X-Out Resurfaced
PC/PS/XBOX/SWITCH
2/20/25
KRITZELKRATZ 3000/Rainbow Arts/ININ
We live in an age where what’s old is new again! From classic movie franchises being revisited in modern times (for better or worse) to video games of the '80s and '90s finding new life on modern machines, nostalgia still sells—well, for the most part. Alright, so maybe some things should stay in the past, but it's hard not to get giddy about some of our favorite old gaming franchises returning after years of hiatus. Consider the recently announced new Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden games, for example, which I am absolutely ecstatic about.
SHMUPs are not immune to "rising from the grave" either! Just look at the somewhat recently released Andro Dunos 2, a sequel to a nearly 30-year-old Neo-Geo title from the early '90s—now that's a deep cut! Or how about the topic of today’s video, X-Out Resurfaced, a remake of an underwater arcade-style shoot-'em-up that dates back to 1989. But should X-Out have stayed in the past, or does this modern remake offer a fresh, interstellar experience that no space shooter fan should miss? Let’s find out in our full review!
The original X-Out was released on the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts and quickly ported to the Amiga, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, and Amstrad CPC during 1990. Whew, some of those platforms might sound like a foreign language to a few of you watching. Ziggurat Interactive gained the rights to the game back in 2022, and they are finally putting them to use with this "resurfaced" version, as they have branded it.
X-Out stood out for a few different reasons. Firstly, the game takes place entirely underwater. While plenty of shmups have had levels under the sea before and since, it wasn’t all that common to see a shooter of this style set entirely underwater for its total duration back then. Secondly, this isn’t your typical life-based arcade shoot-'em-up. Between each level, you are sent to a shop where you can acquire new submarines that essentially act as in-game lives. You can also upgrade these vessels in a variety of ways using a set budget earned based on your performance through the levels, of which there are eight in total. These features helped X-Out feel unique, and critics took notice as the game was quite well received. Since its release, it has also gathered a cult following of fans who appreciate its unusual yet well-implemented changes to the familiar gameplay loop.
X-Out Resurfaced mostly plays it safe, staying true to the original game while offering some nice improvements that make things a bit more playable for modern times. Let’s first talk about the visual changes to this version, which involve newly remade sprites that have been brought up to modern resolutions. The results are nice but don’t look drastically different when compared to the Amiga version, which, in fairness, is probably what most retro enthusiasts would want anyway. Lighting and particle effects have also been improved and are perhaps the most noticeable difference. However, for the most part, this didn’t feel like a massive overhaul to me and more like a decent tune-up.
And then there’s the sound, originally composed by the legendary Chris Huelsbeck, who returns to remaster his original offerings. The game also features a few new tracks, and you have the option to listen to the classic versions if you end up preferring them. All of the music in the game is fantastic, full of soaring melodies and thumping electronic beats. I’d expect no less from a legendary musician, and the remastered versions here are all excellent and faithful to the original OST. The explosive action is just as crunchy as ever too—in fact, almost too crunchy by default. With the game starting out with the volume and sound effects maxed out, I had to adjust the in-game sliders to prevent the entire mix from sounding like a muddy mess. Thankfully, after tuning them to around 50 percent, things were sounding as blissful as they should.
But just how does X-Out Resurfaced play, you might wonder, especially considering the fact that it is ultimately still a decades-old game? The answer is, it plays very much like most SHMUPs of its time, outside of the shop mechanic that I mentioned earlier. Your main goal remains to blast down enemies on a scrolling screen while dodging bullets and other environmental hazards that seek to ruin your day. And just as you would expect, the game is soul-crushingly difficult, at least on default settings. Each level ends in a boss fight, and once you finish all 8 levels, you've beaten the game. Yay!
Players can hold down a single button to fire away endlessly, thank God. However, there’s an element of strategy here that I haven’t personally seen in too many arcade shooters before. Between levels, you can add new submarines to your inventory and spend money on upgrading them however you wish. This means selecting from a variety of different guns, secondary weapons, and even satellites that will aid you during each run. It’s a delicate dance deciding how to spend your funds, figuring out which purchases will give you the best chances of surviving. Do I put my funds into making one or two submarines awesome? Or do I have four or five that are modestly decent? This is part of the fun of the game, and I greatly enjoyed this mechanic. Making things a bit more straightforward for this version are prebuilt loadouts, which are available as well. These come ready to go without the need for manually selecting guns and deciding where to place them—which, to be honest, isn’t really that complicated anyway.
You’ll need every advantage you can get, because this SHMUP won’t show you any mercy. Enemies will bombard you with bullets, making dodging and learning enemy patterns essential to maintaining your health bar. However, the biggest threat might be the environment itself. Crashing into a pillar or wall often leads to an instant, unceremonious death that will break your spirits immediately. I found myself more petrified of crashing into a random rock in a cave than any of the game's bosses, which are fairly manageable in comparison. Not all levels are created equal, though, as the game does have some balancing issues, with the challenge level fluctuating from somewhat manageable to completely maddening. It’s a bit odd to struggle through level 5 only to cruise through later areas.
Mercifully, you can cruise through all of them if you struggle enough. After enough deaths, you’ll unlock more accessibility options via a colorful trainer menu—a hilarious callback to hacked screens. From having more money to spend to full-on invincibility, these options ensure that anyone will be able to complete the game. However, using any of these trainer modes will result in being unable to earn achievements. Even still, it’s great to have options, and using some of these serves as a nice way to learn level layouts.
Wanting to play with a friend? Well, I have good news: a 2-player mode is available for local co-op. On top of that, there is a mirror mode where the screen will scroll in reverse. This is a nice option if you’ve grown tired of playing through the same 8 levels in the traditional way. The mirror mode definitely threw my head for a loop, but I thought it was a cool and welcome addition. There are leaderboards too, but unfortunately, they didn’t appear to have any online connectivity at the time of this review, meaning they serve as local bragging rights only.
On a technical level, I previously mentioned a few sound issues, but I also encountered one run-ending bug where I defeated a boss, but the game didn’t want to advance to the next level. It was only the second level, so this wasn’t a huge deal, but it's worth noting. Additionally, for some odd reason, the option to input my initials into the leaderboard menu didn’t always appear despite setting new high scores. These were both pretty minor bugs that I am sure will be ironed out in no time. Performance was otherwise good with no slowdown or frame drops, and the game plays great on Steam Deck too outside of two of the developer intro screens not displaying properly at the time of this review, for those who prefer a handheld experience.
For fans of the original game, X-Out: Resurfaced is a very solid rendition of a classic SHMUP that many gamers might not have even known existed. While the level design is merely decent and the difficulty can be unforgiving depending on the level, it remains a fascinating release from a historical perspective. This is a game made with love for fans of the original. More casual arcade shoot-'em-up players who aren’t into retro games may not find it as interesting as I did, and this version is certainly not perfect, but I, for one, am glad a 2025 version of this classic exists. Its unique underwater setting and submarine upgrade system still remain entertaining and feel fresh and exciting all these years later. For all you old-school gamers out there, X-Out: Resurfaced offers a look back into the past while still providing plenty of fun in the present.
GOOD
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