Eldest Souls
Eldest Souls
Game
Game2022
Ex-Zodiac
Developer MNKY
A fast-paced low-poly 3D rail shooter heavily inspired by classics of the early 90's. Join protagonist Kyuu as she fights to free the worlds of the Sanzaru Star System, overrun by the intergalactic terrorist organization known as Zodiac. From the Steam store page
284 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Nov 3, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
88
LovedLoved
166 positive · 22 negative
95% range 83–92%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 166 | 22 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 48 | 4 | 29 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Mastodon * | 2 | 0 | 5 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
863 of 923 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
88% recommend · 168 yes, 22 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 190 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (1,033 of 1,100 positive).
Players praise Ex-Zodiac as a faithful spiritual successor to classic Star Fox and Space Harrier. [1][2][3] Some reviewers note the game is still in early access with minor issues like control quirks and difficulty pacing. [4][5][6]
Liked
Representative posts
- [5]
To Be Improved: - Make Boost & Brake viable for dodging enemy weapon fire. Weapon fire is locked to the camera speed instead of stage position resulting in no viable effect to gameplay. - Too high a barrier of entry for players unfamiliar to this type of gameplay. An optional stage with low stakes to test movement and controls would be plenty, no explicit tutorial required. - Revisit difficulty pacing as the game …
- [1]
To shorten the wait for *Star Fox* on Switch 2, I started looking up “Star Fox-likes.” *Wild Blue Skies* was already on my radar, although I do feel a little bad for that game now. With its 2026 release window and an official *Star Fox* apparently coming back, it might be walking directly into a Nintendo-shaped wall. *Ex-Zodiac*, though, is clearly aiming less for the N64 era and more for the original SNES *Star …
- [3]
The closest thing to scratch that Star Fox / Star Fox 64 itch I've had since I was a kid in the 90's. It's clear that Ben Hickling has put their heart and soul into creating Ex Zodiac. The game is great. It's fast, it's snappy, the sound is great, the soundtrack is superb, and it's filled to the brim with STYLE! So vaporwave. So nostalgic. So A E S T H E T I C Ben continues to deliver great content, and I'm really …
- [10]
wow!!!! this game owns. people are sleeping on it. this is pretty much the only modern rail shooter that has the juice. the music bops so hard. the game is gorgeous and the levels are well paced and excellent.... the two all-range missions are genuinely a good time! the space harrier bonus stages are super cute and total nail-biters. Scoring seems like it would be superfluous but it's actually a neat little puzzle …
- [2]
"What if Sega made Star Fox?" is my initial pitch for this game. It has the tight gameplay akin to SNES Star Fox and the style of early SEGA. Even in early access, I'd say it's worth the price, and I'm excited to see where the devs take it. Ended up booting it up again shortly after my first session because I was just craving more of it. Already putting this game on my list to 100%, I just enjoy it that much …
Summarised from 34 of the 282 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Ex-Zodiac sits at 88% positive across 188 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 284 · most liked firstFormal introduction time! I'm Ben, a game developer, artist & coder I'm currently working on #Ex-Zodiac, a Star Fox style rail shooter that's available now in early access on Steam! store.steampowered.com/app/1249480/... #gamedev #indiegame #indiedev #lowpoly
neutral · AI labelView post →Eh, I have no strong feelings about Star Fox 64 getting a remake that's fundamentally the same game but shinier. It exists, but also there was that recent unofficial PC port which you can play right now. And if you want something new, you've Ex-Zodiac (which I adore) AND Wild Blue Skies.
positive · AI labelView post →Ex Zodiac is a fun little StarFox-like game, and the bosses are all animal people 😳
positive · AI labelView post →£4/$5 - Best price yet on Ex-Zodiac, which I think is the best of the indie Star Fox-likes by a mile, even in early access. It's also the best of the indie Space Harrier-likes, as every level has a hidden B-side in a different subgenre. It's fairly close to hitting v1.0 as well. Huge recommendation
positive · AI labelView post →Retro is when you put a PS1 shell on your PS5. Retro is when EX Zodiac is pretending to be a SNES game despite coming out in 2022. Retro is when something has tank controls. Genuinely.
neutral · AI labelView post →Ex-Zodiac (Steam early access) w/ 2 more games is $4.95 on Fanatical Build your own Retro Revival Bundle buff.ly/A6gA3GT #ad add more games to save more (~$1.65 per game)
neutral · AI labelView post →To Be Improved: - Make Boost & Brake viable for dodging enemy weapon fire. Weapon fire is locked to the camera speed instead of stage position resulting in no viable effect to gameplay. - Too high a barrier of entry for players unfamiliar to this type of gameplay. An optional stage with low stakes to test movement and controls would be plenty, no explicit tutorial required. - Revisit difficulty pacing as the game hits a stride right at the midpoint for three stages and then loses it again. I am…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Starfox-esque 3D Shooter Ex-Zodiac gets a major update with a new level.
