Llamasoft’s tube shooter revival provides all the psychedelic brilliance of the Tempest series reborn into a beautiful modern classic.
| Developer | Llamasoft |
| Publisher | Llamasoft |
| Franchise | Tempest |
| Genre | Action; Arcade; Shoot ’em up |
| PSTV | Yes |
| Physical English | No |
World-building & Story
TxK can honestly only be described as an acid trip. From the neon colour palette; to the pumping electro music and random phrases popping up on the screen, everything about it is weird; experimental and absolutely bonkers.
As a tube shooter there’s no real story here, you’ll merely be progressing through a series of levels to move onto the next; while being rewarded with cheers of “pleasure” or “angel” along the way (or perhaps a bizarre message like the above screenshot). Like old-school high-score-chasing classics such as Fantavision that’s all you’re given; but it’s more than enough given the gameplay on display.
Presentation & Sound
Featuring an array of neon colours; bright explosions and activity everywhere, TxK certainly looks the part on Vita – especially if you’re playing on an OLED model where things really pop. It’s not the most technically advanced game, but does what it sets out to do really well and runs as smooth as butter to boot.
Right from the moment you boot up and set eyes on the trippy and vibrant menu, you’ll be able to tell what kind of journey you’re in for. TxK is extremely liberal with its use of colour and light, making a lush game that feels full of life. Every moment could be spent admiring the bevy of minute details from flower explosions; laser fire and beams of light if the gameplay allowed it, but things are often too hectic to take very much in.
If you’re unfamiliar with the genre of tube shooters, the clue is in the name – the perspective is shown behind you’re ship and you shoot down a tube that is spread out in front of you. This means enemies are constantly heading towards the screen and the development team at Llamasoft have fun experimenting with different types of foe – generally they’re all designed around types of flowers, leading to an oddly organic feeling among all the psychedelic action (yet it fits surprisingly well).
Despite the fact that my description might make it seem like too much is happening on screen at once to keep track of what you’re doing, TxK is smart about things. While there is always a lot going on, you’ll be able to keep tabs on where your ship is thanks to it being right at the forefront of the screen (and it’s a bright yellow to boot); while a spawning noise when enemies appear helps too.
In fact, sound in general is the game’s high point. The custom soundtrack – full of banging techno; chilled house and all sorts of electronic goodness in between – is fantastic and fits well with the action on screen. Sound effects are similarly impressive, mixing laser fire with electric yelps from the announcer – it’s loud; bawdy yet brilliant all the same.
Soundtrack highlight – Space is Everything
Gameplay & Content
Providing a very unique take among shooters, TxK might be slightly taxing to get to grips with initially – yet once you’ve gotten the hang of it the addictive gameplay loop and high-score chasing will have you coming back time and time again.
You’re quickly thrust in to gameplay and left to figure things out on your own, which can be a little daunting. You control a ship on the end of a tube who can move around the edges to shoot at oncoming enemies; by collecting power ups that drop from downed foes you’ll be able to do additional things such as fire extra bullets or jump in the air. The goal is to destroy all foes before they reach you; get hit by one and you’ll lose a life (and losing all lives means game over). That’s really all there is too it – a bizarre premise, but a very simple one.
Complexity is added through a number of methods. The main one is through the enemies themselves – they start out as simple creatures, moving in a straight line down the tube to hit you; but quickly evolve into much greater beasts. Examples include flowers that spawn buds you have to destroy to reach them; cubes that shatter into multiple additonal foes and multicoloured stars that move erratically around and become quite difficult to hit. Each requires a different strategy, requiring tactical thinking pressured by the time-sensitive nature of the levels.
The second layer of complexity comes from the tubes themselves, which come in all shapes and sizes; limiting your potential movement and escape options. Some might circles, allowing free movement left or right at any time; while another may simply be a straight line meaning you can easily get trapped in a corner without some forward thinking. Although some feel designed to be gimmicks, they’re all enjoyable to experience and add a very unique feeling to the game.
