Shoot 'em ups are an ever growing genre on the Nintendo Switch. Titles like Graceful Explosion Machine have brought back a retro feel that goes unmatched. Looking to make its own mark on the genre is Earth Atlantis, a title developed by Pixel Perfex. It tells the horrific tale of our planet being completely flooded, where the only chance of survival is to explore concise underwater areas while destroying every single thing in your path. It’s a fun game, even if its appeal does lessen over time.

In Earth Atlantis, you control a submarine as you explore the depths of a post-apocalyptic Earth. After choosing one of many underwater vehicles, you will be utilizing your map in order to find your next objective and fight a variety of gigantic bosses along the way. From the moment I started, I got sucked in by its gameplay loop. Basically, you are hopping from encounter to encounter, while defeating smaller enemies in between. Quest Mode sees you constantly going to new smaller areas and clear the objectives at hand. Gameplay was easy to understand and played perfect in short bursts when you have time to kill.

Progression through Quest Mode really gets your blood pumping. Many challenging encounters await as you try to defeat 38 different bosses. Many of the battles require absolute concentration, but they tend to prove to be the most enjoyable. Sadly, a few battles are going to test your patience. In those instances, you find yourself almost instantly killed. Considering that you will need to start your current area over, it becomes incredibly frustrating. Naturally, it’s not easy to balance a game, but a few difficulty spikes feel like an incredible oversight. This will prove even more disastrous in the Hunter Mode. It’s here that you fight the bosses one after one another and that goes as well as you would think.

Despite some shortcomings in the bosses battles, the tight control your ship is spot on. Your submarine has some solid weight to it, which makes gameplay very enjoyable. The levels have this rather open structure with small hallways. Without any problem, I got from point A to B in no time flat. The shooting mechanics adapt to the various power-ups well. You will shoot in various directions with a singular button and experience various types of weapons. While the presentation looks quite nice, it’s only fully appreciated when you play it. The various details in the background are incredible and dipped in this sepia color. Sadly, the soundtrack feels rather lacking with only a single song playing in the overworld. The boss tracks, however, are quite solid.

Earth Atlantis does a lot of things right. The weight of controls are great and the play-by-play experience is good fun. While I wish they had evened out the bosses somewhat, they are still thrilling encounters that prove enjoyable. A couple of the bosses certainly need to be patched and this is why I can't recommend playing through Hunter Mode right now. With all due respect, dealing with a couple of those bosses is just a little too much. If you’re prepared for a few difficulty spikes and still want to go on a grand adventure, Earth Atlantis will provide a fun experience.