Do you want to play a new rail shooter featuring adorable animals blasting enemies in spaceships? Check out Whisker Squadron: Survivor ($19.99). Yes, it’s an intentional homage to Nintendo’s classic Star Fox series. However, Whisker Squadron: Survivor (available on PC and PlayStation 5) has a charming, original presentation and rogue-lite mechanics that separate it from its inspiration. Whisker Squadron isn’t a grand space epic, but it’s a fun, arcade-style space shooter that may hold you over until a possible Star Fox game appears on the Switch 2.
Whisker Squadron’s Story
Anyone who has played Hades knows that indie rogue-lite developers create fantastic premises to justify the endless repetition. In Whisker Squadron: Survivor, you play as newbie pilot Olivia, gunning down wave after wave of robotic enemies known as the Swarm. Even better, all the characters are adorable talking cats with excellent voice acting.
As you complete missions, you gather additional data to help defend feline kind—an in-universe explanation for why repeated runs unlock new upgrades. The story progresses with new twists and playable characters.
(Credit: Flippfly/PCMag)
Survivor was originally meant to be a prelude to a larger Whisker Squadron adventure with more open spaces to explore. We don’t know if that title will come to fruition, but the worldbuilding elevates Survivor’s presentation and helps the brief game (a full run takes less than an hour) feel bigger than it is.
That loving presentation applies to the visuals, too. Whisker Squadron: Survival’s three acts feature a gorgeous, stark, neon graphical style. Thin lines and hazy glowing colors make the towering, randomized geometric structures look like something from a French comic book. Bombs and lasers launched from your angular starfighter trigger vibrant crackling explosions. Meanwhile, jazzy music makes the experience feel surprisingly chill, which is good because the genre demands you to play repeatedly.
(Credit: Flippfly/PCMag)
Whisker Squadron vs. Star Fox: Gameplay Comparisons
Talking animals in space is only the beginning of Whisker Squadron’s Star Fox similarities. The fast-paced, sci-fi dogfighting gameplay is a clear homage to the franchise. During each stage, you fly forward through a narrow linear corridor, maneuvering your ship within that space to avoid obstacles and blast enemies. Star Fox is the obvious comparison, but if you’ve played anything from Space Harrier to Sin and Punishment, you’ll be familiar with Whisker Squadron’s on-rails shooter template. Developer Flippfly first experimented with these concepts with its 2013 endless runner Race the Sun, but Whisker Squadron is a much more fleshed-out idea thanks to its added combat systems.
By default, your ship can boost, perform a barrel roll, shoot a primary gun, and fire secondary missiles. Again, that’s a very Star Fox-style setup. Aside from missiles that require ammo, every action draws from the same energy gauge. As a result, you must strike a balance between offense and defense.
Collectively, Whisker Squadron’s systems encourage you to take fun risks. For example, the combo system rewards more valuable in-game currency for stringing together kills. You lose your combo if you take too long to destroy the next enemy, but also if you take damage. So, you must be aggressive yet careful. It all compares well with Star Fox’s fun and straightforward early arcade-style entries, not the befuddling Star Fox Zero. Between runs, you can practice skills in the challenge mode.
(Credit: Flippfly/PCMag)
Rogue-Lite Mechanics
Whisker Squadron’s solid fundamental mechanics gain new depth with rogue-lite progression, something you won’t find in the Star Fox series. However, the various upgrades are a mixed bag. Like in Vampire Survivors, destroying enemies leaves crystals (separate from the currency you spend after a run) that eventually unlock new upgrades that only last for the rest of that mission. In general, the bonuses are quite useful. For example, you can unlock a helper drone that fires its missiles, gain back energy when you successfully deflect blasts, and increase your firing speed to absolutely shred apart bosses.
However, the game leans too hard on these eventual upgrades to provide excitement. It makes early runs a slog as you deal with the same basic bullet sponge baddies. In general, the game could stand to be a bit faster. Sometimes, you’ll encounter a cursed upgrade that offers a better bonus but is paired with a punishment. One curse forces you to boost uncontrollably, but I found the increased game speed much more enjoyable.
(Credit: Flippfly/PCMag)
Currency earned through runs unlocks permanent perks. Too many of these perks are dull and hard to perceive during gameplay, like a slight percentage boost for critical hits. Only occasionally do you get a major milestone like a shotgun-style alternate weapon or bombs that deal massive damage across a large area. It makes the game seem stretched thin, like something cut down from another, more ambitious iteration.
Can Your PC Run Whisker Squadron: Survivor?
Whisker Squadron: Survivor modernizes a retro polygonal art style pioneered 30 years ago on the Super Nintendo. So it looks incredibly cool without taxing your gaming PC.
Its Steam page doesn’t recommend any CPUs or GPUs, only that your PC needs at least 8GB of RAM, 1.5GB of available space, and the 64-bit Windows 7 operating system (version SP1+). Whisker Squadron is Steam Deck verified, which is how I mostly played it. Despite using the highest graphics quality preset, I almost never saw it dip below a smooth 60 frames per second.
Why You Should Game on a PC
Verdict: Fun Feline Flights and Fights
Give Whisker Squadron: Survivor is mostly great fun as you blast robotic hordes in surreal sci-fi dreamscapes with your chatty cat co-pilot. More frequent, exciting upgrades would help the already appealing Star Fox rogue-lite combo soar even higher. But as is, this budget-friendly title is worth playing, especially if you fancy space shooters or rogue-lite gameplay loops.
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About Jordan Minor
Senior Analyst, Software