To help you take on the ever-increasing complexity of the tubes and enemies you’ll face, your ship can grab collectibles dropped by enemies to help power up. These include the ability to jump (meaning you can escape enemies who have reached your edge of the tube) to a fairly competent AI drone that helps cover areas you’re struggling to reach. While a nice addition, the fact they’re randomly awarded can be a bit of a frustration – particularly if you go out of your way to grab one only to be given a score multiplier.
There’s also a minor mini-game in between levels that has you flying through hoops as a ball of energy, but the fact this uses gyro controls makes it frustrating as moving your Vita can throw it off completely. In terms of things to do in general there are a tonne of bespoke levels on show here, and you can play through them in either ‘classic’; ‘pure’ or ‘survival’ modes.
Everything comes together in TxK to create a brilliant overall package – the graphics; music and framerate make a treat for the eyes and ears while the gameplay retains that ‘just one more go’ hook of any arcade shooter yet thanks to the unique twist, the title remains special on both Vita and in gaming in general. A couple of annoyances exist, but they’re far from sufficient to detract from the whole experience.
Conclusion
Llamasoft have crafted a brilliant game that revives the tube shooter genre in fantastic fashion. The beautiful vibrant graphics and smooth framerate provide a perfect visual spectacle; while gameplay is fast and addictive ensuring you’ll keep coming back for more. It’s a stand-out title on Vita and well worth checking out if you haven’t already.
9.0/10
kresnik258gaming 
All games by Jeff Minter/Llamasoft i can highly recommend. Very addictivie gameplay, and absolutely crazy experience. A pity they didnt bring Space Giraffe to Vita, though, it would look just as gorgeous.
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Interestingly they literally just bought Tempest 4000 to Switch this week! I’ve read in a few places that Tempest 4000 is inferior to TxK though so I’m quite glad we got the version we did 🙂
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I disagree with opinion that Tempest 4000 is “worse” (as it was among best and most important 2018 releases for me), i would say it’s “different”. Actually, i played 4000 before TxK (as i got Vita only around 2020, and made txk my first purchase there, together with Fast Striker), so you may call me biased if you want (joking).
What i can elaborate on, that they have a bit different style
(4000 goes more into “crazy stuff all over the place”, and also enemy visuals and sounds are not the same; TxK feels more as “retrowave” aesthetics and sounds are very “juicy”, while 4000 is more like “particles explosion festival” with a ghost of Commodore 64 nostalgia (even without pixels or chiptune), also i prefer to play 4000 with tempest 2000’s vintage demoscene music which it has, while keeping txk music solely for txk playing sessions – thats my personal choice)
and different take on balance/mechanics (4000 has a certain power-up that gives you immortality for short time and it’s oddly satisfying, that makes you often “save up” getting it for most tough moments per stage (so timing power-up rotation is a strategy a bit); on the other hand, TxK doesnt have such if i’m not mistaken, so it feels more hardcore – but 4000 has enough challenge, too), and some enemies were either new or with changed behaviour of attacks/movements – not sure on that, as i forget details.
Most popular critique for 4000, though, is that controls are more “floaty”, while TxK feels very “precise”. However, that’s how both games are made on purpose, as noted by llamasoft (also playing on d-pad and using “lock position” helps). So whether you like that or not, it’s totally up to you.
Also to note, initial release of 4000 was indeed glitchy, but devs fixed most problems in patch. I say “most” because there were some more things to improve, but freaking Atari didn’t let them, sadly. At least that’s how it on PC (version i play – no idea how ps4/x1 ports were), while perhaps Nintendo’s fresh release is the most polished one (but most likely i won’t switch to switch myself until 5-7 years later, if ever, ha-ha).
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>mini-game in between levels that has you flying through hoops as a ball of energy, but the fact this uses gyro controls makes it frustrating as moving your Vita can throw it off completely
Btw, this is one of things that is improved in 4000. Just sayin’
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Interesting write up. I’ve never actually seen anyone go through what the differences are, sounds like they’re more extensive than a lot of people let on.
I quite like that there’s bespoke versions though, because it gives people a reason to check out TxK on Vita if they liked Tempest 4000.
