Sektori is a maddeningly good arcade twin-stick shooter the likes of which we rarely get to see. Top-tier action and design, with fun nooks and crannies, a lot to pay attention to, and several play modes. This is a core, gameplay-first type of game, and it deserves to be experienced by any arcade-style twin-stick fans, but especially those wanting an intense, high-engagement experience (and not just because the developer and their testers have no concept of what lower difficulty feels like or is for ;). If you worry about the challenge level or are unfamiliar with this kind of game, play Waves (free since the dev passed away) and Assault Android Cactus (typically priced much too low during sales), but don't forget to come back to Sektori. It will be worth it. I wish people didn't so constantly compare Sektori to Geometry Wars. It's clearly very inspired by GW, sure, and a lot of people still seem to just think GW is what twin-sticks are, but frankly, no GW was even remotely this good or well-designed of a game. It's like someone getting a Lamborghini and saying "It's basically my Chevy Nova, but better." It's really not. So, several modes to unlock, three ship types, and various modifiers (for the "classic" side mode) and upgrades (for the main, campaign mode). You do have to pass the first boss to be allowed to unlock more, and that is no trivial feat, as the lowest difficulty is still pretty bonkers and bosses here come directly from hell as far as I can tell, but after that hurdle, the path to side mode unlocks is pretty friendly (you basically just need to play a new side mode to unlock the next side mode), and at least you don't get the same boss every time in campaign (always a nice feature to see) so maybe you'll get one of the less-savage ones sometime... The ship types do seem like restrictive unlocks though, and mutators require accumulating achievements, which becomes hard to add to quite quickly. I expect a good number of players won't get to enjoy all the toys the game has to offer, simply because the dev closed the gates on them (for reference, check the "Transcendent" achievement for stats on how many buyers have all three ships unlocked). That said, apparently there's some konami code nonsense thrown in which one can use to skip the unlocking, hopefully without any other consequences. Also, while there are some modestly roguelite-style aspects to play with via upgrade "decks", it also allows the option for pure arcade runs. Upgrade decks are sixteen preset card trios (half start unlocked, the rest come fairly easily from achievements), and you take exactly eight into a campaign run to draw from when you catch evolution powerups, in a variation on the ever-invasive pick three gimmick. Cards do not repeat here, though, so while you can randomly get "rare" card versions with boosted stats, your decks offer a fixed set of upgrades that come in a varying order, not an unlimited/ever-increasing power stack. Rather inexplicably, "arcade" mode is triggered not by selection but by manually discarding each of your available decks wholesale, which takes three evolutions to accomplish, so it's a very strange option, but still fully supported by the game. Arcade has its own leaderboard (and that's without even offering separate leaderboards for the three difficulties despite the major run differences). Of course, arcade mode is quite formidable since you just throw away your bonus upgrades and then play the same game. On side modes, I feel these are getting under-appreciated and need some specific callouts, because while campaign is amazing, the side modes do deliver solid value and show their own surprising design nuance, both in the play mechanics and the achievements (and extra in-game-only achievements via "medals" that sadly don't receive proper treatment on Steam due to a needless and frustrating parity with console achievement limits). A number of these side-mode achievements will focus your attention (sometimes obliquely) on interesting aspects of the mode and/or the game, so they are worth spending some time attempting. "Classic" -- A whole arcade game by itself, and notably more accessible than the main game, especially with added "mutator" options (scores only count for leaderboards if you play straight, which is a shame because a few similarly blessed mutator sets would have added significant value among twin-sick friends). If Campaign is too much, this is still solid stuff, and there's an option for shifting arenas that adds back some of the campaign's stylish shape variation. "Surge" -- Briefly boosted attack power from pickups, with modest power otherwise, this mode is all about managing bursty clearing, and is an excellent and intense reduction of the main action. "Gates" -- No shots or dash attack, just explosions from flying through gates that spawn, but in this game's variation, you also have explosions from pickups that float toward you, and leading them to where you need extra clearing adds a surprising touch to the gameplay. "Crash" -- This mode is all about the dash attack, which you can do in chains of three, and need to maximize because it and pickup explosions are all you have. Great positional and timing oriented action, here. "Assault" -- Overwhelming force meets as many enemies as you think you can survive, this mode plays a fixed sequence but lets you trigger the next wave whenever you want, so play sedate or tell the game to bring it. "Boss Rush" -- Unfortunately, while the rest of the game is full of clever interest, the bosses are deliberately overwhelming and tiresomely processional affairs meant to grind you down with mistakes over their multi-stage sequences of flashing vulnerable points, and the game basically admits it has no ideas beyond varying the abuse as all you can do in campaign or the side mode is attack the designated points in the assigned order, and not take even one hit while doing so. Anything less, and kiss your score goodbye, you casual. No attempt at achievements or embellishments for the side mode, just bosses all in a randomly ordered row for you to practice getting pasted by without having a run on the line. That said, the amount of boss variation is maddeningly impressive, and you'll appreciate the opportunity to focus on practice, if not the sheer amount of hours needed. I've never liked the Gradius-style upgrade system (where upgrade pickups are currency, increasing your available upgrade tier until you "activate" the upgrade to take what comes from that tier), which I originally took as a caveat on an otherwise great game. What you aren't told, though, is that activating an upgrade instantly refreshes your all-important dash attack, which flips the whole thing on its head. Instead of feeling like a drag on upgrading, the game brings selecting an upgrade out into the action, and it works . Your dash is also instant refreshed by hitting a pickup or pad with it, so even the extra pickups per upgrade aspect just becomes more opportunities for free dashes. It's the exact same mechanic, but instead of being a minor pain point, it fits and adds brilliantly. Sektori is full of surprisingly subtle nuances like that, despite a package that appears functionally pedestrian, and it's just a real treat to play. I don't know what possesses a dev to dedicate such effort to making a game this great in such a niche space (solidly the best arcade twin-stick in ten years ), but I'm so grateful we get the occasional crazy to cast another gem our way. No discounts over launch and two seasonal Steam sales say the dev may be holding the line, Factorio style, but one can hardly complain at $15. Pay them, and don't forget to grab your upgrades, especially some speed. (FYI, early reviews complaining about rainbow and map-change danger zone visibility have been addressed by some new options patched in.)