Review: Rick Henderson [PS5]

Rick Henderson. The man, the myth, the legend. Who is he and why does he have so many bad guys to fight is a complete mystery. In the game named after him, Rick invites players into the pilot’s seat for cosmically swashbuckling good time.

Created by Fat Pug Studios and published by the mvps of gaming, eastasiasoft, Rick Henderson is another addition to the publishers’ long lineup of spaceship shooters that has been released. Rick Henderson is a bit of a different breed of spaceship shooter this time around, and what it does it does extremely well.

The setup

Rick Henderson is a game that doesn’t quite have a story mode. Rick Henderson has three gameplay modes, but none are a traditional story mode with characters or a basic story. Therefore, Rick Henderson and his motley crew of space mercenaries, are whoever you want them to be, with whatever backstory you wish for them to have. Rick Henderson gets straight to the point. There are bad guys in ships, and many bosses to fight. Hop into a ship of your choices and get to blasting. A helpful tutorial mode is included, and is recommended as the tutorial explains not just the basics but also the small ideas in gameplay. The three modes include two Loop Modes, on either Normal or Hard, and a Boss Rush mode

Preparing for combat

Rick Henderson is a horizontally scrolling spaceship shooter. The game gives players three types of weapons, regardless of which ship is chosen: Bullets-based, energy-based, and missiles. Each type of weapon works differently depending on the enemy. Energy weapons are great with shielded enemies, but not armored enemies. Missiles can punch through armored enemies, but are slow to reload. Switching between each weapon takes a second. It may not sound like much, but when there is a flurry of bullets flying your way, each second is crucial between victory and defeat.

Each ship comes equipped with a special ability. Rick’s ship has a hologram projector that can distract enemas. The other ships have a warp function to teleport quickly, and an artillery strike that sends a siege of missiles at the enemy. Powerups allow for different weapons for each type. In one play through, I cam across a minigun for the bullet slot and a homing laser for the energy slot. Players can augment their abilities at the end of each bossfight, with special perks that can be chosen. Some give more damage but less health while another increases ship mobility and shields. To increase score and rank, players come across ribbons and gems to increase score and rank.

The final part of the gameplay mechanic is the Graze mechanic, which all ships have access to. In the spirit of other spaceship shooter, daring players can allow themselves to be grazed by bullets. This involves flying close and dodging enemy bullet fire. Each successful dodge without getting hit builds the meter. When filled, the two supporting mercenaries, and their ships swoop in to provide additional firepower for a short time. Getting though the tougher spots of Rick Henderson will require mastering the Graze mechanics, as it can save players in a pinch.

Music to fly by

Rick Henderson sticks to the tried-and-true formulas of shmups and spaceship shooters, but goes the extra mile in being a profoundly fun experience players will come back to over and over. The first impression that hits players is a solid soundtrack form composer Mlada Fronta , who brings a retro synthwave soundtrack that empowers the situation of fighting an entire enemy fleet on your own. In particular, is the track The Night Hunter, which is easily the best tune on the soundtrack and easily had my heart leaping for joy, as it was perfect for the type of game Rick Henderson is.

Visually, the game is reminiscent of the classic days plays shmups in arcades and 16-bit systems like the Genesis and Turbo Grafx-16, memorizing patterns and saving up special weapons to deliver that satisfying victory. The levels themselves are sharp, filled with background imagery, such as planets and distant ships, but Rick Henderson also has a filter switch, turning the game into a 1-bit game of red, white, and black. Playing Rick Henderson in this way truly evokes a sense of old-school nostalgia.

Good old-fashioned gameplay

Controlling and shooting feels fast yet strategic, rewarding and impactful. Rich Henderson sticks to what it knows best, and that is relentless action and a solid challenge. Bullets fill the screen, and enemies constantly come forward, with even some coming from behind. Endless bullet casings stream out of the ship as wave upon wave of enemy is downed. The pulsating soundtrack heightens the experience by bringing out that one-man hero sensation. You, the player against these malevolent enemies across the cosmos.

After understanding the shooting mechanics in the tutorial, the unique gameplay setup Rick Henderson presents is amazing and distinct, keeping me on my toes, keeping things chaotic yet sensible. Switching weapons and plowing through waves is a thrill, but using the Graze ability is even more rewarding. The game does put up a challenge, especially with the bosses. Each boss will not follow the same pattern of attack. Each round of play introduces the same boss but with different attacks. The first boss, a warship, may attack you with a flurry of small bullets, and a primary screen-clearing laser cannon. On another playthrough, the ship may not use the laser cannon, but deploy smaller drones to destroy the player. Overall, Rick Henderson is a ton of fun.

Perhaps the only real drawbacks can be drawn to two. There is a noticeable lack of sound effects with explosions and destruction, though this may be intentional to focus on the music. Secondly, a single-player campaign would have been a nice addition in establishing the general setup of Rick Henderson, what we are fighting, and why. The game does give quick profiles of each pilot, and Rick Henderson himself likes coffee, so there’s that.

Final thoughts

Rick Henderson is a sharp, strong, and solidly fun spaceship shooter with a killer soundtrack and great gameplay. While I wish there was more, what we have is incredibly good. Rick Henderson sets out to do what it was meant to do and that is make an engagingly fun spaceship shooter, and it has succeeded. Grab a cup of coffee and have a good time with Rick Henderson.

Rick Henderson is available for PlayStation 4/5, Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S.

Rick Henderson was reviewed on a PlayStation 5 system thanks to a key generously supplied to Mega Visions by eastasiasoft.