Also I had no idea you only got your Vita in 2020! Welcome to the club. Two excellent games to start with (I didn’t love Fast Striker personally, but it was a solid game with an amazing soundtrack)
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Thanks 🙂 Actually, i forgot i got WipEout 2048 together with Vita, so technically it was the first purchase.
Yeah, i’m slightly “late to the party” when it comes to game sytems and such. I started playing videogames around 1999-2000 when i received Sega MegaDrive as birthday gift. Only had a few cartridges: Aladdin (still love it, and played Final Cut rerelase past year), Tiny Toons Adventures: Buster’s Hidden Treasure (most favorite 16-bit era platformer game for me), Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (despite becoming fan of SNK or Capcom in recent years, still very nostalgic for it; on a contrary, not really interested in modern MK games), Adventures of Batman & Robin (was too hardcore for me back in days; dat Jesper Kyd music, though!) and Jurrasic Park (scary!). At the same time, my neighbour friend had PS1, though when i visited him, we only ever played legendary Tekken 3. He also had Hogs of War, at least.
However, around 2001-2002 my MD got broken, and Personal Computer came to my life, together with games. MechWarrior 3, Torin’s Passage, U.F.O.s, Hard Truck 2: King of the Road, Populous: the Beginning, Dino Island, Evil Islands, Half-Life Generation, Unreal Tournament, End of Twilight, Mortal Kombat Ultimate, Virtua Fighter 2, Dark Colony etc. etc. were among my first PC games. Which became my main platform for years and years and years, especially with me getting in love with purely computer classics like Deus Ex or Quake series, yet also being enamoured with japanese titles like Silent Hill series.
2000s i mostly spend playing PC classics and obscurities (among my absolute favs you can find Anachronox, Outcast, Omikron and KISS Psycho Circus), even “indie games before indie boom” like first two Knytt releases (better than Vita one, i may say) or legendary horror adventure The White Chamber. But around 2009-2011 i felt that i need more “weird and crazy” things so i started looking forward console games, starting with PS1 (Parasite Eve totally exploded my mind) and SNES (Chrono Trigger was first game that kept my playing until 5 am), but also Dreamcast (my “holy trinity” would be Maken X, D2 and Illbleed) or even Saturn (to which my introduction was also niche: Astal, Torico and Baroque) catching my interest. Which also led to me getting both PS2 and PSP around 2013-2014. And years later, Vita also joined. Ha-ha.
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That’s all so interesting, thanks for sharing your story! I must admit I haven’t heard of a lot of the PC games you mention in there, but pleased to see a shout out to Populous: The Beginning.
My journey is like the opposite of yours – I started with the PS1 and then it was all PlayStation consoles for generations, albeit I got a GBC for Pokemon and eventually a cheap Gamecube after the PS3 came out. I got my Vita in 2012 and that was my first handheld console since the GBC – probably why I love it so much, it was a revelation to me.
Dreamcast is one that slipped through my net and I find it really interesting as so many people have so much love for it, I’d really like to own one one day.
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In case it would be interesting for those who enjoyed TxK.
Next month will bring release called “Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story” to all current platforms.
It’s a compilation of classic Llamasoft games, ranging from Sinclair ZX81 or Commodore VIC-20 to Commodore 64 or Atari ST. Including Tempest 2000, of course.
But also it will contain pretty good documentary materials, as the release will be handled by Digital Eclipse, which are known for comprehensive “museums” in their previous compilations like Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, Samurai Shodown Neo-Geo Collection, Disney Classic Games Collection and the likes. All of them contain amazing history materials like concept art, covers and flyers, interview footages etc. etc.
Such releases I consider to be a real treasure for those all enthusiasts of game history and culture. And I value such more than “simple” compilations that don’t provide much more than re-released games themselves.
So, if any TxK fan is reading this – take a look.
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Digital Eclipse do really great work.
You’ve reminded me that I really need to get Atari Flashback Classics on Vita because I *think* that includes some Tempest games too?
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I’m afraid that one contains only original Tempest arcade game, which is notable for early 80s but hard to come back to after you tasted any of Minter versions.
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Ah I didn’t know that, shame to hear – I must admit I don’t know a lot about the Tempest series!”
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