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The Essential Switch Ports: Rebel Galaxy Outlaw
The space shooter video game genre is poised for a big comeback. Last week’s release of Star Wars Squadrons marks the first time that a major publisher has paid any attention to space battle gameplay in eons, and I’m hopeful that the game will spark renewed interest in this seemingly bygone genre. I say “seemingly” because in reality several excellent indie-developed space games have hit the PC market in the last few years.
One of those awesome games is Rebel Galaxy Outlaw, from developer Double Damage Games. It’s a follow-up/prequel to their 2015 game Rebel Galaxy, and casts players as Juno Markev, a tough no-nonsense woman forced back into a life of space-faring adventure in order to avenge her dead husband. The development team’s members have a long and storied pedigree in game design, with credits ranging from Diablo to Fate to Torchlight, and this excellent acumen shines through in Outlaw in spite of its modest budget.
The game’s control scheme strikes a brilliant balance between the fiddly complexity found in classic PC space titles and modern accessibility. You can choose to fully control your ship’s engine and maneuvering systems, shunting power between shields and weapons on the fly if you so desire, or you can…