Nitro Express Review: A Run-and-Gun Struggle?

Nitro Express

Steam/PC

5/19/25

Grayfax Software/PLAYISM

Run-and-gun shooters are kind of my jam. As a child of the late '80s and early '90s, I grew up playing classics such as Contra, the Metal Slug games, Gunstar Heroes, Sunset Riders, and so many more. Naturally, when I see a game in this style hit the indie gaming scene, I get excited! Such was the case with Nitro Express, coming to us from Grayfax Software and publisher PLAYISM. The game looks to retain what we know and love about the genre while putting its own unique spin on things by offering a bevy of unlockable gadgets. But is Nitro Express an explosively awesome time, or is it stuck in slo-mo? Let’s find out in our full review!

On the surface, Nitro Express looks like a retro gamer’s dream. Its pixelated visuals—packed with massive explosions, an assortment of diverse guns, and the promise of unlimited ammo—make it instantly attractive to fans of the genre. But not all is well in run-and-gun land, as a series of head-scratching decisions hold the game back from greatness—or even mediocrity, for that matter—resulting in a gaming experience that often leans more toward frustration than fun.

Nitro Express features both a story mode and a mission mode. In story mode, you'll blast your way through a series of levels, pushing toward the right side of the screen and facing off against end-level bosses. Mission mode offers a similar experience but slightly changes things up by introducing specific goals. These objectives usually involve eliminating every enemy on screen but can also include shooting fish out of the water, which is just kind of weird, or ensuring an NPC's survival.

In short, the game wants you to blow things up, but it won’t make that task easy. Nitro Express features one of the clunkiest control schemes I’ve encountered in recent memory. Aiming with the right stick is simple enough, offering a full 360-degree range, but everything else feels aggressively slow—from the painful and sometimes forced platforming mechanics to the awful dodge roll. Hell, even the simple act of dropping down from a ledge to a lower level with a button tap only seems responsive half the time. Nitro Express is sluggish, awkward, and inexplicably capped at 30fps—a bizarre decision that has no place in a run-and-gun shooter releasing in 2025. Nitro Express's gameplay is built around a system that rewards players for taking specific shooting positions to more effectively dish out damage to foes. The idea of requiring specific loadouts for certain enemies is interesting, but when nothing feels quick or responsive, these mechanics become little more than creative concepts that ultimately aren’t very fun to engage with.

Players unlock additional weapons through gameplay by spending points they’ve earned. Upon completing a story section or mission, they are sent to a central hub where new weapons become available—assuming they have enough points to unlock them. The arsenal includes everything from shotguns to flamethrowers, with the ability to take two main guns into battle and swap between them, while also equipping a secondary weapon to each. I can appreciate the decent variety of weapon loadouts available, but with the game’s poor gameplay, I don’t imagine many players will stick around long enough to unlock them all.

Nitro Express’s level design doesn’t fare much better than its gameplay. Each world is a painfully slow slog to the right, with your robot companion constantly badgering you to keep moving. You can take out enemies if you wish—it’ll certainly earn you more points—but honestly, in many instances simply rolling through each level works just fine. Enemies will chase you relentlessly, but outside of specific missions, you’re never actually required to defeat them.

Story segments can also be ignored entirely, which, given the quality of the writing, is probably for the best—but I’ll touch on that in a moment. Outside of unlocking weapons, there’s just not much incentive here, unless you enjoy paperwork. In this case, "paperwork" comes in the form of an optional briefing after completing a mission, available on the main menu, where you can mash a single button for a few moments to earn additional points. Are we having fun yet?

The real strength of Nitro Express lies in its visual and audio presentation. While the baffling decision to cap the game at 30fps remains a mystery, the overall visuals are impressive—from the massive pixelated explosions to the detailed characters and city backdrops. There’s not a ton of environmental variety, but as a huge fan of retro games, I found plenty to appreciate in its aesthetic. Its crunchy arcade sounds are equally fitting, complemented by a high-energy soundtrack that pushes the action forward. Overall, I was impressed with both the visual and audio design, which do an excellent job of representing the genre.

Sadly, there are no characters worth caring about, no interesting story arcs, and not much of a purpose to fuel the action from a narrative standpoint either. This means that if you were hoping a strong plot could carry the game forward, you are greatly mistaken. Odds are when your radio beeps, you’ll opt not to answer it to learn the few story bits scattered throughout, but hey, in fairness, this isn’t a genre known for its strong writing. 

I’ve harped on the game’s low frame rate, but to be fair, I didn’t encounter any major bugs or crashes during my time playing. However, for those looking to play on Steam Deck—if you thought 30fps was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet. Valve’s handheld struggles with a nearly unplayable, fluctuating frame rate between 27 and 19 fps, making it practically pointless to play in such a state. Doing so makes an already slow experience somehow even slower and choppier than before. 

While I genuinely wanted to love Nitro Express, it’s just not fun enough to appreciate any of its redeeming qualities. The art and sound design are solid, but the dreadful platforming and shooting mechanics overshadow any positives. I really like the idea of a run-and-gun shooter that lets you unlock additional gadgets in a structure somewhat reminiscent of a roguelite, but I suspect most players will move on from this one rather quickly—especially considering its single-player-only design, a baffling choice that makes no sense whatsoever.

Quite frankly, Nitro Express isn’t a good game. You want it to be, and it has the potential to be, but at the time of this review, it simply isn’t. However, because it does demonstrate some level of competency and could theoretically improve over time—though patches aren’t exactly a guarantee—I am sparing it from the indie Krampus but awarding it the broken lamp.

BELOW AVERAGE