How do you improve upon the shoot-em up genre? At this point in time, the genre has effectively long-since been perfected and the only thing left to do is remix what has been done. The core pillar of the concept is utterly simple, and there is no room for improvement.
The only distinguishing characteristics among games in the genre are the slight differences in control and playability. Even power-ups have run their course and reached their fullest range of ideas. What can shooters do to be more than just competent? There is no shortage of retro-inspired shoot-em ups and simply standing out can be enough to get you by. Can Exo-Calibre manage to overcome the stagnation? Find out in our Exo-Calibre review!
Exo-Calibre
Developer: Vampixel
Publisher: East Asiasoft Limited
Platforms: Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
Release Date: June 25, 2025
Price: $6.99
Exo-Calibre’s generic ‘humanity vs. rogue AI’ setup barely resonates, with forgettable dialogue and no real narrative pull. While the anime girls shine in charming portrait art, they appear as standard flying ships during combat. The story mode’s dialogue feels excessive for its simplistic tale, and the flat humor doesn’t do it any favors.
Stages feel repetitive, recycling enemy waves and environments without enough flair to stand out. While the mechanics are solid, they lack innovation, leaning too hard on typical shoot-em up conventions without adding a fresh spin. Players control one of three Ex-Calibre Knights piloting exo-mechs, navigating vertically-scrolling stages filled with enemy waves and bullet hell patterns.
The controls are responsive, allowing precise movement to dodge dense projectile barrages. Each mech has a primary shot (auto-firing) and a secondary melee weapon, adding a slight twist to the standard shmup formula. The melee attack, while novel, is situational, often overshadowed by the primary focus on shooting due to its limited range and utility in fast-paced encounters.
The melee attack is less so for offense and meant for defense. Gamers are expected to attack incoming bullets as a countermeasure when things get too spicy as the screen is packed with deadly fire.
Replay value runs anemic, with Arcade and Rush modes not evolving enough to keep things engaging past a few runs. Compared to shmup titans like Radiant Silvergun or even modern indies like ZeroRanger, Exo-Calibre plays it too safe, delivering a competent but uninspired experience that’s more of a fleeting distraction than a genre classic.
The game balances accessibility and challenge with checkpoints in the story mode and continues to lower the entry barrier, while Arcade and Rush modes cater to skilled players with tighter constraints. The difficulty lacks granular options, which may alienate both newcomers and veterans.
To balance the lack of difficulty options, players earn currency to buy upgrades, lives, or hit points. These lite RPG elements are the most distinguishing characteristics Exo-Calibre has since it has generic shoot-em up gameplay.
The cute anime girl drawings aren’t enough to make this one stand out from the crowd. There is no shortage of sex appeal in the shoot-em up genre and if you picked one blindly, there’s a good chance it would feature some tawdry anime girl in the key art.
There are so many shoot-em ups out there that you couldn’t possibly play them all in a single lifetime. Exo-Calibre is as milquetoast as they come. It’s merely functional and adequate, without any guts to stand out.
Exo-Calibre was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a code provided by East Asiasoft Limited. Additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy is here. Exo-Calibre is now available for Windows PC (via STEAM), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.
