I was hooked from the start! The gameplay of Rogue Flight brought me back to being a kid playing classic shooters of the 90s. The visuals, style, and narrative look and feel like they are pulled straight from a classic anime movie like Akira or Ghost in the Shell. Shooting the cannon, barrel rolling across the screen, locking on and launching a swarm of missiles, and watching the ensuing explosions all felt great. The icing on the cake was when the Wingtail maneuver clicked for me, and it became one of my favorite mechanics. Plus, there is a combo system; by achieving multiple kills, a building-up chirp sounds with each destroyed enemy, which the ship's AI ranks and announces. It is incredibly satisfying to see a screen full of enemies explode in tandem after a perfectly lined up jetstream of death wipes them out. 

In true to the genre fashion, there are only three lives or attempts before one sees a game over screen and has to start from the beginning. At first, I was like, "What the heck?” and then I remembered that this is how games of this nature were and always have been. That being said, the game is challenging but features several difficulty options. This leads me to what makes the game so dang fun; it is properly skill-based. One becomes a better pilot by failing and understanding how to defeat enemies through trial and error. The second stage boss took me at least six game overs before it finally clicked, and I managed to overcome it. Now, it seems easy.

I also have to praise the sound design, especially the killer soundtrack by Fat Bard and Rinn. All of the musical tracks for this game are bangers and go with the game's action incredibly well. The voice acting is exceptional and features a cast of veteran talent. Plus, the game offers fully voiced Japanese dialogue, giving the game the tone of an authentic anime experience. I highly recommend playing this game with headphones or a sound system turned up way too high so the neighbors can enjoy it, too.

Truant Pixel made this game with replayability in mind, and it feels feature-rich. There are over 100 unlockable liveries, 24 badges, 40 unlockable aero designs to adjust the ship's performance, and 40 unlockable weapons and modifications. This allows one to adapt to various playstyles or try something new on the next run. There are also several unlockable modes like a roguelite and Retro Mode, which changes the look and sounds to feel more 16-bit.