The Switch has seen a lot of shooters on its roster over the past five years, but nothing quite like PopSlinger. This '80s-infused game mixes a bit of rhythm gaming-style timing and preparation with shooting, evasion and beat-em-up waves alongside new wave to craft a memorable experience. PopSlinger feels like a game that pays proper homage to the late '80s and early '90s with a VHS filter over the action, but with a bright look and higher level of detail in its world than even arcade games of the time.

Players use Ria Carbon and her ally Gin to take out invaders that have come to take over the town, but have a strange aversion to carbonated beverages. Maybe it's a Wizard of Oz-style thing where the Wicked Witch of the West had a weakness to water, which had to make it tough to take a shower. The game's viewpoint is akin to a beat-em-up and you'll tackle waves of enemies just as one would in either a brawler or even a single-screen shooter like Robotron 2084, but with a twist. Much like puzzle games, you have to match four in a row of a foe to truly make progress.

Players can just take out anyone they want to in order to survive -- but that's all the player will do playing the game like that. Matching four in a row of the same color nets a power-up like a turret ala a tower defense game or a double-shot using a hologram partner, while doing it again of the same color usually nets a health pickup. Getting eight in a row of two sets of four tends to either get another health pickup or another helper power-up to make the waves go down faster. Taking out a foe of another color or taking a hit ends the chain, resulting in a risk/reward system.

Do you go for a full-on chain of eight and hope to maximize the benefit or do you hope to survive well enough using the single power-up help due to a cluttered field? Going for the chain will pay off when it comes to tallying up the stage-clearing total, but the risk could result in taking too many hits. Beating a boss does boost the health bar and by default, Ria can take six hits in a single stage. Sometimes, the risk will pay off and other times it won't -- which means that replaying stages will be done at least a few times. Fortunately, PopSlinger's pace is so brisk that it doesn't hurt things at all, and the core formula is so similar stage-to-stage that playing through a level again just results in noticing new things, like transparency effects when the player gets right next to an obstacle so it can be seen through without fully obstructing the view of the action.

The core shooting and movement feels natural and having a single button press be all that's needed for rapid-fire is fantastic. That move alone helps cut down on hand fatigue, which results in not only longer play sessions, but a better quality of life for the player. Movement can be done with either the left stick or the d-pad, and there are pros and cons to each method. The d-pad is in theory less precise, but given how it can be faster when it comes to moving around suddenly, it does come in handy as a way to avoid enemy fire while still being able to take enemies out. The stick movement feels floaty and while it's better for accuracy, I never felt like I had the same 1:1 control using a stick as I did with the d-pad for the most part.

In playing in portable mode, the left stick worked far better than the segmented d-pad. The 8bitdo SN30 Pro+ d-pad, however, felt pretty much perfect, while its left stick was good. The Switch Pro controller's d-pad didn't feel as good for it, but the left stick did feel better and some of that could be due to the offset stick design on the Pro controller versus the 8bitdo pad. No matter what control method was used, it was also easy enough to get Ria where I wanted her to go and evade using A. The cartwheel is a low-key fantastic way to avoid damage while still keeping chains active and is something that's worth practicing almost as much as shooting for those who want to treat this like a score attack game.

PopSlinger succeeds wonderfully when it comes to offering up variety within a theoretically-limited game concept. Enemy variety is impressive and evolves with each stage, allowing players to learn new enemy patterns quickly since it's something that the player is used to from the early-going. There's real-time learning to be done, but nothing ever feels overwhelming even with a screen full of enemies. Personally, focusing on a single color of foes at a time helped because that not only perfectly fit the setup, but enabled me to use the cartwheel to avoid accidentally hitting a differently colored foe and screwing up my combo chain. The ever-evolving arsenal of guns also helps as you'll have different ways to play depending on what gun type you have equipped.

Visually, the game perfectly nails the VHS filter effect while still keeping a lot of detail visible in character models. The in-game world pops with '80s flair while also using a bit of the '90s in some of its areas. Character animation strikes a fine balance between being lush and being quick to roll out -- which is big for a game like this that requires fast actions. If an animation takes too long to finish, then it can leave the player vulnerable to attack -- so having that perfect balance is key. Everything feels responsive thanks to the animations not being overly-elaborate and the vibrant art pops on all screens, but shines on an OLED in either TV or portable form.

The new wave-infused soundtrack is great and having it change up based on in-game actions is nice. It helps to encourage better play and adds a touch of rhythm-style gaming to the action without being overwhelming. It's an addictive soundtrack too and one that stays stuck in your head after a play session. The voice work is fantastic, and one gets a great sense for Ria's love of life and general lack of worry, while Gin is more serious and adds contrast to things. The pre-boss battle dialogue is also nice and adds a sense of personality to the bosses in the same way that River City Girls did. It's something that may not make a huge difference in theory, but does a lot when it comes to world-building.

Closing Comments:

PopSlinger is a tremendous game and one that may not be for everyone, but everyone who plays it will find something to love about it.  The '80s/'90s retro look has been done a lot, but rarely done better than it is here due to how well it manages to blend keeping the detail level high while also using a VHS-style filter over everything. It controls well across multiple controller setups, although a regular d-pad still feels like the best overall control method despite a left stick option being available. It plays like a dream, looks gorgeous and its '80s-infused new wave tunes are top-notch. Those who grew up in the '80s or '90s, or just have an affinity for that timeframe, will love the look and feel of PopSlinger as a whole.