Mirage Feathers sends players hurtling straight towards fast-moving spaceships, oncoming missiles, and overwhelming gunfire.
Notari is looking for a missing friend, and anything that gets in her way is getting blasted to bits. I’m guessing her good buddy is someone pretty important, as the sheer forces that get sent out to stop you are pretty powerful. Much of this game is spent staring down an array of different enemy ships that come at you in a hurry, their gunfire filling the screen as you scramble to keep out of the way. You do have a quick dodge button, but safe spots can be hard to find when there’s missiles and shots all over the place.
Dodging takes energy, which is also a bit of a problem. You have an energy bar that fuels your abilities, so whether you want to get away from a shot or use your own powerful attacks, you’ll be drawing from that bar. It refills as you strike down enemies, so keeping up your offense is vital to continuing to put out damage. Thankfully you have several lock-on abilities (including infinite ammo missiles that don’t cost energy so you’re never totally out of luck), but your better abilities will cost you. This makes every stage feel like a careful balancing act as you pour on the damage while trying to save some energy to keep yourself from getting shot down.
Mirage Feathers is requires your full attention as you soar over its landscapes, as there is stuff coming at you all the time. Weaving through all of it while returning fire is incredibly exhilarating, although it’s the sort of thing I can’t play before bed because it feels like the explosions are still going off in my head when I close my eyes afterwards. It borders on being overwhelming, but it’s hard to deny that it’s also tremendously fun to play.
Mirage Feathers is available now on Steam.
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