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Solar Shifter EX

This vertical scrolling shoot’em up adds a number of modern refinements to the genre’s common conventions; that said your personal enjoyment of the game might depend more on your opinion of the genre as a whole.
Solar Shifter EX Game Cover
50%Game Brain Score
gameplay, graphics
optimization, story
50% User Score Based on 56 reviews
Critic Score 55%Based on 6 reviews

Platforms

LinuxXbox Series X|SPCMac OSXbox OneXboxWindows
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Solar Shifter EX Game Cover

About

Solar Shifter EX is a single player arcade shooter game. It was developed by Elder Games and was released on September 11, 2015. It received neutral reviews from both critics and players.

"Solar Shifter EX" is a sci-fi shoot 'em up game where you pilot the Phase Shifter, a ship equipped with a unique jump drive that allows you to warp out of dangerous situations. The game features intense combat against numerous enemies in space and on distant planet surfaces. The story revolves around mankind's fight for survival against a powerful alien race, after they have defeated us and are about to destroy the sun that gives life to our solar system.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Solar Shifter EX screenshot
Solar Shifter EX screenshot
Solar Shifter EX screenshot
Solar Shifter EX screenshot
Solar Shifter EX screenshot
Solar Shifter EX screenshot
Solar Shifter EX screenshot
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50%
Audience ScoreBased on 56 reviews
gameplay9 positive mentions
story3 negative mentions
  • The game features impressive graphics and a visually appealing design, making it one of the best-looking shoot 'em ups on PC.
  • The unique shifting mechanic adds an interesting twist to the gameplay, allowing players to teleport and navigate through challenging situations.
  • The gameplay is engaging and offers a good balance between challenge and fun, with a variety of levels and enemies to keep players entertained.
  • The camera angles and shifting mechanics can be confusing, often leading to frustrating gameplay experiences and a lack of control over the ship.
  • The game suffers from repetitive enemy patterns and a lack of variety, making it feel dull and unexciting over time.
  • Technical issues such as poor optimization, long loading times, and unclear hitboxes detract from the overall experience, making it less enjoyable for players.
  • gameplay
    31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the unique 'shifting' mechanic and fast-paced action, while others criticize it for poor mechanics, frustrating controls, and lack of replay value. Despite impressive graphics and a dynamic camera, many find the core gameplay to be lacking and frustrating, leading to an overall sentiment that it may not be worth playing.

    • “The gameplay is excellent, a great balance between challenging and fun.”
    • “The solar shift mechanic that lets you teleport around adds a lot to the game.”
    • “The gameplay is engaging, and the graphics are impressive.”
    • “This is an old and dead genre, and while some professional production quality went into making this, it still ends up having less than average quality gameplay, with some rather janky collisions and what ultimately is a less than enjoyable look and feel.”
    • “The gameplay mechanics are poor and boring; you don't get any fun from it, just pure frustration at best sometimes.”
    • “Sound doesn't work, gameplay is boring, camera animation is just simply bad and the developer clearly doesn't know what makes a shoot 'em up game good.”
  • graphics
    28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising their impressive quality and artistic style, particularly in static visuals and backgrounds. However, some users note that the graphics can be demanding on older hardware, leading to performance issues and graphical bugs. Overall, while the visuals are generally well-received, they may not be cutting-edge and can detract from gameplay in certain situations.

    • “Art style and graphics are nice.”
    • “Graphics and presentation are really nice all-around.”
    • “The graphics look great, it runs well and the more you play, the more addicted you'll become.”
    • “While this is on PC, it has all the hallmarks and deficiencies of a console game, from the clunky control scheme to the less than cutting-edge graphics.”
    • “- graphical bugs, cannot set detail level higher than 'high', else massive texture bugs/flickering (used newest drivers on Radeon 290x and other components).”
    • “The graphics aren't going to blow anyone away, but it's meant to have old-school vibes and it does a decent job of being challenging but doable and fun as well.”
  • music
    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its richness and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers highlighting its upbeat and fast-paced nature that complements the action. The soundtrack is described as fantastic and enjoyable, contributing significantly to the game's appeal alongside its impressive visuals. Overall, the music stands out as one of the game's strongest aspects, leaving a positive impression on players.

