Galak-Z: The Dimensional

It's an absolutely stunning experience. It won't be easy to see the end of it, but it's absolutely worth all the time and dedication it takes.

Despite its unforgiving structure, Galak-Z is a very difficult game to put down. While potentially harsh, it never feels unfair, and with such a fantastic collection of abilities and powers, the options for general badassery are vast.

I'm sure more casual players will still be deterred from taking the plunge, but any fan of roguelikes need not look any longer for their next fix. Galak-Z has style, and it's got it in spades.

Galak-Z is a visual delight that will constantly punish you with its complex systems.

A smartly-designed, highly enjoyable shoot 'em up that does everything in its power to leverage its '80 mecha anime aesthetic. Frankly, there's not a lot like it on PSN these days. On that basis, it's easy enough to recommend it, but what really pushes it to the next level is the tremendous amount of detail put into the enemy design and the combat.

A unique concept, brilliant execution and excellent mechanics make Galak-Z: The Dimensional a stellar title. Perfectly capturing the Gundam pilot inside all of us, this is must-have material for anyone who’s always wanted to fly away in a mech and take down some imperial scum.

As roguelikes go, Galak-Z's tireless air of optimism makes a case for its own dimension.

Though the framerate can detract from the experience at times, it makes up for its one notable shortcoming with charm, nostalgia, and by bombarding you with joy.

The occasional technical hiccup aside, Galak-Z is a brilliant take on so many different genres, but it's the game's roguelike innovations that make it soar.

Galak-Z is the very definition of awesome.

With a very well designed gameplay, excellent use of its environments and hard challenges, Galak-Z: The Dimensional becomes one of the best modern roguelikes with fresh elements, nice presentation and extremely fun and addictive gameplay.

Galak-Z: The Dimensional is worth the pain, but it involves a great deal of effort. Like its arcade ancestors, you can appreciate its high replay value well before you beat it the first time.

Galak-Z: The Dimensional is a beautifully crafted space adventure in which you can experiment space combat through both a ship and a mech. A varied set of procedurally generated levels will prove your skills with a deep and strong gameplay.

A roguelike for the cerebral pilot. Those with viper-like reflexes shouldn't miss this step up for gaming AI. [Oct 2015, p.69]

Galak-Z: The Dimensional delivered on every front for me. While it may seem challenging for some, it doesn't disappoint with its space action and strategy, and the presentation is right on the money when it comes to emulating your favorite anime.

Sure, Galak-Z may be rough around the edges, but the core of it is so good that it’s easy to recommend regardless. It’s a game of ecstatic moments, where you’ll kill a boss with only a sliver of life, or dodge a barrage of lasers at the very last second. Galak-Z may not have the highest production values, but it’s one of the most energizing games we’ve played on the PS4 this year.

Dynamic, spectacular and extraordinarily hard, Galak-Z: The Dimensional is an awesome shooter.

Progressively mastering its wonderful controls and unlocking new upgrades had me totally hooked, and even though its idea of mission variety is something of an illusion, its smart, playful personality kept me too entertained to care.

It looks lovely and the frantic combat is delightfully nuanced, but be warned: it’s brutal. [November 2015, p78]

It looks lovely and the frantic combat is delightfully nuanced. [Oct 2015, p.89]

The payoff is feeling like the Red Baron and Luke Skywalker rolled into one when you emerge from a tricky dogfight. [Oct 2015, p.112]

There are some technical issues that you’ll need to look past but if you’re able to, you’ll find a game with incredible controls that is just waiting for you to step up to the joysticks.

My arcade heart beats faster. Galak-Z manages to combine furturistic arcade flair with 80s cartoon style and lots of action.

The perfect roguelike for all the classic anime and space shooters lovers. Packed with homages to classics like Robotech/Macross and Starblazers/Yamato, it’s a fun but hard game that will entertain you as much as it will punish you.

If you're up for a challenge, Galak-Z delivers a great experience. Even though it's not perfect, if you're interested in its shoot 'em up, roguelike concept, it's a good choice.

Galak-Z does a great job of proving why arcade shooters can still be quite fun. The crazy flight controls feel good, enemy variety is spot on, and the laser customization really lets you shoot the way you want to.

It’s challenging, whimsical, and a great throwback to a time when combat was deceptively simple.

More than just a checklist of familiar references, more than just the old stuff with a new coat of paint. It is a game that captures the feeling I had on that vinyl couch, watching those old animated machines on the screen and wondering what it was like to be so fast, so powerful, so invincible.

Galak-Z took the simple, addictive gameplay of an arcade space shooter and built something wonderful out of it. A simple game to get into with an underlying complexity that never gets in the way of the fun of the game. Galak-Z is a must play for absolutely everyone.

Despite the annoying side-dialogue and the somewhat repetitive missions, GALAK-Z presents players will highly engaging and even strategic gameplay.

A solid roguelike space shooter with sleek anime style, Galak-Z: The Dimensional is a dashing mix of old arcade challenge and modern design traits. A highly recommendable indie game.

The only real hurdle to clear when offering a recommendation for Galak-Z is the difficulty. The ship is fun to use but it takes a long time to master, and the game does require mastery of movement to progress into the later stages. That paired with resetting progress to the beginning of the season and losing all your upgrades sometimes feels like a bit much, particularly after enduring a steep and lengthy learning curve.

In spite of these frustrations, Galak-Z has the heart of a truly compelling shooter. I wish 17-Bit had taken its elements and laid them out in a game with a more natural progression, or added a greater level of variety to Galak-Z's extensive randomness. However, even when the game feels unfair, I couldn't resist returning to these pinpoint-accurate flight controls and tense dogfights.

The mission structure and narrative leave something to be desired, but when I think of Galak-Z, I think of my many triumphs and the elation I felt when I completed a season. Few games manage to instill that feeling of triumph quite like Galak-

A rogue-lite with more substance than most, Galak-Z is equal parts brutal and beautiful. If you can hang in long enough to conquer the steep difficulty curve, what lies within is a rewarding, nostalgic trip.

It's a layered, complex system, and even now, 20 hours after I started it, there are upgrades I haven't found, techniques I haven't practiced, and possibilities I haven't considered. Galak-Z pummelled me, knocked me to the ground and kicked me when I was down. But when I finally got the upper hand, and beat the final season with only a sliver of health left, the victory was all the more rewarding.

A challenging roguelike space shooter with anime style and a varied set of procedurally generated levels. Great!

This hot mess is deliriously fun, a game from a simpler time that might find more contemporaries in New Arcade than in other neo-roguelikes.

I wish Galak-Z: The Dimensional wasn't so fragmented, because the core experience is a treat for roguelike and space combat fans alike. Even 15 hours through I was still seeing new items and upgrades, which is a testament to its lasting power, warts and all -- I just need to take breaks from the tedium every so often.

GALAK-Z feels like a Steam Early Access game. The lack of content, repeating environments, glitches and bugs, framerate issues, and the final season of the campaign being listed as "coming soon" (yes, really!) scream that the work isn't finished.