PEGBRJE: Cosmic Rochambo and NEXT JUMP: Shmup Tactics
We’re in space again. AGAIN.
Cosmic Rochambo is a neon fueled ring fighter made by Sean Dick, creator of the previous bundle title Rebop Blasters. Which is also on the same page as this game. That’s not spooky. Either way, this is the predecessor to Rebop Blasters, where players attempt to knock each other out of the ring and into the exterior oblivion known as space while being watched by a triangle eye that is totally not the Illuminati.
The fundamentals that players may remember from Rebop Blasters appear to have been honed and refined within Cosmic Rochambo, as the floating movement and charging mechanics are here once again. Unlike in Rebop Blasters, however, the charging is only used during the dodge mechanic, which doubles as its attack at the same time. Instead of attacking with ranged attacks or punches, players will just throw their bodies at each other to knock the other out of the ring, hoping their momentum will carry them. There is also the unique interaction that there will be times when both players come together in an intense battle, where inputting the correct sequence of actions first will determine the victor as the sprites punch the daylights out of each other. This also halts any ‘negative’ momentum the victor may have been experiencing thanks to their opponent, so it’s a good save if one can win with it.
Cosmic Rochambo laid the groundwork for Rebopo Blasters, and as such is a smaller and more compact title that focuses solely on the movement based mechanics that would be transformed later. The hallucinogenic graphics are quite fun to watch and experience, although the lack of music does make the airspace feel a tad empty. Nevertheless, if you need a dispute settled or just really enjoyed Rebop Blasters and wish to check out more of Sean Dick’s works, then by all means have a shot with Cosmic Rochambo.
NEXT JUMP: Shmup Tactics is a tactical shoot em up by Post Mortem Pixels, a Brazillian studio that doubles as a label of indie titles. Players are brought within a universe in which humans, orcs, elves and dwarves fought against each other for years until they discovered the ‘elixir’, which brought them all together in harmony. Unfortunately, dragons appeared and snatched the beverages away due to an apparent addiction — something they should really seek therapy for — and it is up to the players to chase down these space dragon motherships to recover their precious drinks.
NEXT JUMP’s coined phrase of ‘Shmup Tactics’ is an apt description of what it is attempting to do; bring shoot em up titles to those of us that are terrified of them. Players are in a turn based action title, where each ‘JUMP’ they make puts them onto a grid with dozens of enemies and scrap cluttering the screen. Instead of deftly avoiding thousands of bullets flying throughout the screen, players must manage their energy bar instead which dictates how much they can move before the enemy does; this includes enemy bullets as well. Destroying enemy ships allows for players to loot their energy, so turns can become a lengthier ordeal of calculating which ships to destroy to optimally kill everything on the board. This is important as well due to the fact that there are only 3 ‘turns’ during each JUMP, so after three turns players move on to the sector they determined beforehand, leaving behind any scrap that they did not collect. It doubles down on the sense of puzzle to optimally create situations where players can collect as much scrap as possible while keeping the theme of shoot em ups by giving dozens of enemies to shoot and bullets to avoid.
Outside of JUMPs is a supplementary area involving the cockpit of the ship that players are piloting, which brings a fun rogue-like twist to the game and genre as a whole. Players decide where they wish to go based on a star map, with each destination requiring one ‘JUMP’ to complete the travel process. The farther players wish to go, the more JUMPs must be done in sequence to make it there safely, balancing out risk with the reward of the travel. Many stops have randomized events that can occur that can either reward or harm the player, adding even more risk to the endeavor. The most common stop attraction, however, is the weapon and upgrades shops, which can be used to buy new weaponry, fix the hull and upgrade existing ship parts for scrap collected during JUMPs. There are bunches of options to choose from such as mines, different guns, and more but I found myself usually utilizing the initial blaster the most; if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, as it were.
My first ever run of NEXT JUMP ended by an accidental stray bullet that I flew into, which summarizes just how close a tactical shmup feels to a real time one. There were some hiccups along the way, but I genuinely felt as if I was able to play a shoot em up and focus on some form of strategy, rather than just memorization and muscle reaction time. The added bonus of the rogue-like FTL travel sequences was a fantastic touch to keep the game feeling fresh and varied with every playthrough. As advertised, if you have a coffee break that you wish to kill 15–20 minutes, NEXT JUMP is a fantastic hybrid game to pass the time.
