Nux

Nux is the spiritual successor to the Platypus games where all visual elements were first created in clay and then scanned and animated. The eponymous protagonist is the sole survivor of the Nexon warrior tribe. Their home world has been invaded by Silthax who devoured all Nexons and stole the sacred power crystals. Nux needs to visit four planets to retrieve the power crystals, defeat Silthax and restore the damage he has done.

The game consists of 13 levels that are split up in three sections per planet. The first section, approaching the planet, plays as a top-down vertically scrolling shoot'em up. A space ship needs to be steered to dodge or destroy enemies and obstacles. Certain enemies leave behind power-ups such as rockets or a fast laser. There is a level boss at the end. The second section is the descend to the planet. This is a vertically scrolling section where the ship needs to be lowered to the surface, dodging enemies and obstacles, and collecting coins for additional points. The ship needs to be steered and a gently amount of thrust needs to be applied for movement. There is only a limited amount of fuel, so he often needs to lands on platforms to refuel. The third section takes place on the planet surface to retrieve three power crystals. Only one can be carried at all times, so Nux needs to go back and forth a few times. This section is played as a third-person side-scrolling platformer shown from a side view. There are power-ups that provide a laser or other types of weapons. In all sections Nux has a certain amount of health and a number of lives.