BIRDCAGE isn’t exactly offering the most relaxing way to spend an afternoon. This old-school vertical shoot ’em up throws you into six stages of bullet hell chaos, fills the screen with enemies and then asks you to somehow keep your score climbing while everything is trying to blow you apart.
It’s now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Play Anywhere, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.
Published and developed by Eastasiasoft Limited alongside POLYGON BIRD, BIRDCAGE takes inspiration from arcade shoot ’em up classics while giving the action a modern visual spin.
At A Glance
- Game: BIRDCAGE
- Formats: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Play Anywhere, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch
- Price: £12.49
- Publisher: Eastasiasoft Limited
- Developer: Eastasiasoft Limited, POLYGON BIRD
- Genre: Arcade Vertical Shoot ‘Em Up
Six Stages, One Very Busy Screen
BIRDCAGE wastes little time getting to the point. You’ll blast your way through six stages packed with enemy swarms, incoming fire and screen-filling bosses, with survival only being part of the challenge.
There are multiple ways to attack, allowing you to switch between spread shots for dealing with groups and focused attacks when you need to put the hurt on something specific. Specials can also be charged up and deployed when the pressure starts to rise.
But don’t go thinking that simply reaching the end of a stage is the only goal. BIRDCAGE encourages you to chase higher scores by maintaining attack chains and keeping your kill rate high. That means taking risks can potentially pay off, but getting greedy when the screen is already packed with bullets isn’t necessarily the wisest move.
Hyperblade mode gives you another tool for those particularly tense moments. Used strategically, it can help turn the tide when things get crowded, while homing specials give you another option for dealing with the game’s relentless enemy forces.
A Retro Cage With A Modern Look
Visually, BIRDCAGE mixes 2D pixel art sprites with 2.5D environments, giving the action an appropriately retro foundation without making everything look like it has simply been dragged out of an old arcade cabinet. A pumping retro soundtrack accompanies the shooting, while the game also has a narrative side. As you progress, you’ll review memories and uncover a more thought-provoking story behind the explosive action.
So beneath all those bullets and increasingly enormous bosses, there’s apparently something worth thinking about too.
BIRDCAGE launches today on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Play Anywhere (all via the Xbox Store), PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.
Be sure you know – the high score table doesn’t care how many bullets were coming at you. It only cares whether you survived them.
