Varia: An abstract take on arcade shoot-em-ups

If you enjoy either (a) quality time with retro shoot-em-ups or (b) raves, you’ll love Varia. In the game, a world of abstract images and enemies are created. Ostensibly taking place in space, a Varia player takes a familiar role: the captain of a spaceship near the bottom of the screen, “shooting up” at arcade-style enemies coming down from the top (or occasionally, sides).

If you’d like to check out Varia, you can play it for free here.

Complete with bosses and multiple difficulty settings and levels, Varia provides a thrilling retro arcade experience and is a great time killer. While the large numbers of colors can get difficult to distinguish at times, this is clearly one of the better free games we’ve covered on this site.

Screenshot from Varia

Finally, a description of Varia wouldn’t be complete without the frenetic, trance-like music. It’s a great complement to the retro, arcade-style graphics in this intense shoot-em-up.