Choplifter HD Review Summary

A fun and addictive remake with impressive visuals, but its excessive difficulty, poor controls, and weak sound design hold it back.

Game is fun and addictive: Players consistently describe the game as fun, addictive, and entertaining, with many noting its simple concept and direct enjoyment. The gameplay is praised for being solid, challenging, and providing hours of humor and fun.

Great remake of classic: The game is widely recognized as a faithful and improved remake of the original Choplifter, capturing the essence and nostalgia of the arcade classic while modernizing graphics and gameplay. It honors the original's name and preserves its classic flavor.

Graphics are impressive: Many reviews highlight the game's beautiful and improved graphics, noting the nice visual aesthetic and the effective 3D view on 2D gameplay. The visuals are described as refreshing, detailed, and surprisingly advanced, contributing to the overall positive experience.

Variety of helicopters and enemies: Players appreciate the good variety of helicopters and enemies, with unlockable and upgradeable choppers that have distinct characteristics. The game offers diverse locations, missions, and helicopter models, enhancing replayability and engagement.

Humorous dialogue and characters: The game's comedic dialogue, especially between pilots and co-pilots, is frequently praised for adding humor and entertainment. The humorous comments and surprise guests contribute to the game's charm and fun atmosphere.

Game is excessively difficult: Many players report that the game is extremely hard, even on easy or normal difficulty, with some calling it 'insane' or 'too hardcore.' This difficulty often leads to frustration and anger, and it may alienate casual gamers.

Controls are poorly designed: The controls, especially aiming, are widely criticized as bad, broken, or not user-friendly. Mouse aiming is reported to not work correctly, and the auto-aim system makes it hard to target specific enemies.

Sound and voice acting are poor: The sound design, including the machine gun sound, is underwhelming or annoying. Voice acting and dialogue are also criticized as terrible, with poorly-written jokes and repeated lines.

Game feels unfinished or dated: Several players feel the game is like a beta, with quirks, flaws, and dated graphics and mechanics. Some say it feels like a 1995 release, lacking the charm of the original Choplifter.

Lack of variety and depth: Players note that missions are monotonous and similar, with a lack of different choppers and gameplay modes. The game quickly becomes a grinding chore, and there are no bosses at the end of level groups.

Helicopter action remake: The game is a helicopter action game and a remake of the classic Choplifter, featuring various helicopter models and upgrades. Players control combat helicopters to rescue soldiers, civilians, and a reporter.

Side-scrolling shooter gameplay: The game is a side-scrolling shooter where players move left and right, engaging enemies and completing objectives. It retains an old-school arcade feel with side-scrolling mechanics.

Star-based progression system: The game uses a star rating system to unlock better helicopters, campaigns, and missions. Players earn stars by completing missions, which gates access to more powerful helicopters.

Simple yet challenging gameplay: The game is simple in its basic premise and graphics, but it becomes more challenging with each stage. The difficulty increases as players progress, offering a pick-up-and-play experience that is also addicting.

Varied mission objectives: Missions include rescue, escape, bombing, escort, and target destruction. Objectives vary, such as rescuing civilians, war reporters, and military prisoners, or fighting zombie waves.

Runs well on low-end hardware: The game is very light and runs even on a cart, and it performs well on Intel HD Graphics 3000. This suggests the game is well-optimized for modest systems.

Resolution and compatibility quirks: The game must be played at 1080p resolution and is not perfectly ultra-wide compatible, but mostly works. This suggests some display limitations that may affect certain users.

Performance issues on some systems: The game fails to start and shows as running on certain setups, indicating a compatibility problem. This is a significant issue for affected players.

Steam Deck runs well: The game otherwise runs great on Steam Deck, indicating good performance on the handheld device. This is a positive note for portable play.

Recommended for original fans: Fans of the original Choplifter, whether from arcade, Commodore 64, Atari, or MSX, are strongly encouraged to play this remake. It successfully captures the nostalgic feel.

Good value for money: Players find the game reasonably priced, especially when discounted. It is considered a good buy at sale prices.

Worth trying out: The game is recommended to give a try, especially if it looks interesting from videos. It is worth trying and recommended to friends and family.

Challenging for hardcore players: The game offers a severe old-school challenge, appealing to players who find stress fun and think modern games are too casual. It is recommended for those seeking a tough experience.

Suitable for retro enthusiasts: Players who enjoy older helicopter flying games or remember classic characters like Hartley Hare and Topov the Monkey will find this game appealing. It is a must-buy for retro junkies.

Community fair range: $5.00 - $10.00.

Game completion: 10.0h.

Choplifter is generally fun from the start, offering pick-up-and-play arcade action with a forgiving learning curve, though a few players find the learning curve steep or controls poor.

Friction: steep learning curve; bad controls; repetitive enemies.

Retro Nostalgia Veteran: Uses a controller, accepts old-school difficulty, enjoys the co-pilot humor and simple graphics. Motivation: Nostalgia and reliving the classic Choplifter experience. Stance: buy.

Hardcore Challenge Seeker: Restarts levels multiple times, uses a controller, embraces chaotic combat and damage. Motivation: The thrill of overcoming severe old-school challenges and proving skill. Stance: buy.

Achievement Completionist: Buys DLC for the best helicopter, grinds for stars, optimizes loadouts. Motivation: Completing levels with 5 stars and earning achievements. Stance: buy.

Monetization: The reviews show a game with optional DLC helicopters and level packs, but no evidence of microtransactions, pay-to-win mechanics, gacha, or currency obfuscation. Players earn upgrades through gameplay, and DLC is not required to complete the game. Complaints about DLC value and difficulty are present but do not indicate predatory monetization.

Remake of classic Choplifter: Multiple reviews identify the game as a modern remake or remaster of the original 1982 Choplifter, with comparisons to various versions like arcade, Sega, and Commodore 64. This is the most common theme across clusters.

DLC content criticized: Some reviews criticize the DLC, noting that it should have been in the base game, and that the developers exaggerated the number of helicopters. Others mention that DLC helicopters are specialized and some are free.

Nostalgic for old versions: Reviewers express nostalgia for the original Choplifter games on Master System, SNES, and arcades, with some having played them on NES and SNES before. This nostalgia influences their perception of the remake.

Game delisted and unavailable: Several reviews note that the game has been delisted from Steam and can no longer be purchased, with the company seemingly ignoring its existence. This is a significant issue for potential buyers.

Hidden objectives and easter eggs: The game includes hidden objectives and easter eggs, such as rescuing reporter Scoop Sanderson and his cameraman, and references to other games like Duke Nukem. This adds replay value.