Xion

About

"Xion" is a single-player action game that revives 90's arcade shoot 'em ups with a destructible voxel landscape and customizable spaceship. Players can blast through randomized levels, defeat end-bosses, and enjoy the detailed graphic style. However, the game is known for its bugs. The goal is to provide a refreshing and challenging experience, with the opportunity to build and upgrade your own spaceship.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 86 reviews

graphics10 positive mentions

stability18 negative mentions

The game offers a fun and immersive experience with enjoyable ship building and retro arcade elements.
Levels are well-designed and provide a sense of depth and action, making flying the ship feel engaging.
The game has potential for improvement and is enjoyable for those who appreciate classic shoot-em-up mechanics in a VR setting.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs, including issues with ship building, hit detection, and menu navigation, which can lead to frustrating gameplay.
There is no save feature, requiring players to rebuild their ships from scratch after each level, which can be tedious.
Controls can be unresponsive or confusing, making it difficult to enjoy the game fully, especially for those sensitive to VR motion.

graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
41%
14%
The graphics of the game are characterized by charming voxel aesthetics that evoke nostalgia for retro gaming, reminiscent of systems like the NES and Commodore. While many players appreciate the attention to detail and the overall visual style, particularly in VR, some have noted that certain elements could better align with the game's themes. Overall, the performance is generally good, but there are concerns about graphical settings not functioning as expected and game-breaking bugs affecting playability.
- “Wow, what awesome visuals! It feels like being inside a C64.”
- “The graphic style, I must admit, I love, and the attention to detail is just amazing. One of the things I like the most, apart from the game itself, is building your own spacecraft; it's really, really fun.”
- “It's also one of those games that looks much better in VR than in the screenshots, even with its retro/voxel aesthetics. It's one of the few retro looks made by indie devs lately that actually looks and feels like it fits to me, instead of just being made to attempt to cater to some nostalgia.”
- “The graphics settings don't seem to work the way I would assume.”
- “I would describe it as R-Type (or 1941) with Minecraft graphics.”
- “If you like the voxel graphics, it's a question of taste, but when you are in action, it works very well.”
stability
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is frequently criticized, with users reporting numerous glitches and bugs that hinder the overall experience, particularly during the ship-building phase. While some improvements have been noted since its initial release, many players still find it to be a "buggy mess" that detracts from its potential fun. Overall, the game shows promise but requires further stability enhancements to fully realize its capabilities.
- “Has the potential to be a fun game, but it's riddled with glitches and is incomplete.”
- “The building phase is very buggy but otherwise this is probably the coolest shoot 'em up I've played in a long time.”
- “The ship building is still buggy, but from when I originally bought this it has been improved.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The gameplay of Xion is a blend of old-school mechanics and VR elements, providing an engaging action experience that surpasses its unappealing visuals. However, players have noted issues with bugs, limited mechanics, and a frustrating user interface, particularly regarding ship building and menu navigation, which detracts from overall playability.
- “It has few bugs and looks kinda ugly in screenshots, but this is the game where gameplay and the feeling of action vastly exceeds the screenshots.”
- “Xion offers a kind of gameplay where old school is combined with VR to create something new.”
- “The gameplay is engaging and offers a unique blend of mechanics that keeps you coming back for more.”
- “If it wasn't a buggy mess with limited mechanics.”
- “Needs menus polishing and the ship build mechanic reworking. In my opinion, a game needs to have instant playability, not frustration at clucking the controllers together, which is what I mainly experienced.”
- “It has few bugs and looks kind of ugly in screenshots; this is the game where gameplay and the feeling of action vastly exceed the screenshots.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
37%
25%
The game's story revolves around building and customizing your ship for various missions, each featuring unique bosses. Players will experience the thrill of crafting new ships for each mission, as destroyed parts are refunded, allowing for continuous innovation and adaptation throughout the six missions.
- “When you finally build your ship and go to the mission, you will be amazed.”
- “There are about 6 missions with unique bosses.”
- “Make a new ship for every mission!”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's performance is generally good, benefiting from its voxel graphics, but it suffers from significant bugs and menu optimization issues. Players report difficulties with ship building and navigating menus, which detracts from the overall experience. While the movement through levels is enjoyable, the lack of immersion and the presence of glitches hinder the game's recommendation.
- “Overall, the performance was good, as expected with the voxel-style graphics.”
- “Fun game, but has too many bugs to recommend. You lose money and your ship, and the menu is not optimized. The most challenging thing for me is the menus in between the levels; it's hard to choose the right option, and building your ship often goes wrong. There's no way to remove blocks, and the placements are often weird. I like the way you move through the level, but I wish it had more immersion.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating the decent soundtrack that complements the fun gameplay and enhances the nostalgic arcade feel, especially in VR.
- “Fun game, decent soundtrack, and I still love how well the square arcade feel works in VR.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the humor in the game to be quirky and entertaining, particularly appreciating the absurdity of the "clunky gun staggering ships" mechanic, which adds a comedic element to gameplay.
- “Construct really funny and clunky gun-staggering ships.”

Buy Xion

Xion
$9.99
See offer on Steam

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About

Buy Xion

Xion

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