Review of 'Nitro Express', a 2D gun action game that combines pixel art beautiful girls and tough battles
Grayfax Software, the developer of the elaborate pixel art RPG
Nitro Express | Game | PLAYISM Official Site
https://playism.com/game/nitro-express/
Steam: Nitro Express
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3088250/Nitro_Express/
The title screen of Nitro Express looks like this. This game is in the form of missions, and there is a tutorial mission at the beginning of the story, so let's get started right away.
This game also supports keyboard and mouse controls, but I played it with a gamepad. In the tutorial, you can learn the basic controls: move with the left stick, aim 360 degrees with the right stick, and shoot with the RT button.
Complete the tutorial and begin the main story missions.
When you start a mission, a movie will play. The game is set in Uchitoro City, a special administrative district of Tokyo, and the protagonists are set as members of the Uchitoro City Police Department's anti-companion special unit, which handles the problem of autonomous drones called 'companions' or 'exceptional vehicles.'
Next, change your equipment. There are four types of weapons that can be brought to the mission: two guns and two gadgets such as grenades. You need to unlock them to change your weapon, but you can't get the funds to unlock them until you clear the mission, so this time I just went out as I was.
The battle has begun.
When you attack an enemy companion with a weapon, their HP will decrease, and when they run out of HP you can defeat them.
All the interfaces related to the battle are concentrated in the bottom left of the screen, such as equipped weapons and their remaining ammo, and the HP bar of the controlled character, which decreases when the controlled character receives damage. If the controlled character's HP bar runs out, the mission will be failed.
If you play the movie below, you can see how the game actually plays out.
As we progressed through the mission, a large armored target, or boss, appeared.
I tried to advance through the battle by making use of rolling evasions, which are possible by moving left and right while crouching with the LT button, but I had a hard time because a fully automatic gun can only deal 1 damage.
Against such heavily armored enemies, it is effective to attack with weapons that have high single-shot power, such as by switching guns with the Y button or using gadgets such as grenades with the RB button.
You barely manage to win and clear the mission. Funds are awarded based on points gained from defeating enemies and points lost from being hit.
The following missions have been unlocked:
The basic flow of the game is to use the money earned from the previous mission to purchase new weapons and take on new battles.
The
For example, in Metal Slug, the controlled character has high mobility, but there is no rolling dodge, and basically one hit from an enemy attack results in an instant miss, whereas in Nitro Express, it is assumed that a certain number of hits will be taken.
After playing for a few hours, the editors at Casual Gamer felt that it was a pretty difficult game. The controls took some getting used to, and it was hard to get the hang of them intuitively.
Also, as mentioned above, rapid-fire weapons are almost ineffective against some enemies, but that doesn't mean you should just keep using weapons with high firepower. Weapons with high firepower, such as shotguns, take time to reload, so you need to switch weapons accurately in the middle of an intense firefight to efficiently advance in battle.
In addition, the reward for clearing the mission is halved due to the damage received, making it difficult to upgrade weapons. However, it is possible to earn money by repeating missions that have already been cleared.
There is an option to change the difficulty level, but it didn't seem to make the game any easier.
Summary
Nitro Express is a challenging game that is not recommended for everyone, despite its catchy graphics and story that unfolds through witty interactions between characters. Therefore, I felt that it was a game that was suitable for experienced gamers and those who like to take on difficult challenges.
The PC version of Nitro Express has been available on Steam since May 19, 2025 (Monday), and the price is 1,300 yen including tax. Until June 2 (Monday), there will be a 10% discount in the release commemorative sale, with the price at 1,170 yen including tax.
Steam: Nitro Express
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