Contra – Operation Galuga review: Back to basics

So Operation Galuga makes a welcome return to first principles – side-scrolling, crisp visuals and bullet-hell bombardment. Despite being a game remade many times, Contra tends to stick to a variation on the theme of a muscle-bound Rambo-esque character running left to right while shooting mutants and alien humanoids. Galuga follows the blueprint assiduously while leaving room for a few modern flourishes.

As per its arcade origins, Contra tests your reflexes and memory more than your grey matter. Pick up a big gun, rush toward the enemy and dodge the wall of incoming fire while loosing off your own hail of bullets.

It’s complicated by the obstacle course of platforms to be negotiated and the need to aim carefully as you whizz around the screen. But the only real strategy at play lies in selecting a preferred weapon – do you stick with the classic spread shot for its three streams of bullets or favour the flamethrower, for instance?

In updating the concept for 2024, Californian developer WayForward – which previously worked on Contra 4 – throws a lot into Operation Galuga’s pot. Now you can carry two weapons at once, upgrade them to be doubly powerful or periodically sacrifice one to produce a screen-clearing “overdrive” attack.

An in-game shop lets you skew the odds a little more in your favour with perks such as extra lives – paid for with credits earned in previous levels. For most of us whose twitch reflexes are on the wane, all such concessions will be gratefully received because, man, Operation Galuga is tough. Not Elden Ring tough, but demanding nonetheless. If all else fails, there’s always co-op mode – uniting two to four players against the alien hordes.

Despite a wafer-thin plot, some creditable voice-acting enliven the cut-scenes but, mercifully, WayForward provides an Arcade mode that pares all the down time to a bare minimum by excising the narrative completely. For the truly masochistic, though, you’ll want to try Challenge mode, which imposes restrictions such as time limits or one-hit kills.

Probably the harshest judgment you could hurl at Operation Galuga is its lack of true reinvention. Maybe it was never on the agenda – and Rogue Corps showed deviation from the template could be disastrous. But despite a graphical makeover and some light tinkering, squint and you might well be playing one of the many Contra versions from the 80s and 90s.