Thank you aPriori Digital for sending us this game to review!

Aperion Cyberstorm is a hybrid twin-stick shooter/bullet heck for up to five players. There are plenty of enemies to shoot and avoid and the power-ups are ample. Between the three game modes (campaign, versus, and onslaught) there is plenty to keep players occupied on the go with the Switch version.

The disadvantage of the Switch version are the controls. Most players will be confined to a single joy-con to play with. The one joystick on is used for movement and the shooting is done via the four buttons along with some diagonal combos. Whoever has the pro controller will have a serious advantage. Playing solo is possible, but like many games, this one is more fun in groups.

The story is serviceable in the campaign mode, though the dialogue is a bit dry. Enemy factions are closing in on the planet Cadriga, and this is the home of Kate, Sam, and Joseph. Before they can flee, the bombs begin to drop. You must reunite them and take out the faction along the way.

No matter which game mode you embark on, you get to customize your ship by configuring its model, color, initials, and starting load out. In the beginning of the campaign mode, you only have three ships to choose from, and they have different strengths and weaknesses in matters of offense, defense, and speed. The starting firing modes of rapid fire and spread shot are nice, but you’ll unlock other abilities like cross fire and shield boosts before too long.

As you blast away enemy ships and harmless crystals, they’ll release energy shards which are used for healing and faster abilities. Sometimes a power-up will appear, which often has a wider blast radius. Sometimes a power-up will appear that can counter incoming swarms in one swoop. The power-ups are typically elemental and affect the enemies in different ways. For example, the ice power-up will temporarily freeze or slowdown the bad guys.

There are three difficulty levels, and the easiest (explorer) is incredibly boring. Do yourself a favor and start off with the fighter or veteran mode. Naturally, battling against people you know is always the best, so the versus mode is a good place to start if you have trigger happy friends. Here’s a breakdown of the versus game modes:

Deadline – Whoever has the most points when the time runs out, wins.
Last Stand – Each ship only has one life, and whomever is the last one alive is victorious.
Titan – The player with the most points is the titan and the target for everyone else.
Battle Ball – Everyone must hunt the target and receive points for each time they hit it.
King – Everyone must battle for a key area on the map.
Control – Whoever holds the most territories and points, wins.
Salvage – Collect and use all of the abilities that are only good once.
Free For All – Your typical death match which is determined by who gets the most kills first
Team Battle – Whichever team kills the most from the opposing team wins
Hardcore Team Battle – Just like Team Battle but with friendly fire!

The versus game modes can be customized to end by points ranging from 5 to 50. There is also an infinite play mode if that’s appealing to you. Cooperative gameplay is also available in the Onslaught mode, which gets progressively harder after each wave of enemies is cleared. How long can you and your friends survive?

Visually, Aperion Cyberstorm is pretty simplistic when it comes to the graphics. The ships vary in size and style, but they’re not incredibly detailed. The energy crystals spilling out of them upon defeat are kind of pretty.

There is no voice acting, but the sound effects get the job done. I liked the electronic background music and found it fitting for this title. Unfortunately, the soundtrack is not available for purchase on Steam or Nintendo’s eShop.

The asking price of $14.99 is reasonable given the plethora of game modes to play. Since the single-player gameplay can get repetitive at times, I only recommend grabbing this game if you have friends to play along with and a pro controller to fight over.