Resogun has been described as an evolution of the classic arcade game Defender. I've never played Defender, so for those of us that didn't throw change into arcade cabinets in the 1980's, let's go over the basics. Hit start, pick a ship, and start shooting. Right stick moves left/right/up/down, left stick shots left/right. Everything else builds on top of the basic mechanics of a side scrolling shooter. When things go south, there are bombs that clear the screen, a boost that makes the ship invincible to propel the player out of a tight situation, and an overdrive weapon that shoots a powerful beam that destroys anything it touches.
The objective of each level is to save humans and not die while precariously trying to keep the multiplier active by shooting enemies. It took me a little bit to figure out what I was supposed to do to save the humans as there isn't a tutorial or "how to play" screen (there is a manual, which I found later that is accessible through the PS4 UI.) The loading screens between each level gave me some hints, but the game left it to me to connect the dots. The humans are in little cages, ready for alien extraction. When the "keepers" of the cages come down to take a human, the AI lady sounds an alert. Kill the keepers before they can abduct the humans and their energy will release the human from his cage. Swoop down, get the human, and fly him to safety at one of the two teleporters. Two things can cause the human to die. The first if if the keepers take him and the second is if they fall off a ledge or are killed by enemies on the map when they are released.
With the mechanics out of the way, let's talk about what makes Resogun insanely fun. The game's ability to create a chaotic nightmare of zillions of enemies, particles, fireballs, beams, strobes, and little humans while letting the player still feel in control and somehow fly out of the mess is a feat of game design. The game does a great job scaling its difficulty from a zenful experience on Rookie to a fast-twitch apocalyptic romp on Veteran---anyone less than a video game God need not apply. This well balanced scaling makes anyone feel like a space hero without the frustration or even barrier to entry so common to other games in the genre.
Each element in the game is simplistic in design, but the game saturates the screen with so many individual pieces that the game looks like a living, breathing being, writhing with millions of tiny atoms. Pieces are torn from the game as enemies are destroyed, bombs are blown, and bosses are disintegrated. After all the humans are either dead or saved, the entire map explodes into a rain of particles. The real horsepower of the PS4 can be seen in the incalculable number of pieces showering the screen.
Resogun is a fantastic combination of classic game design mixed with the technological achievement of the next generation of consoles. Playstation Plus members can download the game for free for at least the first month of the console's launch, but even at full price, Resogun is a must-have for anyone buying a PS4 this holiday season.