neutral · AI labelView post →Ex-Zodiac Currently $12 on Steam Early access, this game is a tribute not only to Star Fox but other parts of the Rail Shooter genre. I'm loving the music and gameplay mechanics so far! store.steampowered.com/app/1249480/...
positive · AI labelView post →To shorten the wait for *Star Fox* on Switch 2, I started looking up “Star Fox-likes.” *Wild Blue Skies* was already on my radar, although I do feel a little bad for that game now. With its 2026 release window and an official *Star Fox* apparently coming back, it might be walking directly into a Nintendo-shaped wall. *Ex-Zodiac*, though, is clearly aiming less for the N64 era and more for the original SNES *Star Fox*. And that is both its charm and one of its bigger problems. The game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played Ex-Zodiac and it was amazing! The visuals/aesthetics, music, stages, bosses the whole thing is so good!! Super polished! I think theyre still working on it, but go play it instantly if you like Star Fox 🫵 lil love letter game... the art is beautiful and tasty.. Also Roxy
positive · AI labelView post →Ex-Zodiac Review on Linux (and Steam Deck).
neutral · AI labelView post →Ex-Zodiac Review on Linux (and Steam Deck).
neutral · AI labelView post →A game I’m really enjoying on my Steam Deck and recommend is Ex-Zodiac. A spiritual successor to Starwing/fox on the SNES. It looks, feels and sounds like the 16 bit FX chip classic. It also has a Space Harrier style bonus round.
positive · AI labelView post →I'd like to state up front that I think the game is good. The whole "Not Recommended" thing is reflecting its status as an Early Access title and I'll likely change the review for the full release. So then, "The Good." Looks good, sounds good, plays well. I don't feel like those need much explaining. It's really everything you'd really want out of this type of game. Next, I wanna voice some nitpicks. Something I was noticing while playing is that the speed at which you move across the screen…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"What if Sega made Star Fox?" is my initial pitch for this game. It has the tight gameplay akin to SNES Star Fox and the style of early SEGA. Even in early access, I'd say it's worth the price, and I'm excited to see where the devs take it. Ended up booting it up again shortly after my first session because I was just craving more of it. Already putting this game on my list to 100%, I just enjoy it that much already. Only con is that some of the settings don't seem to work for me right now? I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For me sometimes todays leaps are more impressive the other direction! Games like Ex-Zodiac being able to replicate the early 3D style but pull off things that the Super FX couldn't is just fantastic to see. I love it when a team that's passionate about a game or era can flawlessly pull that off!
positive · AI labelView post →Ex Zodiac was made in the style of Starfox and holds up to that aesthetic 100%. Hop into your starfighter, zap a few baddies, grab some upgrades along the way. Dodge and roll your way through enemies and hazards alike and take on larger-than-life bosses at the end of each stage. If your eyes are sharp enough, grab the items needed to unlock special run-and-gun levels where Kyuu charges into the fray with a giant cannon like an anime protagonist. At the time I am writing this the game is in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Too punishing and too hard to gauge projectiles coming at you. The Space Harrier sections are quite annoying. It's better than Star Fox SNES but worse than Star Fox 64.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really want to love this game but first impression is nearly insurmountably negative Mouse aiming is disabled by default, extremely strange for a PC game Okay, no problem, I can enable it in the settings if I quit out of the first level Start up the game again and I realize that enabling mouse aiming does not enable left/right clicking to fire Quit out of the first level again and go back to tinker with the settings Why can't I access the settings from a pause menu? Why aren't these…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Who let ze yinglet into zhat ship? Surprise game time! Finally looking at Ex-Zodiac before we do more Legends Z-A! #VTuber #Furry https://twitch.tv/ZoenZeYinglet
neutral · AI labelView post →The closest thing to scratch that Star Fox / Star Fox 64 itch I've had since I was a kid in the 90's. It's clear that Ben Hickling has put their heart and soul into creating Ex Zodiac. The game is great. It's fast, it's snappy, the sound is great, the soundtrack is superb, and it's filled to the brim with STYLE! So vaporwave. So nostalgic. So A E S T H E T I C Ben continues to deliver great content, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what's to come for Ex-Zodiac <3
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Btw to any friends who want to try a indie star fox game, play Ex-Zodiac! Its fucking peam! Amazing gameplay, amazing levels, amazing soundtrack, amazing retro style graphics. Easily one of my favorite indie games hands down
positive · AI labelView post →This really hit the Star Fox void I've been trying to fill since 2005. Wish it took more visual inspiration from 64 over the NES, but I'm willing to compromise I do have some complaints. For one the fact missiles don't stack past 3 is annoying, so is not keeping laser upgrades between levels, but those are more nitpicks. My one real big complaint is that I do not like the security levels. They all feel so much worse then the main game and replaying them takes a long time, especially if you're…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Player weapons are underpowered compared to Star Fox despite the stages doubling-down on the shmup elements of Star Fox's formula. Not very satisfying to play.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wild card for you. Kyuu, from the Star Fox homage game, Ex Zodiac.
