What Vortex Attack is
Vortex Attack is a 2D arcade space shooter in the vein of Galaga, built around the Vortex System. You pick a ship and work through hundreds of levels across the galaxies, destroying vortices along the way. The twist is that each vortex keeps growing and throwing ever bigger waves of enemies at you, so you are constantly fighting to push it back rather than clearing a static screen. Enemies drop energy, and you send that energy into the vortex to shrink it. Above the vortex sit two spheres: a blue one for your level and a red one for the vortex level. When your energy reaches the vortex, the blue sphere shrinks the black hole; meanwhile the black hole stretches the blue sphere as it grows. The run ends either when the blue sphere makes the red one disappear or when the red one grows to maximum size. Some vortices take several stages to destroy, and reaching the stage where a vortex can be finished unleashes its most dangerous swarm. There are bosses, bonus rounds, and sci-fi particle effects layered over neo-retro visuals, FX, music and an arcade coin-op style of presentation.
Playing it together
The game is designed for up to 3 players locally, with multiplayer built into the design from the start. Everyone picks a ship and takes on the vortices at the same time, collecting enemy energy and dumping it into the vortex to keep it from maxing out. Because the vortex grows relentlessly, having several players feeding it energy is what lets you hold the line and finish a tough level. Remote Play Together is supported, so a friend can join your session even if they do not own the game. Online leaderboards and regular tournaments give you something to chase between co-op runs, and the leaderboard side carries over 70 achievements.
Ships and progression
You start with a choice of ships and unlock more by playing, for 11 ship models in total, each upgradeable up to four levels with individual upgrades. The ships are tiered and each has a clear trade-off. The Basic Ship Vektar has lots of health and suits novices. Tier 1 covers Voxar, Rozer and Blaster, which range from fast with good multishot and many add-ons to strong with powerful bullets but few add-ons. Tier 2 brings Valkyr, Metr-81, Kromaia and Blaxar, trading firepower against speed, add-ons and heavy artillery. Tier 3 is Verminest, a hard and slow ship with most add-ons but few powerful shots, and Beekyr, a weak and fast ship with heavy multishot. Pick something that matches how you like to play before you commit, since upgrade levels matter as much as the base stats.
Before you start
Expect a difficult, fast-paced score attack rather than a relaxing shooter: the vortex grows whether you are ready or not, so momentum matters. The setting is the alien war around colony Vehar-12 and Earthos, where swarms pour out of energy vortices and eighteen colonies have already fallen. Your captured war machine collects Lumergy, the same energy that creates a vortex, and reverses it to collapse one. It is a short mission statement — destroy the vortices, save everyone — and the levels are built to push back against you the whole way. The developers also note the game is highly addictive, so plan your session length accordingly.