Assault Android Cactus+

I don't play the widest plethora of games, but I have the odd favorite that I come back to frequently, AAC is one of them. I was drawn to it during the time I followed what games were getting added to PS+, and though Cactus didn't make the list, I remember watching the trailer and being enthralled, I'm Sci-Fi and arcade-y-biased, and the cute characters in this setting was novel to me for its time. The experience I had back then, on PS4, where I S+'d the campaign all the way through as Holly, then as [spoiler]the first unlockable character who has a Piss Laser and micro missiles[/spoiler], then (until the last boss) as [spoiler]the third unlockable character, who is a favorite, uses a railgun & deployable mines[/spoiler]. This, the character/weapon selections & their play styles, was just fun & compelling enough for me to want to get it on PC. Strangely, I don't think the PS4 version got the 'plus' update? Anyway, this was probably one of my first experiences where, when I need to blow off steam, or calibrate my reflexes, starting this game on a dime just to shoot things in infinite mode feels therapeutic, daresay relaxing, and I'm thankful for that. And I do give credit to its 'battery' system that, as long as you keep it charged, permits any number of deaths & revivals, as something that opens accessibility(?), as I feel it may have for me. Playing this game feels smooth, and playing it well is satisfying. The environments, all* taking place on a spaceship-[spoiler]*sometimes outside of it[/spoiler] manage some variety, but you will still largely be looking at metallic, if tastefully colored and patterned, interiors. Sometimes the environments change their visual and physical shape (or attributes, like conveyors changing direction, speeding up) [i]around[/i] your presence, even in infinite mode, which looks well (though you can get caught behind walls a couple times) and does well to keep you on your toes to continue chains. I don't know if the game won awards for visuals, but if not serviceable for its time (2015), does largely compliment the gameplay IMO (a compliment as much as the game feels good to play, which it does Very Much, and its performant I think, I may have used it for laptop benchmarks??) The extra options are wonderful, so is Gamepad support, even simultaneously with someone on KB+M. The soundtrack is banger, I bought & listened to it during paid work, and it stills occupies my mind, please give it a listen. Cons- There's no online multiplayer. Though there's scoreboards, if you're looking to play this with another, you may have to rely on couch-play-netplay services and hope the internet quality is sufficient.