Alienzix

Alienzix is an action game developed by Xitilon, released in August 2017 for Windows. Set in a sci-fi/futuristic world, it features side-view gameplay with fixed or flip-screen visuals, placing players in direct control as they navigate through a visually distinct environment.

Alienzix: Review

Introduction

In the vast expanse of indie gaming, certain titles emerge as time capsules—deliberate artifacts of bygone eras, meticulously crafted to evoke nostalgia for a specific technological and aesthetic epoch. Alienzix, released on August 26, 2017, by Xitilon and developed by Xero TR-MMXZ and Xeneder, stands as such a specimen. A “Windows 2000 epoch” side-scrolling shooter, it embodies the unpretentious, mouse-controlled simplicity of late-90s arcade games, stripped of modern pretensions. Yet, beneath its retro veneer lies a fascinating case study in indie game design: a title that prioritizes mechanics over narrative, evolution over storytelling, and cooperative play over solo spectacle. In this exhaustive review, we dissect Alienzix through its development DNA, gameplay philosophy, and niche legacy to determine whether it is a forgotten gem or a relic of a bygone era.

Development History & Context

Alienzix emerged from the fertile grounds of the mid-2010s indie scene, a period when accessible tools like GameMaker empowered small teams to channel retro aesthetics into minimalist experiences. The game’s developer, Xero TR-MMXZ (collaborating with Xeneder), operated with the ethos of hobbyist coders: creating games not for mass appeal, but for a dedicated audience enamored with 2D arcade traditions. The choice of GameMaker as the engine was deliberate—a nod to the Windows 2000 era’s tools, enabling pixel-perfect side-scrolling mechanics with minimal overhead. This technological constraint, far from a limitation, became a core tenet: Alienzix runs on laughably modest specs (Windows XP, 233 MHz CPU, 256 MB RAM), a stark contrast to the AAA bloating of its time.

Released when the indie market was saturated with retro-styled titles, Alienzix carved a niche through hyper-specialization. It ignored narrative depth or graphical flair, doubling down on pure arcade action. The developer’s vision, as articulated in the Steam store description, was unambiguous: “Oldschool 2Д-shooter of the Windows 2000 epoch, controlled by mouse.” This focus on accessibility and nostalgia positioned Alienzix as a budget title ($4.99 on Steam), targeting players seeking no-frills thrills over cinematic immersion. Its context is inseparable from the rise of local co-op revivals in indie circles, where shared-screen camaraderie became a selling point amid the rise of online multiplayer.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Alienzix is, by design, a narrative vacuum. The game unfolds across 26 levels divided into 6 unnamed sections, with no overarching plot, characters, or dialogue. The setting—sci-fi/futuristic—is reduced to abstract backdrops and enemy sprites, serving purely as a canvas for gameplay. This absence of storytelling is not an oversight but a philosophical choice: the developers prioritized mechanical purity over world-building. There are no logs, terminals, or lore; the sole “narrative” is implied through gameplay: humanity’s struggle against faceless alien turrets that populate each level.

Thematically, Alienzix leans into survivalism and iterative progression. The player is a lone (or paired) pilot, thrust into increasingly hostile environments where destruction is the only language understood. The lack of context—no factions, no motivations—echoes the abstraction of classic arcade games like Galaga or R-Type, where enemies exist solely as obstacles. This reductionism allows the game to focus on one theme: adaptation. The “weapon evolution” mechanic (where collecting the same weapon twice upgrades it) becomes the closest thing to a character arc, symbolizing empowerment through adversity. Yet, without emotional or contextual anchors, these themes remain surface-level. Alienzix is a game about doing, not being—a deliberate rejection of the narrative bloat that defined contemporary AAA titles.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

At its core, Alienzix is a distilled arcade shooter. The objective in every level is simple: destroy all enemy turrets while avoiding their projectiles, collisions with flying foes, and environmental hazards. This loop is executed through tight, mouse-controlled movement, with the player’s ship responding with pixel-perfect precision—a direct callback to Windows 2000-era shooters. The game’s genius lies in its mechanical elegance, built around three interlocking systems:

1. Combat & Weaponry:
   Players access 30 distinct weapons, each with unique behaviors (e.g., spread shots, lasers, homing missiles). The standout mechanic is “weapon evolution.” Collecting a weapon type twice upgrades it, transforming a basic pea-shooter into a devastating plasma cannon. This system encourages risk-reward play: hoarding a specific weapon for upgrades leaves the player vulnerable, while diversifying spreads fire but limits progression. The Hyper-Gravitation ability adds tactical depth—consuming energy gained from defeated enemies to reverse incoming bullets—but its utility feels niche against the game’s bullet-hell intensity.

