A couple of weeks back, I did a Q&A with the dev of the new Project X game, Project X: Light Years. I guess that I had better follow that up with a preview of the game too. After playing the demo (available on Steam), I thought that I should share my thoughts.

“In partnership with Team17, an official entry in the Project X series. A modern reimagining of the classic Amiga side-scrolling shooter. Engage in space combat as you navigate through visually stunning environments, swarms of enemies, and upgrade your arsenal to become the ultimate space fighter”

The first thing that hit me was the wave of nostalgia as I looked at the very ’90s title screen. I was instantly taken back to a time when I’d stay up late playing on the Amiga. Then, the memory of just how bloody difficult the original Project X was soon slapped me in the face. Thankfully, Project X: Light Years offers three difficulty settings with rookie, arcade and pro, so I could ease myself in and warm up my rusty skills before daring to go “old school”. Still, I decided to just dive right in and try the demo on pro for a real nostalgic blast. What can I say, I’m a gaming masochist. Then, after about 5 minutes of playing, I had to knock the difficulty back to the arcade setting. It turns out that my reactions and hand-eye coordination as a now 48-year-old are not quite as sharp as back in 1992.

With a more comfortable difficulty setting, Project X: Light Years became much more manageable. I think I need to get some practice in before I dare go back to pro though. This game looks gorgeous. There is still that iconic Team 17 art style, but now with a glossy HD makeover and crammed with detail. There’s this really nice depth-of-field effect where the background and foreground scenery are blurry. You can even see waves of enemies in the background before they get thrown into the action. There is a lot going on and all the details really help to build an atmospheric world. Even at this stage, the game is looking very nice.

The gameplay is smooth and frantic, classic shoot ’em up action. The familiar weapons are back and everything feels very Project X, but with modern refinements that inject a modern edge, without ruining the DNA of the game. There are some new features, like random power-ups, an energy beam weapon and more. I did notice that there was no option to refine the buttons on the controller. You can change the keys if you play using the keyboard, but not if you use a gamepad – unless I’ve overlooked it. There are a couple of button changes that I’d like to make to suit my own play style. It would be nice to see gamepad button refinement as an option in the final game.

I think that the demo gives you a great taste of things to come, but without spoiling too much. If you liked the original Project X, give the demo a go, it’s great nostalgic fun with just the right amount of modernization to keep things fresh. Get this game on your wishlist too. I only played it for an hour, I want to save my enjoyment and more in-depth views for a full review with the full release. There’s still a lot to see with Project X: Light Years when the game is released next year, but it’s looking great so far and I can’t wait to play it proper in 2025.