Null Vector is an arcade-style game. The game is played with both hands on the keyboard instead of using a hand on the mouse. This makes the learning curve in the very beginning a bit steep, but once you got this under control, the game plays very well. The objective of the game is to go through all the dimensions.
You start of in a room with one or more exits, some exits have a number on them others can have a symbol. The numbers are indicators for the number of waves of enemies you will get in said room. The symbols can mean a treasure room with an upgrade for your “ship”. And yes, the little arrow you control is called a ship. Other symbols can mean there is a challenge or boss fight in the next room.
Upgrades can be different weapons, or a different behavior for your bullets (ricochet) or even a helper bot that follows you around and helps you kill your foes. After you’ve completed a few levels you will sometimes find a green corner. If you go into this corner, you’ll transfer to the next dimension. Whenever you die the whole game resets and you have to start from the beginning.
By beating enemies, you can sometimes find crystals, with these crystals you can buy back some health at specific locations or even get more max health. Sometimes you get the option to give up some health for crystals instead to then be able to buy some special upgrades. But beware this game is very hard. This means that you will need all the health you can get.
Now for my own experience with the game, it’s a bit awkward to control your ship in the beginning. That’s because you need both hands on the keyboard. You can also play with two players but then you need to connect controllers. This makes the gameplay a lot smoother than with both hands in an awkward position on your keyboard. If you play single player with a keyboard you will get a serious challenge. I had fun with this game but in my opinion, it is a bit too bland. Its design is just a bit too simple. It feels a bit like a school project rather than a complete and finished game. And the choice of the 80’s arcade style is just a bit of an easy way out. However, the arcade style looks very authentic.