Curved Space
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Curved Space Trailers
Curved Space -- National Space Day Trailer
Curved Space – Release Date Trailer MIX Dev Direct 2021
Curved Space – Announcement Trailer
Critic Reviews for Curved Space
I like playing Curved Space, but I found it most enjoyable when played in fairly short bursts. The ideas and the gameplay are both good, but the level design runs counter to the fast-paced gameplay when you simply can't find an enemy. The music slaps though, so that's a nice touch if you do find yourself enamoured with the strange mix of impossible spaces and bug shooting.
In a genre where many feel that they've seen it all, Curved Space succeeds in providing something new. The titular curves may not be a huge innovation, but the game borrows enough from its procedural cousins to make its shooting feel refreshing. Curved Space likely isn't going to win over anyone who prefers something more than a high score chase, but anyone cruising a list of ROMs more than a digital storefront will probably want to give this one a look.
Curved Space is described as arcade-style anyways, so I don’t understand why the devs thought the story was needed at all. If they focused on polishing a mode that players can have some mindless fun, Curved Space could be leaps and bounds better. There’s a reason why rogue-lites have been finding so much success in the indie sphere: gameplay-first designs that just feel nice to play.
All in all, I came away impressed with this game, will it make me a convert to ‘bullet hell’ types? No, but it will be a nice change of pace between some of my other games. If you are just looking for some frantic, twin stick action that will test your reflexes as well as your resolve then look no further than the beautiful landscapes and twisty levels of Curved Space.
Curved Space isn't quite what I thought it would be when it comes to twin-stick shooters, but that's not saying it's bad by any means. The concepts are interesting, flying around and shooting down enemies while on planets that can loop themselves inside-out. However the boss fights can be downright tedious and it's not fun getting bounced around all over the place when getting shot and hit by enemies. The Survival Mode is where I spent most of my time as it felt the closest to a twin-stick arcade-like experience. If you like space shooters you might want to give Curved Space a shot. But for those wanting a more traditional twin-stick shooter experience, you might be a bit disappointed.
Despite its strong first impressions, Curved Space lacks the true variety to stand out in the crowd. You will find plenty to enjoy over the span of its brief runtime, but it isn't substantial enough to warrant a replay. Only diehard genre fans need apply.
Curved Space is a noble attempt at a twist in the twin-stick shooter genre, yet it never reaches the highs of several other predecessors, with a synthwave soundtrack doing more to get the blood pumping than the slow gameplay and bland objectives.
Is Curved Space more The Sixth Sense (a drum-tight, show-stopping thriller), or closer to The Happening (a meandering jumble of half-finished ideas)? The answer lies somewhere in the middle.
