Space Invaders Forever

42 years and counting... and Space Invaders is still an entertaining piece of software. Forever melts single-player, multiplayer and mobile-style gameplay in one, unique multiform compilation by Taito.

One of the oldest franchises in gaming is back with a compilation that offers hours of old-school fun.

Space Invaders Forever is a nice little collection, even if the main draw is Space Invaders Extreme. Unfortunately, its sequel isn’t included, or any of the classic games the Invincible Collection contained. Gigamax 4 SE is a strange addition as it is a brief distraction, even when you have the right amount of players. Arkanoid vs. Space Invaders can keep you busy for a while if you don’t already have it on a mobile device. Extreme is still the best way to play a Space Invaders game, with the Switch’s portability a bonus. This odd collection is a hard sell, especially when one game is a free to play mobile game, you have to want Space Invaders Extreme to justify this bundle.

In the Space Invaders Forever collection, Space Invaders Extreme is obviously the star of the show. If you haven’t played it yet, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Arkanoid vs. Space Invaders is a fun inclusion, but its handheld-mode only gameplay isn’t entirely ideal. And while Space Invaders Gigamax 4 SE is an interesting idea on paper, its player requirement and simplistic gameplay make it more appropriate as an occasional party game. You’re unlikely to play this collection forever, but there’s a fair amount of high-quality shooting fun to be had while it lasts.

Ultimately Space Invaders Forever puts together three very different takes on the arcade classic, but it’s a shame nothing new was created for this collection. Because of this lack of new content the pricetag feels a little high, although if you’re a shooter fan who hasn’t played all three of these games before this is undoubtedly worth picking up.

Space Invaders Forever is a solid but overpriced collection that presents three unique spins on the classic Space Invaders formula. It’s by no means complete, but whether you’re looking for a quick party game or some solitary nostalgia, there’s a variation or two here for you.

If you’re looking for a centralized platform to play these games, the bulk of the titles offered here are fun enough to keep you engaged for quick bouts of alien-blasting action. Would I go out and grab this at full price? No, probably not. But having two solid offerings out of three at a sale price? It’s work a look. Just don’t get your hopes up for multiplayer.

Space Invaders Forever is a collection that consists of three adaptations of Taito's timeless classic and if the presence of Space Invaders Extreme is by itself a major highlight, then a bigger effort should have gone into adapting these games to the format of the Nintendo Switch. Local multiplayer is a very fun experience, but an online component would have made everything much better.

Space Invaders Forever is a three-game package, where one of them is downright excellent, one of them is an interesting and fun concept, but isn't the most comfortable to play with on Switch, and the last one is only a bit of fun in multiplayer. The first of the bunch itself could justify the purchase if the package was priced a bit more sensibly, but this should really have included more of the excellent updates to the Space Invaders formula that have been released over the years. Furthermore, people who have purchased the digital package at launch on the eShop had issues getting Arkanoid vs Space Invaders to install on their system. We're told this is not a problem anymore though.

Space Invaders Extreme is awesome, but even in the guise of a cut-down compilation, Space Invaders Forever is lacking as a package. Better titles could have been chosen, and the way the apps are laid out is strange and disconnected. When it drops in price, this will be essential for Extreme alone. If you want Arkanoid vs. Space Invaders, that's available on your phone for a fair price, and better suited to that format in general. A disappointing and confusing package, but one that we strongly recommend at a discount just to get Space Invaders Extreme. It's that good. All six of these points are for it, and it alone.

The multiplayer mode feels like little more than a last-minute addition but both Space Invaders Extreme and Arkanoid vs. Space Invaders are worth checking out, especially for fans of an all-time classic looking for a more modern approach to its gameplay.

This is definitely not a classic collection of Space Invaders Games, but a mash-up of classic and modern that is underwhelming. I really can’t recommend this release at full price, but it would be a good one to grab if on sale for Space Invaders Xtreme alone. Sadly, this is one “Classic Game Collection” that can be skipped.

Space Invaders Forever is a fine package. That's unfortunately all there is to it. For fans of the series, for players who will play with others, for those that don't mind touch screens, it's a great choice. But if any of those things are a problem, everything gets real old, real fast. This is the bare bones version of that massive Space Invaders Invincible Collection, and it isn't enough to satisfy.