    • “Music is also surprisingly rich and satisfying.”
    • “Music is upbeat and fast-paced which is a nice match for the action.”
    • “Finally, the soundtrack, awesome music and if you've played Meridian: New World and liked its music, this won't let you down.”
    • “Not a bad game, okay storyline, okay voiceovers, okay soundtracks.”
    • “The only good thing about this game is the visuals (in static) and the music.”
    • “Music is upbeat and fast-paced, which is a nice match for the action.”
  • optimization
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is inconsistent, with reports of significant frame drops and stuttering in certain levels, making it nearly unplayable for some users despite having powerful hardware. While it performs well on high settings for some players, particularly at 4K resolution, others with older systems may struggle, requiring them to lower graphics settings, which can negatively impact control responsiveness. Overall, the game appears to demand more from PCs than expected, leading to mixed experiences regarding performance.

    • “I've played on a laptop, and almost none of the new games run smoothly anymore, but this game did.”
    • “The game runs smoothly at 4K!”
    • “While the graphics are really nice and well made, it can be a little demanding when there's a lot going on, especially for older computers. If this is the case, you may need to lower the settings using the Unity menu, which can affect the performance of the control input too, adding unnecessary difficulty and frustration.”
    • “In some levels, there are massive frame drops and strong stuttering for no reason, making the game nearly unplayable. I have a 2500K @ 4.5 GHz, 32 GB of RAM, and a Radeon 290X, which should be more than enough for this game.”
    • “Small enemy ships move with a weird stuttering, despite the game running somewhat consistently with a high framerate.”
    • “The game is poorly optimized; it shouldn't require a powerful PC to run smoothly, but it does.”
  • story
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is generally perceived as simplistic and silly, with mixed reviews on its quality; while some players find it acceptable, others criticize it as lacking depth. The atmosphere is enhanced by engaging backgrounds and camera work, although technical issues, such as frame rate drops during certain missions, detract from the experience. Overall, the narrative is considered average, supported by decent voiceovers and soundtracks.

    • “With some levels having a lot going on in the background and the use of the camera and the 'track' turning, you get a good atmosphere that adds to the short story throughout the game.”
    • “The story is super stupid and silly.”
    • “The storyline is just okay, nothing special.”
    • “Not a bad game, but the storyline is only average.”
  • replayability
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game lacks significant replayability due to the absence of leaderboards, scoring mechanics, and challenges, making it feel less engaging for repeated playthroughs. However, players can find some incentive to replay through achievements related to completing levels without damage and collecting upgrades, which may extend the game's entertainment value.

    • “I'm unsure how long it took me to complete, having left the game on whilst AFK, but it still provides a good number of hours of entertainment. For extra replay value, there are achievements for completing certain levels without taking damage and for collecting credits/buying upgrades.”
    • “There are no leaderboards, no scoring mechanics, really nothing, and there is never a drop of replay value.”
    • “There's no replayability or challenge since there's no scoring, and the game is generous with checkpoints.”
    • “I'm unsure how long it took me to complete, having left the game on while AFK, but it still provides a good number of hours of entertainment. For extra replay value, there are achievements for completing certain levels without taking damage and for collecting credits/buying upgrades.”
  • atmosphere
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is enhanced by dynamic backgrounds and effective camera work, which together contribute to a compelling narrative experience throughout the levels.

    • “The levels are rich with detail, and the dynamic camera movements enhance the atmosphere, weaving a compelling narrative throughout the game.”
    • “The background elements are vibrant and engaging, creating an immersive atmosphere that draws you into the story.”
    • “The combination of stunning visuals and atmospheric sound design truly elevates the experience, making every moment feel alive.”
  • stability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability has been criticized for being buggy and inconsistent, with users noting issues such as a flawed upgrade mechanic that detracts from the overall experience.

    • “Senseless, buggy, weird, and ultra-simple upgrade mechanic.”
    • “So far this is good; however, it is quite buggy.”
  • grinding
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unenjoyable, largely due to its generic design and technical issues that detract from the overall experience.

    • “A generic, bland but functional shmup whose technical issues make it unenjoyable and tedious to actually play.”
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55%Critics’ scoreBased on 6 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

Solar Shifter EX is a arcade shooter game.

Solar Shifter EX is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, Mac OS, Xbox One and others.

Solar Shifter EX was released on September 11, 2015.

Solar Shifter EX was developed by Elder Games.

Solar Shifter EX has received neutral reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its optimization.

Solar Shifter EX is a single player game.

Similar games include The Blue Flamingo, Sun Blast, Syder Arcade, Asteroid Bounty Hunter, Steel Storm: Burning Retribution and others.