Contra is one of the favorite games of my childhood, like, probably, many who saw the days of Dendy. And now, of course, I’m not talking about Counter-Strike, which we also called “counter” back then, but about that very classic series in the Run’n’Gun genre. Since then, there have been several attempts to revive the franchise, but not all of them have been successful.
In February 2024, Contra: Operation Galuga, which is inspired by parts of the series, was released on PC and consoles. I will try to tell you in this review whether the game managed to convey the spirit of that era.
After the first launch of Contra: Operation Galuga, the target audience of the game immediately becomes clear – literally everything here refers to the original Contra, from the music to the actual gameplay. When you hear the arrangement of the main theme, you will immediately feel nostalgic. And the very first mission will make you think that you are playing almost the same game, and only the new graphics will make you doubt this.
Contra: Operation Galuga has three main modes: Story, Arcade and Challenge. The first, as the name implies, is the main one and offers its own story with dialogues and cutscenes. As in the original parts, the plot here is nothing special, so when passing through you want to “skip” it as quickly as possible. But in Arcade there is nothing like that – you can enjoy the same levels, but without the tedious dialogues. Finally, Challenges are unlocked as you progress through the game and allow you to complete levels with certain conditions.
The story mode can (and even should, I would say) be completed by two people. If you play alone, then your partner will appear only in cutscenes, after which he will, so to speak, “go into the shadows.” Depending on the difficulty and number of attempts you make, the story takes about two hours to complete. You may think this is short, but this length is normal for this type of game.
The arcade mode was of greatest interest to me. Not only does it not have boring cutscenes, as mentioned earlier, but it also has the ability to take place in four-person co-op. The three of us played with friends and, despite the chaos happening on the screen, it was really fun.
I would call challenges a good additional way to spend even more time in the game. You can also try them if you want to play right now, but your friends are busy at the moment. Because I am convinced that Contra: Operation Galuga must be played in co-op, and nothing else. Only then will you get real pleasure from the gameplay. It’s not that it’s not fun to be alone, but if you do, you’ll be missing out on a lot. Therefore, if you are planning to play, it is better to persuade someone to join you.
Contra: Operation Galuga has two difficulty settings. The first is, in fact, the difficulty of the game itself, which is divided into low, normal and high. I wouldn’t even recommend considering low, since the game turns into a walk in the park. On normal it becomes more interesting to play, but on high you will even have to work hard, since there are a lot of enemies. The second item to adjust the difficulty is health. You can make the character lose “life” after the first hit, just like in the good old days. Or you can turn on “modern” mode, in which you will have 3 HP. In other words, you need to take damage three times to lose a “life”. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately for some), after losing all attempts, only the current level starts again, and not the entire game.
In fact, there is no particular point in talking about the gameplay of Contra: Operation Galuga, since it is completely similar to the classic parts of the series. But I’ll do it briefly anyway. This game is in the Run’n’Gun genre, in which you need, as you might guess, to run and shoot at enemies… Yes, that’s exactly what you need to do. Every second a bunch of enemies appear on the screen, and bullets are flying from all sides, so it is often dangerous to stop even for a second. Bonuses periodically fly in the air, which you can shoot down and get improved weapons. At the end of the level a boss awaits. The developers did not introduce anything fundamentally new to the well-proven formula and, perhaps, they did the right thing. The game really feels exactly the same as before, adjusted for “lives” and graphics, which is great!
I would call the only controversial innovation in Contra: Operation Galuga… leveling. For some reason, the developers added currency to the game, for which you can buy various perks. Here are some of them: increasing the number of lives, the received weapon automatically becomes level 2, starting the game with a certain weapon, the ability to keep the weapon after death. Fortunately, you can only take two perks with you at a time, so the game is not tied to leveling up. However, this function still seems unnecessary to me. It doesn’t make the gameplay worse, but it doesn’t make it better either – it’s just a “feature for the sake of a feature.”
Contra: Operation Galuga is a real time machine to childhood. The game gives a lot of positive impressions, especially in cooperative mode. If you want to experience the classic Run’n’Gun gameplay, but with more modern graphics, then it’s worth a try.
