Space Dave!

 Switch
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5

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  1. TheFlannelFox
    Jan 26, 2018
    8
    Space Dave! The spiritual successor to Woah Dave! Is a fixed arcade shooter by the developers that brought you Bit Trip, Space dave has blasted it’s way onto the Nintendo Switch

    Space Dave is a fixed shooter but with a modern twist, like the classics you can only move left and right and shoot upward, but you can jump. Which comes in handy because your enemies can smash the ground    Space Dave! The spiritual successor to Woah Dave! Is a fixed arcade shooter by the developers that brought you Bit Trip, Space dave has blasted it’s way onto the Nintendo Switch

    Space Dave is a fixed shooter but with a modern twist, like the classics you can only move left and right and shoot upward, but you can jump. Which comes in handy because your enemies can smash the ground beneath you, leaving behind lava, and just like playing in your living room as a little kid, if you step on the lava, YOU DIE! After enemies destroy the ground, they turn red and when killed, they drop magma. Picking up this magma and throwing it at the lava will turn it back to solid ground.

    Space Dave has three difficulties Easy peasy, Normal, and bonkers. None of these modes should be entered lightly as Space Dave is tough as nails. However, the pick-ups throughout the game do alot to level the playing field. Extra drones and spread shot give you an extra little boost, but grabbing the space pick up allows you to launch it toward enemies and recruit them to your side. Very quickly changing the tides of space battle, alas when hit by either and enemy of the vividly colored pills they drop at you you’ll lose one of your lives and with it all of your recently acquired perks. Lose all three of your lives and you start the level over. If you shoot down the flying saucer and collect the Dave coin, it saves a check point so you can restart from the there instead of the beginning of the level.

    When shooting in Space Dave you can either hold down the fire button or rapidly press it, when you rapidly press it you’ll fire a bit faster which while making it a little more worth the hassle, but becomes quite annoying over time and I wish you could just hold down the button for the same fire rate. Even though the person next to you on the subway will look at you a little crazy while button mashing, it does remind me of pounding buttons years ago in an arcade.

    While the gameplay is nostalgically frustrating, a perfect reminder to the NES era of gaming. The real pull of Space Dave are the sights and sounds. Vivid pixelated graphics while used quite often in indie games, still delight me when they are done this well. Monsters, spaceships, and environments beautifully executed keep me smiling while blasting enemies them out of the air.

    Space Dave is a brutal walk down memory lane, while it may not be for everyone, the retro arcade shooter fans will certainly enjoy this alien blasting adventure.

    With eight different characters to control, many multi-phase stages, and two player mode, Space Dave provides hours and hours of single player or co-op fun.

    Be sure to watch my video review on my YouTube Channel TheFlannelFox    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Destructoid
    Jan 31, 2018
    75
    Even if it isn’t everything it could be, Space Dave! is still a damn fun shooter and the exact type of game I want to pick up when I only have a few free minutes of downtime available. It’s fast, frantic, and frequently calling me back to beat my high score. The arcade scene may be deader than the Ouya, but Dave is doing his darndest to keep the spirit of its golden age alive and relevant in this modern era of gaming.
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  2. Nintendo Life
    Jan 30, 2018
    50
    Much like Woah Dave!, Space Dave!’s ironic use of exclamation mark might fool you into thinking you’re getting a particularly riveting or exciting experience for your buck. Its simple, Space Invaders tribute concept can be addictive - especially when played in local co-op - but its desire to embrace the basic building blocks of the ’80s is a poisoned chalice, one that leaves you hoping it would offer more depth where there’s just the same old shallow, pixelated waters.
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  3. Video Chums
    Jan 26, 2018
    71
    Although the frustration factor can be high and there's a significant lack of content, Space Dave provides an action-packed dynamic that'll have you on the edge of your seat as you approach getting a high score or reaching a new checkpoint.
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