Video Game Review: Jet Lancer

Jet Lancer Review

Armor Games Studios

Shooter

Nintendo Switch

High speeds and fast-paced fighters. Robots the size of skyscrapers and flying machines of death. What do these all have in common? They’re all staples in the action arcade game Jet Lancer. In this game, you control Ash Leguinn: a badass flight-school dropout who lives off his work as a mercenary. However, as weapons of war converge in your hometown, you’ll have to take to the skies and overcome all odds to make sure that you can save the world.

The story starts simply, with you taking control of Ash as you pilot the Lance. You’re supervised by the Captain, a grizzled veteran who helped to give Ash a home after she dropped out of the flight academy. After an accident that causes major damage to your transport carrier, you’re stuck doing odd jobs in the interior of the island that you live on. During a routine job, you discover a large gun platform attacking planes in the nearby area. You’re then introduced to Lem, a talking cat that you discover within the wreckage of the aforementioned gun platform. Lem serves as the engineer for the Lance over the course of the game. He discovers, however, that not all is as it seems.

Ancient technology is awakening and the materials that are used in those war machines are eerily similar to the Lance in make and model. The characters are left to ponder over the question: Why would all of this advanced machinery lie buried on the seafloor?. Overall, Jet Lancer has a story with deep lore and interesting developments. However, the game is largely held up by its writing and has many interesting characters that help to keep you engrossed in the story. Where the character and gameplay intersect is in the art.

The game takes place at supersonic speeds with you taking control of your new ship, the Lance. At first, you’ll only have access to a small roster of weapons. As you progress, you’ll gain access to a large repertoire of special abilities and unique weapons that allow for a personalized touch to your jet. You dodge and strafe gunfire using a stick shooter system with thruster controls to allow for nuanced and deep flight abilities. The game only has one difficulty setting and is based on a scoring system from D- to S+. That’ll make the game hard to put down for people who want to 100% the game. While the game scales at a normal rate, there are a few missions that exist as abrupt jumps in difficulty that may catch an unaware player off guard. Once a player is able to get past the difficulty spikes, the game settles into a rhythm with its difficulty. 

There is a New Game plus difficulty available after you complete the main story. This new difficulty provides extra layers of challenge to the base game. In addition, there are also new weapons and modifications that are only available after you acquire them in New Game plus as well as a secret ending. These are a few of the incentives that encourage players to play on after the main story. This is in opposition to traditional games that merely had a more difficult game set behind their higher difficulties. 

The art style is one of the strongest points of the game. Each of the characters has their own designs that help to differentiate them from each other. Ash with her ponytail and bright red hair or Lem with his universal translator. The game uses its 16 bit aesthetic to keep the jets distinct designs while allowing the backgrounds to tell their own stories. During certain missions you can see relevant story events occurring in the background while you fly in the foreground, immersing you in the world that they’ve built.  

The music fits well with the fast-paced motion that the game pulls you into. Many times, you’ll feel your shots line up with the rhythm of the game. The menu music is also upbeat but more relaxed, allowing for a more enjoyable between-level experience. As a whole, the music is in line with the game’s aesthetic. It gives you the high octane thrills during your aerial dogfights while also giving you the downtime you need to work up to that high.

As a whole, Jet Lancer is a strong game with many selling points. With strong gameplay and a vibrant art style, it provides a lot to those looking for a classic arcade-style shooter with high-octane action. However, those looking for a more relaxed game may find that the abrupt difficulty spikes in addition to the intense gameplay unappealing. If you love the thrill of adventure and the joy of precise and tight controls, the Jet Lancer may just be the game for you.

Edited by Joe Barbieri