neutral · AI labelView post →I would love to recommend ExZodiac as it is an excellent spiritual successor to the StarFox series, specifically the first game in the series for the SNES. However I am currently giving it a negative review as with each update that they add new content to the game, my save data seems to get deleted. I love that they keep adding to the game, however I would prefer that what I achieved actually stayed with my account and that I don't have to completely repeat my efforts each and every time new…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It’s classic star fox with monkeys and space harrier mixed in. 100% worth picking up and as a bonus it runs absolutely flawlessly on Linux and Mac too.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Despite wearing its Star Fox influence on its sleeve, I can honestly say so far Ex-Zodiac is shaping up to be a really fresh take on that on-rails shooter formula! The presentation won me over right away, I love the world building and aesthetic that oozes with personality. I haven’t felt as locked in with a game as much as I have with Ex-Zodiac, there are many moments that are truly tense which was so exhilarating to me, haven’t had a game make me audibly react as much as I was with my…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While the callback to old-school StarFox is great and all, being all by yourself just makes it feel like any other Shoot-em-Up. No squad to help you (or for you to help THEM), and oftentimes dodging lasers on-screen means I am too distracted to even read up on what the characters are saying. I know voice-acting would be very costly, but there's methods of making synthetic voice the old-school way so that I don't have to risk getting shot just to read what is being said. I still and always will…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gamepad play is rather unforgiving as the hurtboxes on some enemies are tiny. I would say it's mouse required for the accuracy it seems to be designed around. The first boss difficulty is ridiculous for example, as you can only hit him on his tail tip which is rather difficult on gamepad, but extremely easy with mouse. It's otherwise decent. You can't really follow what characters are saying as the game doesn't pause or stop throwing enemies at you while the text is scrolling. Difficult to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Closest thing to a classic Star Fox spiritual successor. Incredibly nice visual style and character designs; feels great to control!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Step 1. Go into the control options. Enable mouse control and automatic fire. Step 2. Change key bindings according to taste. Step 3. Play an excellent game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good mini-🧵 I would like to add: Replaying old games or homage-likes can, for but a brief, fleeting moment, bring us older folk back to what it was playing a beloved game for the first time. It's why I recently had a blast playing indies Gravity Circuit (MegaMan-like) and Ex-Zodiac (StarFox-like).
positive · AI labelView post →amazing beautiful fantastic amazing game, if you love Star Fox you'll easily love this too I really enjoy playing in 4:3 high-res mode at 240fps... it sounds absurd because the game is based on early Super FX chip games, but I appreciate the smooth framerate and N64 style look of these settings personally. This game is gorgeous no matter what graphical options you choose though, it's truly impressive
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is like if the original Star Fox for the SNES was actually good.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →LRT EX ZODIAC was my first “Star fox” lol Game goes nuts and the music is done by one of my favs working in games (TEK+) — highly recommend
positive · AI labelView post →A whimsical and humble catboy friend of mine heard my cries after uh the events of two days ago and sent me here. ho-LY this game oozes charm, and it's not just a Star Fox SNES game, it's a damn SPACE HARRIER game??? I'm obviously not even close to being in a good place to review the game technically, but I can tell this has a lot of care put in and I *need* to give it my thumbs up ahead of time. That being said, since it has that much care put into it, I gotta give criticisms. Again, not in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it tries, but does not fully enunciate the way star fox 64 spoke to me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You GOTTA play this one with Autofire. It's not very fun without it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We are definitely going to get a finished Ex-Zodiac before we get a new Star Fox game. That's just facts. store.steampowered.com/app/1249480/...
