‘Pawarumi,’ a Tribute to the Arcade Shoot ’em Ups is Coming to Xbox One and Switch

Out next month to new consoles is a game you might not have heard of yet, and if you’re a fan of arcade and retro games, you might want to.

Pawarumi “a Neo Aztec shoot’em” is an exciting arcade game inspired by games of ye olde arcade era, the original shoot’em ups, games that pioneered what is to be an action game.

This tribute started out as a Kickstarter with a goal of €15,000 ($17,093) and reached way over with €15,918 ($18,139).

Pawarumi is a space combat/scroller shooter game similar to that of Gradius and in a way; Spacewar! Set in a “retro-futuristic sci-fi pre-Columbian universe” (oof, that’s a mouthful). You take control of the mighty ship “Chukaru” and it’s three unique weapons. This revival of a genre is brought to you by French developers Manufacture 43 and have received positive feedback on Steam and has won a few awards.

Gradius’ similar scrolling space combat style.

A similar game that ventured into this reinvention is Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, so you might enjoy this if you liked that. This game is more grounded in its roots however and, unfortunately, it is only single-player as well as having less customizability, but is still very enjoyable.

Strategize your attacks against enemies with the optimal weapon to maximize damage, charge your super attack and heal your shield. This game is fast-paced, challenging and for a fun but strategic experience.

If you like the sound of this game you’ll be happy to know that it comes out to Switch for $14.99 and Xbox One (price not yet available) July 24.

But if you can’t wait for home console, it is already on Mac, Linux, and Windows via Steam (sorry, PS4 fans).