Review: Captain Forever Remix: Collector’s Edition

The improved art style is a spectacle in its own right, transitioning from the original’s polychromatic Asteroids-esque arcade palette to the remixed solar system straight out of ’90s Nickelodeon television. Warped versions of heavenly bodies and constellations scatter the background while drifting through the 10 stages—from the Sun to Pluto. If I’m being completely honest, I may have died a few times simply because I was paying more attention to the scenery than to combat. The soundtrack matches the surreal cuteness present everywhere else in the game. It has a mellow electropop vibe that reminds me of artists like Lemon Jelly and Ratatat. I’m really happy that the collection offers the soundtrack on a CD because it’s on repeat in my car’s stereo right now.

The collector’s edition comes with a USB game cartridge, full-color manual, soundtrack CD, four plastic poppers, a themed digital watch, some neat stickers (one of which is scratch-and-sniff) and an activity book. The game and its collection are inspired by those special Saturday mornings from your childhood, waking up on a Saturday morning to a bowl of sugary goodness and sitting on the floor to watch that new episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I couldn’t help but giggle while opening it because of how much I love little things like these. There’s even a maze on the back of the box. How fucking cool is that?! It also reminds me why I love indie titles so much: They don’t exactly need to reach the largest audience possible. That mentality can enable truly innovative style in gameplay and presentation. Do some of the AAA titles have novelties in their special editions? Sure, but they usually run a much higher bill. I implore you to try out Captain Forever Remix—your inner child will thank you.