BIRDCAGE Review: Throwback Shoot ‘Em Up Hits the Spot

BIRDCAGE is a throwback shoot ’em up that isn’t just blistering with style, but isn’t afraid to be a true throwback, either. I love that out of the gate, the game gives you all the tools you’ll need to survive the bullet hell to come; it’s just up to you to figure it out.

It’s lucky then that BIRDCAGE is expertly made, mirroring some of the best bullet hell shmups in terms of control. These are tight and twitchy, as weaving through the various hailstorms of bullets coming down on you is often more important than the actual fight ahead. 

BIRDCAGE Bullet Hell

Boy, what a fight. As I said, BIRDCAGE isn’t afraid to be a throwback. There’s very little in the way of hand-holding, other than a health bar that lets you get hit three times before losing, rather than the typical one-and-done situation. Each mode has difficulty options, with Easy allowing players to have a recharging shield, but it still doesn’t offset the onslaught. 

There is a story mode in BIRDCAGE, but I found that trying to balance the bullet hell with the sudden need to answer a Metal Gear-like codec call mid-dodge a little distracting. Thankfully, what story I did get to see is good, but nothing that players who are just after the score-based rush will miss.

BIRDCAGE does a lot with the genre, trying to hit all the points of feeling like a superpowered mech, while still heaping on the tension, as a single bullet could mean the end of the run. It’s brutal to reach the end of the first half of the first level, one health bar left, as the level goes dark and I’m left navigating the maze more worried about the walls I can’t see than the enemies in front.

There’s also a sword you can summon, which can act as a missile too. This is used to bat away bullets of the same color, in a callback to games like Ikaruga. It’s also really fun to use, and doesn’t get in the way of the overall flow of combat. In fact, not relying on it at certain points can mean a quick death. 

Mastering BIRDCAGE’s difficulty

BIRDCAGE is about finding the ebb and flow of each level, mastering the precise dodges needed to skirt around damage, and ultimately, trying to get through entirely unscathed until the next hump you need to learn. There aren’t a lot of levels in the game on the surface, but the amount of time one level will take an average player to finish isn’t going to be snappy. 

That’s not helped by BIRDCAGE not having a checkpoint system. I think it’s fair enough not to have one in this style of game, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t feel like a gut punch each time I’m sent back to the beginning to bob through the danger I’ve just overcome.

Boss fights are intense, with multiple playthroughs needed to truly master them. Seriously, this game is such a throwback to the 1990s, I’ve started to sink into 1990s video game magazine speak. If you’re looking for the vibe, BIRDCAGE is the game you had to import from the back of a magazine that was featured in a “BEST GAMES YOU NEVER PLAYED” double spread.

That said, it truly is one of those games where it could be a few sessions before you beat a level. The difficulty on normal is typical for the genre, and in other genres, I might find something to complain about. Here? How can I complain about a game that handles so well? It’s just that I’m not paying attention. Very few games command that type of respect, but BIRDCAGE is a maestro of sorts, able to summon that kind of energy deep from the ’90s.

BIRDCAGE Soundtrack and Aesthetic Doesn’t Miss

Speaking of which, the 1990s are the aesthetics here. Namely, that grungy, almost illegal feeling of 1990s anime style. The type of things you’d wake up at 2 am to see on a dingy TV, because you fell asleep before the Adult Swim switchover. It has also absorbed the dramatic stylings of Japanese games of the same era. It’s edgy and incredibly over the top, but it’s so stylised and picture perfect for the atmosphere BIRDCAGE is building, again, how can I really complain? 

All of this is backed by music by Paradise Killer’s Barry Topping. The entire soundtrack goes so hard, and I truly recommend playing this hooked up to your best speakers or headphones. It’s such a delight to have that ethereal, futuristic sound slip about my head. Topping’s music invigorates the entire game into a complete whole, as well as being a driving motivator for staying focused on the game.

Final thoughts

BIRDCAGE is an incredibly ambitious project for a two-person team. However, both have managed to come together to overcome that and put out a well-realised game that clearly aligns with a vision of nostalgia for a different era. Everything about the game oozes its influences, using them as a launchpad to add to the pantheon, not just take. 

It’s not the deepest game in the world, but it doesn’t need to be anything more than it is. What’s there is a tough as nails throwback, that I couldn’t be happier to go back to time and time again. Moreover, if you own a Steam Deck or handheld PC, this game is perfect for it. The higher refresh rates on devices like the ROG Xbox Ally and Steam Deck OLED will be perfect for it, and seeing this game on OLED is truly great, with the rich aesthetics really coming off well. 

But that’s the thing, what Polygon Birds has set out to do, they’ve been incredibly successful at. I can’t stress enough just how good BIRDCAGE is at dragging that nostalgia for a bygone era, by being an excellent replica of what once was. Even after I’m done with the game, I think it’ll be alongside me for quite some time, as its soundtrack is truly excellent. 

4/5

Platforms: PC

Developer: POLYGON BIRD Games     

Publisher: POLYGON BIRD Games     

Release date: 18th November 2025