neutral · AI labelView post →i think it's just a skill issue but i couldnt get past the first level no matter how hard i try. its got cool aesthetics at least...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Highly recommend this game. Is the best "modern" take of the SF/SF64 formula that I've played, especially after the franchise has long been abandoned. The colorful lowpoly style is so charming, and the frenetic action is so fun. The developers are always responsive to feedback, so this is shaping to be a great game release once it exits EA.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oh man, EX-ZODIAC just released its 12th level and it's currently £3.99 on Steam if you want one of the finest Star Fox-alikes around Genuinely love this game, been following it throughout early access and it truly rules store.steampowered.com/app/1249480/...
positive · AI labelView post →Wow, actual modern classic, unbelievably tightly designed and it's not even finished? I truly hope the quality of the next levels reach the heights they have so far because I'm very, very impressed! I was looking for a modern take on Starfox/Starwing SNES (the best one) and that's not *quite* what I got, but I can't complain about what I DID get whatsoever, there's a lot of variety in here for what is right now a relatively small package, but honestly? It's about the same amount of content as…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Playing early access, I really appreciate the game, I got a good wave of nostalgia for Star Fox on SNES, In general the game is great, but there's still a few improvements that I think could be done. - First, the roll right button was set to the same button as bombs, so I threw bombs while trying to roll right, easy fix. - Secondly the dialogues are playing during the combats, so it's hard to read them, I probably missed 75% of them. - I find that the hit box of the power ups can be hard…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is one of those where I hate to have to pick a thumbs-up or thumbs down. I'm going thumbs down based on some super petty stuff that should really have been covered. Also I would recommend you check-out whisker squadron also from this developer. You think you want starfox, but really what you want is new starfox. Things I liked: * Scratched the starfox itch, but so much better as this runs way better than 15 fps * I was pretty much able to ignore the characters in the game. Things I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Someone finally decided to ask the question: What if there was a GOOD Starfox sequel
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I successfully defeated Bazz (the rat) in Ex-Zodiac, so I can go to Level 2 next time. I've taken care of SANABI before, so I will definitely stop ZODIAC!! Also, I will try Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom later! #SteamDeck #LinuxGaming #ExZodiac #Gaming
neutral · AI labelView post →Good on Pizza Tower for getting on a Nintendo console. Nintendo won't make another Wario game, so we have to do it ourselves and put it on their hardware. We're gonna get EX-Zodiac on the Switch sooner than they'll make another Starfox
neutral · AI labelView post →game seems fine enough but the third level has this gimmick which makes me extraudinarily naucious, and (personally at least) the perspective feels a little off,
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Can I just say I've been hooked on Ex-Zodiac this game is a master class in Rail Shooter Gameplay especially from an Indie developer. So far my favorite level which had me stunned was level 3. You'll see 😉 Play it! it has great gameplay great presentation and cute monkey girls 🤭. #Ex-Zodiac #indies
positive · AI labelView post →Game is way too hard
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'd refund but i used all the steam points on trading cards. Game feels too fast paced for my liking. little in terms of story, needs more build up. doesn't really scratch that starfox itch. I'd rather play a romhack. I encountered a bug with the cop pig boss thing where his laser shot a wall of blue flames that blocked my shots and it didn't go away, making the boss impossible to beat. Stage 2 special stage had this egg guy but my shots would only count sometimes, like when it was right in…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is a fun game if you enjoy playing games similar to Space Harrier or Star Fox (Star Wing). It reminded me of past experiences playing those two games.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you are younger than say 30 years and have never heard about Starfox this game probably is not meant for you. If you however want to feel nostalgic and play a game which feels just like a small update to Starfox, then go for it, especially when on sale. Fun game for a few hours, but without nostalgia it would only be "neutral thumbs".
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →starfox with some gundam influence thrown in! this game feels so good to play and is very responsive. if you like rail shooters, bullet-hells, or retro sci-fi games in general then you should definitely support this dev!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →wow!!!! this game owns. people are sleeping on it. this is pretty much the only modern rail shooter that has the juice. the music bops so hard. the game is gorgeous and the levels are well paced and excellent.... the two all-range missions are genuinely a good time! the space harrier bonus stages are super cute and total nail-biters. Scoring seems like it would be superfluous but it's actually a neat little puzzle figuring out the stage beats and the best times to use bombs. everything is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Absolutely the best Star Fox (and also Space Harrier with the bonus levels) spiritual sequel I'm aware of. You can beat it in a single sitting (in classic Star Fox fashion lol) but it's pretty replayable. As far as flaws go the ranking system feels a bit inconsistent to me, a few levels are very easy to get A and S ranks with while on the opposite end on some missions I can't get above a D (the all-range missions) but that's my only problem with the game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This feels like the sequel to the original Star Fox I've wanted since I was a kid! I love how they switch up the gameplay every now and again with Space Harrier style segments!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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