Boomerang X by Dang! was one of those Devolver Digital titles that got my head turning immediately when I first heard of it. Nintendo Switch and PC owners are the only ones currently able to have a taste of this awesome arena shooter.
Antville
The story in Boomerang X is quite vague. You are more or less dropped blind into a world filled with mummified ants referred to as the Yoran and black creatures. Sometimes a centipede comes along making the narrative yet another bit weirder. As far as I can tell, the world was once inhabited by ants. These ants harnessed the power of a cross-shaped boomerang to get around. As you arrive on this world your hands seem to be mummified. This makes me think you are somehow linked to the original inhabitants of the world. Very soon in the adventure, you’ll get hold of a cross-shaped boomerang which will be put to use immediately. As it turns out, waves of the earlier mentioned black creatures are out to get anything that still breaths. That means you… and for some reason, not the centipede named Tepan that comes along a few times.
Learn on the job
The boomerang in Boomerang X does more than any normal boomerang. Apparently, the boomerang has mythical powers you’ll soon unlock. After you defeat each wave of enemies during your first encounter you’ll soon find out the tight combat was just a taste of what’s to come. After each arena is cleared a traversal part ensues giving you some moments to rest. On many of these occasions, you’ll be introduced to new powers to accompany your normal throws. The slingshot for example is the first new feature introduced and is handy in both battle and getting around the world. This power makes you sling yourself towards the position of your boomerang. Together with the Flux power which grants you a period of slow-motion time, this makes for an epic and often lethal attack combo.
Learn fast
Each new arena features waves of known enemies with new enemies introduced along the way. If you want to make any progress you’ll need to find the weaknesses of each enemy. The game is pretty relentless at forcing you to get good fast in order to make any progress. Learn on the job but learn it fast if you don’t want to restart each arena from the first wave. The moves you’ll be able to pull off with the boomerang are only limited by your imagination. I felt like I only scratched the surface during my time reviewing this game. I’m sure some players who put in more time will have mastered some serious attack-flowing moves by now. At first, I kept getting my timing wrong a lot but gradually started to get better. Once things started clicking and the flow was getting there… Boomerang X feels like an awesome shooter.
Hiccups
Despite me absolutely adoring the gameplay of Boomerang X, I experienced some annoyances during my time spent with the game. The game takes you from “open area” to “open area” acting as arenas. Each arena features a few waves of enemies. As the game progresses, the black creatures seem to multiply and the different types of enemies make for some frantic gameplay. As the screen starts to fill up with ooze-like creatures the game started stuttering a bit on my Nintendo Switch. For a shooter often relying on precision this started to annoy me. Especially if it resulted in me losing a chunk of my quite limited health bar. Thank god for the scattershot update which allowed me to clear multiple enemies with one shot giving the game something less to process.
Conclusion
Boomerang X has a story that didn’t make all that much sense to me. But this game isn’t about the story, it’s about the gameplay. The gameplay in this game is so awesome I didn’t mind all the rest. Flinging through the air while initiating slow-motion time and lining up the perfect shot on the weak spot of an enemy… pure bliss.