2. Difficulty & Progression:
   Four difficulty tiers scale enemy aggression and projectile density, but the core challenge stems from limited resources. Energy management is paramount: in single-player, energy refills slowly, while 2-player mode halves energy gains to maintain tension. The 2-player cooperative mode, a key selling point, introduces asymmetrical balance: Player 2 takes less damage but moves slower, and exclusive bonuses (e.g., enhanced explosions from “X” pickups) favor Player 1. This design ensures cooperation without making the mode trivially easy.

3. Level Design & Structure:
   Levels are linear affairs, divided into 6 themed sections with 26 total stages. Each section ramps in complexity, introducing new enemy types (e.g., agile “flying enemies” that must be dodged, not shot) and environmental hazards. Backtracking is nonexistent, with progression gated by completion rather than keys or puzzles. The “flip-screen” visual style—where traversing the screen edge triggers a horizontal or vertical shift—reinforces the retro feel but occasionally disorients players amid chaotic firefights.

World-Building, Art & Sound

Alienzix’s world-building is intentionally sparse. The sci-fi setting exists as a collection of sprites and backgrounds: crystalline asteroids, geometric turrets, and nebulae. There is no lore, no factions, no human presence—only the player, enemies, and the void of space. This minimalism extends to art direction: pixel art with a limited color palette, reminiscent of Windows 98-era shareware. Enemies are abstract shapes (turrets resemble floating cannons; “flying enemies” are indistinct dots), prioritizing readability over detail. The fixed/flip-screen aesthetic reinforces the retro ethos, with no parallax or dynamic lighting to distract from gameplay.

Sound design follows a similar philosophy. The Steam store provides no specifics, but community descriptions imply chiptune-esque effects: blaster shots, explosion pops, and minimal background ambience. The absence of voice acting or complex scores aligns with the game’s arcade roots, where audio served functional cues over immersion. Together, the art and sound create a “pure” arcade experience—stripped of the cinematic polish of contemporaries like Hollow Knight or Enter the Gungeon, but faithful to its 2000s inspiration.

Reception & Legacy

Alienzix’s reception mirrors its niche design. Upon release, it garnered minimal critical attention. Metacritic lists no score for the PC version, with only one critic review (from Finger Guns for the PlayStation 4 port) branding it “plagued by poor design decisions,” citing short levels and frustrating gameplay. Steam reviews are equally tepid: 62.50% positive (based on 5 of 8 reviews), with players praising its nostalgia but criticizing repetition. One Steam user noted, “It’s fun for an hour, but the grind wears thin.” The lack of a narrative or innovation left it overshadowed by more ambitious indie shooters like Broforce or Luftrausers.

Commercially, Alienzix performed as a budget curiosity. Its $4.99 price point and low system requirements attracted a small, dedicated audience, but it never charted on Steam. Its legacy is one of micro-cult status: a footnote in the history of local co-op shooters, remembered for its weapon evolution system and uncompromising retro aesthetic. Notably, the PlayStation 4 port (released April 2022) received no traction, underscoring its PC-centric appeal. While influential titles like Alien Shooter defined the top-down shooter genre, Alienzix remains a niche artifact—preserved in archives for enthusiasts of GameMaker-era design.

Conclusion

Alienzix is a paradox: a game built to be disposable yet preserved by its authenticity. It rejects modern gaming’s obsession with storytelling, depth, and spectacle, instead delivering a distillation of arcade purity. Its weapon evolution system and asymmetrical co-op are clever innovations, but they are wrapped in repetitive gameplay and dated visuals. For players seeking a nostalgic slice of Windows 2000-era action, it offers a satisfying, if brief, experience. For everyone else, it is a curiosity—a reminder of a time when games prioritized mechanics over meaning.

Ultimately, Alienzix’s place in video game history is as a testament to indie ingenuity. It proves that even with minimal resources and a retro framework, developers can create compelling, focused experiences. Yet, its niche appeal and lack of evolution prevent it from being a landmark title. In the end, Alienzix is not a masterpiece but a micro-masterpiece: a 5-hour artifact of a bygone era, lovingly crafted for a very specific audience. If you value arcade purity over polish, it is worth a play. If not, it remains a relic—a footnote in the annals of gaming history, preserved in digital amber.