The Worst PS4 Games: Aces of the Luftwaffe

A mobile game that costs more and plays worse

Once you notice that the trees and buildings were drawn for vertical display, you won’t un-see it. PS4 Pro Screenshot taken by Alex Rowe.

I’m normally an easy mark for an arcade shooter, or “shmup” as some folks like to call them. Give me a horizontally or vertically scrolling background, a ship or plane of some kind, and hordes of enemies to blow up, and I’ll happily give you hours of my time.

Both the Android and iOS platforms are full of this style of game, featuring original entries and classic arcade ports. Many of the newer titles crafted for mobile play improve the core mechanics with skill trees, endless piles of levels, responsive touch input, and a variety of characters to unlock.

Aces of the Luftwaffe is one such attempt at a progression-infused shmup, developed by Handy Games. It currently sells for $3 dollars on iOS and has a respectable handful of vertical scrolling stages. Although it takes a little grinding to get to the end (or an infusion of additional real cash), its fun controls and unlocks make it one of many “okay” choices in the portable arcade shooter space.

Later levels mix up the backgrounds by…filtering them with a new color. PS4 Pro Screenshot taken by Alex Rowe.

The game was created with Game Maker Studio, an affordable package that just about anyone can learn to use…