Aqua is a twin-stick arcade shooter with a steampunk theme where the player
controls a naval ship from a top-down view. The protagonist is Captain
Benjamin Grey, a member of the Emperean Navy fleet. Following a conflict known
as the Gothean War, the Gothean adversaries return with new technology and
together with Chief Engineer Polly Edison he once again has to take to the
seas to stop them.

In the story-driven campaign there are eventually three different ships to
command: Speedboat, Cruiser and Gunship, with different upgrades to further
customize them. The gameplay is fast and the different missions include taking
out batteries and an extensive amount of the game is spent on escorting ships.
The left stick is used to steer into a general direction and the right stick
fires, similar to Geometry Wars. There are different types of guns to collect,
from nailguns to flamethrowers, torpedoes, and mines. Enemies attack from the
land, sea and the air. To progress through different areas sometimes a switch
needs to be shot to open locks. The ship can boost to move faster but during
that time no weapons can be shot. Pick-ups appear in the water and can be
collected. By killing enemies aquaflux particles can be gathered. These fill
up a bar to unleash a powerful weapon that destroys most enemies on the
screen.

There is a minor tactical element of the game as the player’s ship can dock to
hire squads that can help out. There are four types: Fighter, Sieger, Healer
and Sonar. The player influences control through a menu with commands to
attack, defend a specific ship or to hold ground. Multiplayer is supported
through a co-op mode. There is also a head-to-head mode with checkpoint racing
and arena deathmatch.

Aqua