I have been playing a lot of complicated and frustrating games recently. As I was looking for a new game to review, a title by the name of “Luftrausers” caught my eye. For sale on Steam at only $8, I thought it was worth looking at.

Oh and what a glorious five hours it was.

While my thoughts of a game are sometimes solidified before I have reached the end, I continued playing this game even after I had “beaten” it. “Luftrausers” has no long-term goal, but that’s what is so enjoyable about it. In the game, you pilot a small dark brown aircraft over a sepia ocean with a matching sky. The goal is very simple: everything you see wants to kill you, so you should probably do something to stop that — maybe shoot them out of the sky?

The controls are extremely simple. You only use one button and the directional keys to pilot your little aircraft. Your plane heals as long as you are not shooting, which creates fun, fast-paced rounds where sometimes you need to bail on a fight to stay alive. Along the way, you unlock new weapons, plane parts and engines. There are lots of different combinations that behave very differently, but honestly the game lacks a bit in this field. The idea is really cool and the existing pieces combine really well (my favorite is a kamikaze orbiting laser that can dive under the water). The game is incredibly short, and it won’t be long until you find the one combination you are most comfortable with. 

The incentive to keep playing is to continue to unlock pieces and to complete the challenges for each piece. After you finish all the main challenges, the slot will be taken up by a notice that you have to kill a blimp. Survive long enough and you will see it. Taking it down takes a lot of skill or a nuke, and taking it down unlocks SMFT, a nightmare mode that destroys seasoned rausers in a matter of seconds (one of the challenges is to survive until the sirens at the beginning stops).

The game is incredibly fun, and has probably become my go-to “I have ten minutes to kill before class starts” game, but the lack of content leaves a lot to be desired. I would recommend waiting for it to go on sale, and it is good for three to four hours of pure joy. “Luftrausers” is a refreshing reminder that we play video games because they are fun, and at the end of the day, that is what matters most.

5/5