Gross ‘n’ gooey shmup XMultiply returns on PS4 and Nintendo Switch

pew, pew, eww

Retro funsters Hamster have us blasting into innerspace for this week’s Arcade Archives release, with the re-release of body horror shmup XMultiply, available now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Released in Japanese arcades in 1989, just two years after Irem hit it big with the legendary R-Type, XMultiply bears more than a passing resemblance to the prior battle with the Bydo Empire. Things switch up thanks to XMultiply’s weird concepts, however, which sees the player piloting a microscopic ship – the X-002 – through the body of a man who has become infested with a strange alien parasite. Eww.

As such, players blitz through the host’s now-altered form, taking down swarms of enemies at ground and air level. XMultiply’s gimmick lies in the addition of two metallic tentacles, which can be positioned to defend the vessel from projectiles, a mechanic similar to that of NMK’s Saint Dragon, released the same year. Eventually, players will come up against the Queen of this brood, the destruction of which will save not only this poor sap, but also many other infected individuals across the planet. Weird but interesting concept.

XMultiply is available now on PS4 in Japan and Nintendo Switch worldwide, priced at around $8.