What Assault Android Cactus+ is
Assault Android Cactus+ is an arcade style twin stick shooter set on a crippled space freighter that has been taken over by its own robot workers. Junior Constable Cactus answers a distress call and ends up stranded there, so you fight through the ship to save it. The game blends western arena shooter gameplay with Japanese bullet hell, which means dense patterns of projectiles and constant movement rather than cover and slow positioning. Stages transform as you play, giant bosses show up at the ends of areas, and the cast of characters opens up as you wreck robots. There are 9 playable androids, each with a distinct play style and personality, and a 25 stage campaign spread across five areas of the ship.
Playing it with friends
The game supports 1 to 4 players with local co-op, so a group can sit on the same screen and shoot through the campaign together. Remote Play Together is available, which lets people join over a connection instead of sharing a couch. Each player picks one of the androids, so a group can mix play styles rather than everyone running the same loadout. Co-op applies to the campaign as well as the other modes, so you can split the robot hordes and boss damage across the group instead of handling everything alone.
Battery instead of lives
The main mechanic to understand before starting is the battery. It drains as you play and replaces the usual lives system, so you are always working against a timer rather than a stock of deaths. Keeping the bullets flying keeps you moving and keeps the run alive; slowing down is what costs you. Expect difficulty: the tags and design point at a fast, demanding shooter with bullet hell patterns, so the first few stages are about learning to read the screen and manage the battery.
Modes and extras
Alongside the campaign there is Campaign+, which remixes the stages for a fresh challenge once you have been through them. Infinity Drive tests skill and endurance, and Daily Drive puts your run up against the community. Progress unlocks EX options that modify the game, plus Codex entries and artwork. The game supports keyboard or joypad, so check what your group has on hand before you start.