4/5 ★ – benhmedia's review of Gaurodan.

Yeahhhh sorry, Strong Bad, but this game leaves Trogdor dead in the water. This is a really addictive, authentic, and FREE modern-day arcade game – only accessible through a download on the developer’s website. I heard about it through a post on BlueSky. Apparently he first released this game over 10 years ago, but he just revamped it to play better and feel more like an authentic 1980s arcade game. And indeed it does. It’s essentially a kaiju-themed shmup, where you play as a pterodactyl-looking behemoth who has to take out the buildings, tanks, and battleships that populate the different levels. All the graphics, sound effects, and music feels authentically 80s. The game has around 12 levels, but it’s difficult enough where getting to that point may take you many attempts. I’ve played for about an hour so far and have only gone as far as level 6 - which put me at spot #7 on the in-game high score board. My one complaint with the game is that you’re constantly moving, which makes you feel like you have less control over dodging enemy fire. It’s clearly by design, forcing you to enact more creative-but-stressful maneuvers to avoid getting hit. I just have to put an emphasis on “stressful” because the game reaches a level of ‘bullet hell’ pretty quickly. Did I mention that your health bar remains the same between levels? You gotta be REAL careful in preserving what little vitality you have! Stressors aside though, this is a super addicting game and an absolute steal for a free download. If he ever released this on the Switch I would happily pay $5-7 for it. Give it a try!