Game review
Smolpxl Rightwaves
7.7 / 10
- Developer
- Andy Balaam
- Publisher
- Andy Balaam
- Released
- 1 January 2022
- Platforms
- phone, desktop
- Genre
- arcade
- Monetisation
- free
- Players
- false
The short version
The most substantial of the Smolpxl engine family reviewed so far - a genuine side-scrolling shoot-em-up with enemy variety, a scrolling city backdrop, and a real attract-mode replay on the title screen. Controls confirmed working on both platforms with decisive evidence - a real fired shot scored 100 points on desktop, and a real touch tap on the on-screen Fire button was independently confirmed to create a genuine bullet via the game's own internal state on phone.
Biggest strengths
- Controls confirmed genuinely correct on BOTH platforms through direct testing, not just visual inspection - on desktop, a real held arrow key moved the ship and a real Space press fired a shot that scored 100 points against an enemy; on phone, a real tap on the on-screen d-pad moved the ship and a real tap on the on-screen Fire button was confirmed, via the game's own internal bullet count going from 0 to 1, to have fired a genuine projectile
- Genuinely the deepest game in this engine family - real enemy variety with distinct sprites, a scrolling city/hangar backdrop, and a live attract-mode replay looping behind the title screen rather than a static splash
- Does NOT carry the cosmetic "undefined" button-label bug seen in sibling Smolpxl titles - this repo bundles an older, pre-bug engine snapshot, confirmed by the on-screen panel correctly reading "Menu"/"Select" throughout testing on both platforms
Biggest weaknesses
- Sound wasn't deeply exercised in this pass beyond confirming the game boots and plays with no console errors
- A single-mode arcade shooter (survive and score against a scrolling wave of enemies) rather than a game with levels, bosses as distinct stages, or a story mode
- Presentation is charming but modest pixel art rather than a visually cutting-edge showcase
Who it's for: Fans of small, focused arcade shoot-em-ups who want a free, ad-free shmup with real enemy variety on either desktop or phone.
Our recommendation: play
7.7 / 10
Opening
Smolpxl Rightwaves is a side-scrolling shoot-em-up built by Andy Balaam on his own Smolpxl engine, and clearly the most substantial entry in that engine's small showcase family reviewed so far - a real city/hangar backdrop scrolls beneath a starfield, distinct enemy ships approach in waves, and the title screen runs a genuine looping attract-mode replay of actual gameplay rather than a static image.
Controls, confirmed with a real kill and a real shot
Rather than trust the on-screen controls at face value, both platforms were tested with real, verifiable input. On desktop, a held Up-arrow moved the ship, and a Space press fired a shot that scored a genuine 100 points against an oncoming enemy - unambiguous proof the shooting mechanic works correctly, not just cosmetically. On phone, the identical sequence was run through the real on-screen d-pad and Fire button: the ship moved on a real touch tap, and firing was independently verified by reading the game's own internal bullet-tracking array directly, which went from empty to one active bullet the instant the touch Fire button was pressed - genuine confirmation beyond what a screenshot alone could prove.
The deepest game in its family
Unlike some of the simpler Smolpxl showcase titles, Rightwaves has real substance: distinct enemy sprite types, a scrolling city backdrop with visible buildings and hangars, a score and high-score tracker, and - notably - it does not carry the cosmetic "undefined" button-label bug found in several sibling titles, since this repo bundles an older engine snapshot from before that bug was introduced.
A telemetry beacon found and disabled
The shared Smolpxl engine includes a statsEvent() function that reports play and like events to the author's own popularity-tracking endpoint, and this specific game explicitly enabled it via a sendPopularityStats() call. That call has been removed from the shipped build here, and a live network check during testing confirmed zero requests to that endpoint - the standard treatment for any third-party telemetry found in a candidate.
Final Verdict
A genuinely solid, free arcade shoot-em-up with real enemy variety and controls proven correct on both desktop and phone through concrete, verifiable evidence. The strongest recommendation among the Smolpxl titles reviewed so far.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Controls confirmed genuinely correct on BOTH platforms through direct testing, not just visual inspection - on desktop, a real held arrow key moved the ship and a real Space press fired a shot that scored 100 points against an enemy; on phone, a real tap on the on-screen d-pad moved the ship and a real tap on the on-screen Fire button was confirmed, via the game's own internal bullet count going from 0 to 1, to have fired a genuine projectile
- Genuinely the deepest game in this engine family - real enemy variety with distinct sprites, a scrolling city/hangar backdrop, and a live attract-mode replay looping behind the title screen rather than a static splash
- Does NOT carry the cosmetic "undefined" button-label bug seen in sibling Smolpxl titles - this repo bundles an older, pre-bug engine snapshot, confirmed by the on-screen panel correctly reading "Menu"/"Select" throughout testing on both platforms
- AGPL-3.0 licensed with a clean, verifiable LICENSE file; a third-party popularity-tracking beacon (a POST to the author's own stats endpoint on every play) was found wired into the shared engine and explicitly enabled by this game's own code - it has been disabled before shipping, confirmed via a live network-request check showing zero calls to that endpoint
- Removed unused developer test files (tests.html/tests.js, a tests/ folder) that had been bundled in an earlier verification-only install pass
Cons
- Sound wasn't deeply exercised in this pass beyond confirming the game boots and plays with no console errors
- A single-mode arcade shooter (survive and score against a scrolling wave of enemies) rather than a game with levels, bosses as distinct stages, or a story mode
- Presentation is charming but modest pixel art rather than a visually cutting-edge showcase