It Came From Space and Ate Our Brains is an arcade co-op, top-down shooter, developed by Triangle Studios and published by All in! Games. Get ready to survive the apocalypse. The aim of the game is pretty simple: aliens have landed, choose a gun and start blasting. That’s all It Came From Space and Ate Our Brains is and that’s all it should be. Let’s take a look at this hidden gem that just released for console.

There are multiple different levels with the same objective. Finding the alien egg at the end and cutting out the aliens by the source. Once you’ve chosen a level, up to four players can join in on the massacre. There are also four difficulties you can choose. Each difficulty is far harder than the last. Then again, that’s what makes this game so much fun — the adrenaline.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

First of all, the most satisfying aspect to It Came From Space and Ate Our Brains is the guns. There are six guns to choose from with three upgrades each. When each level begins, the gun you choose is very important. With every alien slain, you obtain currency. This currency can be spent on weapon upgrades. You will need to rely on these upgrades to survive. You also don’t collect that much money in a single level. As in, you will only be able to upgrade one gun fully. So whatever you choose is going to stay with you.

Many guns are better in different areas too. This makes a whole lot of difference if you’re playing alone because it really feels like you need different guns in several situations. For instance, the gamma-ray gun is amazing at clearing little mobs like general aliens. Same with the pistol in that respect. If you ever fight a Teleporter though, it will just mosey on by your shots and be able to hit you. The shotgun, however, easily clears Teleporters and other, bigger mobs away. Then again, if whatever gun you have is not upgraded then anything will be difficult.

The wide array of artillery is the biggest pro and con. You have to strategize what you’re going to use, any leftover money should be put into a good sidearm that does the opposite of whatever your main gun does. There is also a pretty large balance issue to, some guns are incredibly better than others. To compare, I’ll only use their fully upgraded versions.

The shotgun is incredible at clearing bigger mobs, but small ones just as well. It feels way too overpowered and versatile to every other firearm. Then there are guns like the rocket launcher that can make a huge explosion where they impact, but it can’t really hit anything close to your character at all. There are many times when aliens spawn directly by you, too. The fully upgraded pistol is truly terrible. It doesn’t cost much, so that sort of makes up for it. Though if you take the time to fully upgrade it, there goes your money for the level. Every gun does have different uses which is very good. Those vast differences in their uses can also be their downfall. Multiplayer is the only way to mitigate this, to have several people with many guns even if some are worse than the others.

The Invasion

Now let’s talk about the beautifully pixelated alien attacks that line the city. When I first launched It Came From Space and Ate Our Brains, it resembled exactly what bullet hell games should be: the neon colors, the pixelated blasts, and the hordes of enemies. After playing it, I can say, it did it well.

Running through a dark abandoned hospital and shooting the faint lights as they emerge from the shadows made my hairs stand up on the back of my neck. The color scheme is what makes it so tantalizing. Making the Martians a bright neon pink, contrasting with the blacks of the scene can make this cute little shoot em’ up quite scary. Most of all though this heightened the heart-pounding game-play that makes the genre so loved in the first place.

The music is another fantastic feature to this game. There is a creepy thumping sort of beat in the background, that is met with random wails and scratching noises, all to accompany the sound of whatever gun you’re firing. Every gun you fire has some sort of kickback that causes the screen to shake, which adds to the creepy environment. Sometimes it felt as if my character was moving to the noises in the background. And of course, a bullet hell game couldn’t be met without plenty of gratifying explosions, there’s no let down in that department. It all came together to form a macabre melody that felt fitting for an alien invasion.

Final Verdict

There aren’t too many actual issues weighing this game down, it’s a pretty all-around good time. Just don’t expect anything more than that. This is exactly what to get for a fun party night with friends, a great arcade shoot and survive level-based game. Though that’s all it is and it’s not that long. There’s no real plot, you’re thrust into some levels and eventually, it’s over. Still very fun for the little while you play it, but if you’re looking for an actually fleshed out game, there are many better choices over this one. It Came From Space and Ate Our Brains is an adrenaline-fueled treat from beginning to end and well worth a buy.

So did this convince you to It Came From Space and Ate Our Brains? You can find it on the Steam store for $14.99! Or if you’ve played it, tell us how you feel about it down in the comments! Come check out Culture of Gaming’s other reviews like our AO Tennis 2 review and our Moons of Madness review. As always, thanks for reading Culture of Gaming!

If you want more reviews on It Came From Space and Ate Our Brains, check them out on Open Critic here.

THE GOOD Large Arsenal of Weapons Many Upgrades Satisfying Gameplay Great Party Game Replayability with Difficulty Options Enthralling Sound Design THE BAD A couple balancing issues Not too much too it Short 8 Great Review Summary