Kamikaze Empire Review

On the game's Steam page, under events & announcements, Kamikaze Empire is described as a “kamikaze maiden shmup”. It has been 100 years since the global war began, with no sign of slowing. Due to the huge number of casualties on both sides and mass destruction, robots took over for the soldiers. These robotic soldiers have the ability to self-reproduce, constantly building their own to be shot down once again. Will this endless cycle of destruction and production ever end?

You play as a variety of robotic fighter pilots, each of whom has their own unique personality. As you progress through the missions, you get a chance to play as all the different characters. Ohka is a bit of an airhead and considered disposable, as this model of robot fighter is mass-produced. Umeka is a humanoid attack fighter who is sensitive and a bit of a crybaby. Aya is a tactician who is cool-headed and loves pudding, and Tsubame is described as Aya’s short but loyal comrade. Then, finally, there is Zero, a mysterious girl who has the ability to change the whole war.

Between each of the missions, we see Ohka in a classroom — with a cute white cat — speaking with the robot copies of herself and another recruit, informing the brigade that if they run out of ammo, just dive into the enemy, as there are plenty of you to go around. Even if your allies fall in battle, don’t stop to help them; just keep going on your mission to destroy all the targets at all costs.

Kamikaze Empire has a tutorial you can play through that will show how to control your plane, the different ways you can attack your foes, and what all needs to be done to complete the mission. The fighter plane you are flying has a primary and secondary weapon to use; fly through the checkpoint to start there.

When you run out of ammo, smash into your enemies to take them out instead. Once the kamikaze attack is activated, nothing can stop it, including shots fired by the enemy. Don’t worry about dying; there are multiples of your robotic character, so when one is gone, there is always a replacement.

The overall aesthetic of Kamikaze Empire is incredibly cute; all the pilots are adorable, each with a unique look, along with the enemy sprites. There are numerous weapons to use, and using your kamikaze attack ends with a satisfying explosion that causes huge amounts of damage and chaos. Having destructible environments is great; it allows you to carve your own path, with explosions, to clear the stage.

Kamikaze Empire’s soundtrack does a great job of fitting the look of the game with happy, upbeat music filled with fun sound effects for all the different weapons you use and huge explosions when you smash right into the enemy or the environment around you. It didn’t feel repetitive or annoying, just catchy.

Kamikaze Empire has various stage types to play through in each area. One of my favourites was playing as Aya as she was riding on the back of a truck, armed with an automatic weapon and a missile launcher. She shoots at the enemies flying over, and then, when they return fire, you are able to take out their missiles to stop them from damaging you. It was fun playing through a variety of stages that help keep the game fresh.

It is not required to kill all the foes in your path, just the designated targets for the operation. Though it is beneficial to take out as many foes as possible, as each enemy you destroy gives you extra energy, and the higher your score is, the faster you move. You can see how much ammo you have left, as it is shown on a circle that surrounds your character; it also shows you the blast radius of your kamikaze attack, which gets larger as you kill more enemies.

If you get hit by the enemy, you crash down and explode, which helps with taking out any of the foes that are in your way. Sometimes, to proceed through a stage, you will be required to sacrifice yourself in a kamikaze attack to blow up a chunk of a wall so you can advance to the other side. There is something incredibly satisfying about launching yourself into the enemy, causing a massive explosion without having to worry about a game over because you ran out of lives.

Kamikaze Empire is a fun twist on the usual shoot-‘em-up game where you have to be extra careful about avoiding all the shots coming at you and trying to collect ammo to attack. It is refreshing not to worry about running out of lives and having to start over at the beginning if your stash is depleted. The chibi pilots you take control of are silly and have unique personalities; I love how one loves pudding!

There are 50 stages to play through and three different endings to get, depending on how you do, so there is a lot of replayability in the game to keep you busy for a while. Plus, it is so much fun to smash right into the enemy without a care! Will you finally be able to end this 100-year war?