Now Playing: Prismatic Solid (Xbox 360)

Say what you will about the deluge of sub-par games that seem to make up the entirety of the Indie Games channel on the Xbox 360. Among the virtual fireplaces, avatar based games, and dating simulations, there are some diamonds in the rough that make the service’s existence justified. Enter: Prismatic Solid. Possibly the most impressive Indie Game there is.

Coded by just one man, a Japanese game programming veteran, Prismatic Solid would be just as impressive had a whole team of people created it. The visuals, gameplay, and level design are light years ahead of most Indie Games, let alone most XBLA and PSN games. Just watch the video to get a good idea of how it looks.

It’s very impressive to look at, but is the game actually any good? I spent quite a bit of time with it already and I can attest that it’s a very competent shooter. You control a ship (the green one in the video), which has three little guardians that fly alongside it. You can switch between different weapons at any time, which changes both the types of attacks you do, and the location of your guardians. Some of the most powerful attacks leave your ship exposed, while others trade off direct firepower for better protection, which is essential given how many bullets fill the screen at times.

It’s a fun game and isn’t too terribly difficult. It’s also not a very long game, but stick with it after you finish the stages and you’ll find that the game repeats, only the stages have a different visual style the second time through, along with different and more powerful enemies. I have no idea how far the game goes. I’ve only made it 1 and a half times through so far. There’s some stages in the video that I’ve yet to encounter, so there could be more to it than I’ve even witnessed.

Prismatic Solid is available now for only 80 points. Don’t even try it, just buy it! The animations that play at the main menu are worth $1 alone.