The game offers 3 chapters/stages which can be played in two "different" game modes.
When you start, you only have the first stage selectable in Campaign mode. To unlock the next stage, it is necessary to finish the current stage with a 1 star rating (which I think just means finishing the level), while getting at least a 2 (out of 3) stars, unlocks the Survival mode for that stage.
Each level consists - typical for SHMUPs - in multiple enemy waves crossing the stage in different patterns, trying to shoot at you. Destroying an enemy grants points (towards the stage score), while defeating a whole wave brings additional bonuses, like more points, credits (more to that later) and one of the only two power-ups available in the game. Between some of the waves, there are also some bosses, which are a little bit tankier than the normal enemies and have to be defeated before proceeding.
The two power-ups consists in a shield, which protects you from taking damage but can also be used aggressively to 1-hit-destroy smaller enemies by just flying into them, and a "rush" attack, which simply shoots the normal shots in a quick burst lasting a few seconds (useful to melt the tanky bosses).
While the start of the game is a bit tedious, with almost instant death by the first or second enemy hit, the game becomes a breeze once you start upgrading the stats (power, mobility, health, shield and rush duration) of your ship or buy one of the 3 additonal ships which better fits your playstyle (more mobility, defense or power instead of the 10% more credits provided by the initial ship).
Earning credits also quickly becomes a non-problem once the Survival stages are unlocked.
These are basically the same stages like in the Campaign, mirrored and with "stronger" enemies, although the name of the mode might make you think it would be an "endless, play as long as you live" mode. Credit rewards in these stages are doubled or tripled.
The game is basic not only in its mechanics, but in everything else too. Each stage is nothing more than an animated but static background. Enemy variety is < 15 including the 4 or 5 different boss types, with different colors of the ships to differentiate the more or less "powerful" enemies.
There are no flashy animations or special effects in any of the own or enemy lasers/bullets, no funky groove when a boss arrives, not even some vignettes for the "story", which is told in simple white sentences on black background.
But there are still some positive things to mention:
When dying, the game will slow down, but any shots fired will continue and if they are enough to kill an enemy, you will still receive the credits for it. Pretty useful when offing a boss after being shot down.
While something very minor, when you fly your ship around the bottom corners of the screen, the UI elements move in order to give you a clear sight, helpful against enemy fire.
Both of these points show that at least someone put some effort and thoughts in providing a solid, although very basic and very short experience.
The game is pretty cheap, ~6$, I got the platinum in less than 2 hours and I enjoyed my time spent with the game, but I doubt I would buy a sequel if not greatly improved in everything.
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