh where this all somehow becomes manageable. Until it’s not, of course, because the levels aren’t going to remain kind to your current skill level for long, but it’s nice while it lasts and the level select lets you restart with the score and lives from your best run to keep on practicing. It may take a bit of work and experimentation to find your way into Akka Arrh, but once there it reveals itself as a unique shooter well worth having been rescued from the dumpster of history.

Akka Arrh is the reinterpretation made under acid of an arcade game that never made it to the arcade, yet another psychedelic journey of the Yak that its fans will only appreciate.

Fans of Jeff Minter’s digital psychedelia will undoubtedly appreciate Akka Arrh once they learn to make sense of the on-screen bedlam. Fortunately, the steep learning curve is balanced by long-term appeal, positioning the game just south of classics such as Revenge of the Mutant Camels, Polybius, and Tempest 4000.

Once you understand how it works, Akka Arrh is a clever experience that rewards good timing with cool combos. Above all, it's a surprisingly relaxed affair that often lets you enjoy the sparkling polygon spectacle at your leisure while keeping it going with a few well-aimed shots.