Jake Kazdal alludes to boxing more than once as I watch him play Galak-Z: The Dimensional. The 17-Bit founder and creative director is dodging lasers, weaving through asteroid clusters, and launching missiles of his own, but despite the pandemonium on-screen, he can still carry a conversation.

　　“People see this and think it’s a shoot-’em-up,” he says, spinning his ship away from yet another volley of enemy projectiles. “You’re so outnumbered in this game. But there’s more to it than shooting. You need to need to know when to dodge, and when to throw a punch.” Kazdal swivels in his chair, mimicking a fighter as he ducks under a right hook. “You’ve got to survive.”

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　　Galak-Z The Dimensional New Mech Gameplay

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　　17-Bit's founder has been showing audiences the roguelike space-shooter for two years now. And every time, he’s shown a mastery of the spaceship’s abilities, complete with thrusters, shields and weapons alike. But today, he’s showing something different. He’s showing something that changes Galak-Z entirely.

　　At the outset of a late-game mission, Kazdal presses a button, and his ship is no longer a ship. It transforms into a mech. And this mech has an arsenal of its own that completely warps the moment-to-moment strategy of dogfights in Galak-Z.

　　Kazdal is quick to demonstrate. He raises the mech’s handheld plasma shield to deflect an enemy missile, and slowly approaches the culprit. With the distance closed, Kazdal swings the mech’s lightsaber-esque weapon and destroys the enemy, sending its parts floating down a derelict passageway.

　　“You have to think about things differently as the mech,” he says. “It’s definitely the short-ranged option of the two, so it works well in close quarters, but it has other functions, too.” Kazdal extends a grappling hook at a nearby explosive barrel. After pulling it back with a snap, he proceeds toward his objective, armed with a makeshift bomb.

　　"You’re so outnumbered in this game. But there’s more to it than shooting. You need to need to know when to dodge, and when to throw a punch."

　　“Switching to the mech can open up new opportunities.” Kazdal repeats that dodging motion, lowering his shoulders away from an invisible opponent. “You can improvise. You can even parry with your shield, and then--” Kazdal dispatches an alien ship with the barrel, then extends a left jab with controller in hand.

　　And then he places the controller in hands much less experienced than his. And although I don’t navigate the dark corridors of abandoned space vessels as well as Kazdal, it’s still apparent how differently things can pan out when playing as the bipedal floating robot.

　　It takes me a few seconds to acclimate to the mech’s controls. But only a few. The robot still has the floaty feel of the spaceship, as if I’m not hovering, but gliding across ice, and the thrusters and reverse thrusters, both attached to the Dualshock 4’s shoulder buttons, let me glide around corners with ease.

　　The mech’s blade and shield lend a brutal melee aspect I didn’t think would work in the frantic chessboard of Galak-Z, but as was the case when watching Kazdal play, the mechanics help me consider situations through a new lens.

　　For instance: later in my mission, when my health is low and my shields waning, I’m intent on avoiding conflict. And by grabbing a nearby space rock, and holding it in front of me, I can obscure enemy sightlines--this, coupled with a silent approach that further obfuscates my presence, helps me reach the extraction point without more conflict.

　　To continue Kazdal’s boxing metaphor: sometimes a fighter needs to go the distance in lieu of an early knockout punch.

　　“It adds more depth to everything,” he tells me as I return to the menu screen of the near-final game. “It adds another layer, and creates new ways to play the game.”

　　Galak-Z was already subverting my understanding of its 2D shooter mechanics. And with the addition of the mech, a completely different form with its own weapons, abilities, and passive upgrades, those expectations are beginning to dissolve even more. 17-Bit’s game, which releases August 4 as part of the PlayStation Play promotion, is extremely different than what it first appeared to be.

　　Mike Mahardy on Google+