Birdcage

Birdcage is a fast-paced, vertically scrolling shoot ’em up set in a divergent human future. You pilot the HALCYON, an experimental RADON gunship, and fight with its wide shot, focus shot and main offensive and defensive weapon, The SWORD.

Story

Humanity has spread into space, and two factions now oppose each other. SELENE controls the Moon and what remains of Earth, while RADON controls the space colony CAGE. Led by Mother ROENTGEN, the RADON Daughters order GENOME Control to create a new weapon: the WORLD-EGG, intended to end Earth’s reign and birth a new universe.

Deep inside the CAGE, a pilot awakens in the HALCYON’s cockpit. A Voice echoes in the newly-hatched Pilot’s mind: Destroy the WORLD-EGG. The story touches on futuristic science and technology, political and military power struggles, and the human unconscious mind.

Game modes

Story Mode, the main mode, spans six stages with mid-bosses, stage bosses and narrative interludes. Arcade Mode removes the narrative from Story Mode for a quicker way to chase a score. In Score Attack, enemies spawn endlessly within a set time limit as you race to earn the highest score and hone your skills.

Visuals and sound

Inspired by 90s video games and anime, Birdcage uses sprite scaling, pre-rendered backgrounds and limited textures to evoke the look of early 3D games. Its soundtrack combines 90s music hardware with modern synthesis and samples, and includes over an hour of dynamic music, hundreds of bespoke sound effects and retro-styled voice acting for stage bosses.