Irukandji (PC)

An irukandji, if you didn't know, is a jellyfish. I didn't know that, but now that I do, it makes sense. That's because Irukandji (the game) is an underwater shoot-'em-up.

Beyond that, it makes as much sense as any bullet-hell shooter does. You manoeuvre up the screen as an assortment of underwater critters make their way towards you. You can fire sraightforward, or bank your ship to aim left or right. Along the way you can pick up powerups or score multipliers.

Irukandji looks lovely. Glowing, neon critters wriggle and undulate as they filter downwards. They almost look as though they've got tiny light bulbs in them. Very pretty indeed.


See? Lovely.

As for the game... I reckon it's probably a good shmup, but as yet, I'm not good enough at it to be able to judge it properly. I can sail through to the end of the level without taking a hit, whereupon a GIANT ENEMY CRAB!!! causes MASSIVE DAMAGE!!! In other words, I can't get past the end-level boss. It just spews out too many bullets for me to cope with, for now. I'm getting better at it, though, and I reckon I'll have it cracked before long.


Ooh, that's a pretty GIANT ENEMY CRAB!!!

Going by the website, that's the end of the game, which makes it quite short. But, it's a score attack game, meaning you need to go back to it repeatedly to try and maximise your scoring. The game also has achievements, and a number of different ships to unlock. I'm looking forward to seeing how these affect my scoring... if I ever get any.

Best of all, Irukandji is available from Charlie's Games on a "Pay What You Want" basis, with a minimum price of one dollar. I paid six... if you don't want to stump up, try the demo first.