Subdivision Infinity DX; not exactly the most memorable name for a video game and there is nothing there to even hint at what kind of game it is, but rest assured that if you have been craving an old-school, arcade, space-shooter then look no further. Previously released on the PS4 back in 2019, this engaging 3D space combat game has finally arrived on the PS5, showcasing some blinding visuals – seriously, don’t look into the sun with an HDR monitor or you will go blind – and some seriously fun and challenging intergalactic combat mixed with some classic asteroid mining, resource gathering, and a surprisingly engaging tech tree for new weapons and ships.
At first glance I was instantly transported back to 1997 and Colony Wars on the original PlayStation. For those of you not quite that old you might want to compare to more recent titles like Star Wars Squadrons, albeit with several variations that extend beyond combat including mineral resource mining and an economy system that, while much smaller than games like Freelancer or Rebel Galaxy Outlaw, still offers a nice break from the flashy combat. Subdivision Infinity DX eases you into the action with a simple tutorial before you find yourself stranded on a distant mining platform with a sassy robot that will be sending you out on various missions across multiple star systems as you try to get home.
The core game loop is simple enough; go into a sector and shoot most anything that moves with a combination of primary and secondary weapons while trying to achieve the mission objective. Early on you are mostly clearing out waves of drones but later you will need to destroy signal jammers, blow up space stations, download data from signal towers tucked into a minefield and even face off against large and deadly battleships. Each star system has several main missions along with a few exploration missions where you can swap out a weapon pod for a mining laser and start blasting apart rocks for various minerals and other resources that can be sold back at the base or used as ingredients to craft new ships or upgrade your existing one.
The explorations missions are a nice diversion from the core missions that are almost always about combat; although you will have to fight off numerous waves of increasingly dangerous enemies the longer you stay out mining for riches. It seemed that about every three asteroids I mined would spawn a new wave of enemies; first two, then three, then four ships at a time. You’ll also want to be on the lookout for shipping containers that contain lost relics and blueprints required to build new and more powerful ships. Each area has a certain amount of crates that you can either search for and find by accident or purchase and launch probes that will reveal the location of a single crate. At 5000 credits per probe finding all the crates in a level can get expensive, but most are so well hidden you’d probably never find them all without some assistance. Some crates are even hidden inside asteroids behind locked doors that require a key.
Upgrading or “evolving” your ship requires a different set of parts than crafting a new one, so you will need to keep an eye out for the parts required in those “recipes” while selling off non-crafting materials like asteroid soil for extra cash to buy new and more powerful weapons. There is a massive arsenal waiting to be unlocked, all gated by your current level, with primary weapons and unlimited ammo or more powerful guided and swarm missiles with limited ammo. Weapons are automatically reloaded between missions and you can find replacement ammo floating around in the debris after combat. Weapons can also be upgraded using your gathered resources to boost attributes like firepower, fire rate, and even the amount of ammo you can fire before reloading. Upgrading your primary weapons is always a good idea since those have unlimited ammo and that is the only gun you will have while mining.
Controls are excellent and highly responsive. You can only fly from behind the ship – no cockpit view – but the ship is quite nimble with L1/L2 proving forward and reverse thrust while the left stick moves the ship vertical and horizontally and the right stick offers a more traditional “rudder” control for banking and steering. Targets have their own lock-on distance; some requiring you to be very close before getting a lock like a boss ship shield generator, while other ships can be shot down with a fire-and-forget missile from a good distance. There is no manual targeting; just aim toward the enemy until it automatically locks on for both primary and secondary weapons. A nice radar on the HUD shows incoming enemies, the exit gate, and any other objects of interest like resource collectibles and crates revealed by a probe. Other meters in the top corners show shield and armor health as well as turbo boost energy.
Subdivision Infinity DX does have a mildly interesting story told through text bubbles and static character portraits, along with mid-mission briefings, also told through text bubbles. It’s totally disposable and easy to click through if you are here just for the action. It’s probably more than you’d expect from a budget arcade game, but not quite up to the standards of more narrative driven space shooters like Star Wars. The overall interface is simple enough with a few selectable options for ship business in the hanger, buying and selling in the shop, and accessing star systems and missions in the campaign menu. It navigates nicely and looks great with clean text and visually pleasing icons for the various components and resources.
Once in the actual game prepare to be dazzled by some amazing space visuals that would rival any AAA title. The first time I came out of hyperspace into this massive asteroid field I was blown away by the complexity, the lighting and the super-fluid movement of hundreds of rocks floating in space. The first set of missions take place in a system cast in this orange glow that is often quite blinding, and later levels mix up the background pallet and overall environmental theme – all of them gorgeous. There is some brilliant design work going on for space stations and laser drills that are built right into the rocks, and the medium and larger ships have some great details if you can get close enough to see before they blow up. Even the remaining debris left floating from the larger ships is really cool.
I never played the PS4 version of Subdivision Infinity DX so I cannot speak to any improvements to the PS5. I’m certain the PS5 version is running much higher graphics and framerate than possible on the PS4, and the load times are super-fast. Sadly there was no specific DualSense feature support; no radio chatter on the speaker or haptics on the triggers, but Subdivision Infinity DX is still a blast and one of the best looking games in this genre currently available on the PS5. With more than 30 missions and side-quests scattered about five unique star systems, you can expect 10-15 hours of thrilling space combat, crate hunting, and asteroid mining, all the while trying to solve a fairly entertaining mystery that ties all these missions together. Build and upgrade a wide assortment of ships, attach all sorts of deadly weapons, then strap into the cockpit for one of the best space shooters this year.
If you want to see Subdivision Infinity DX in action check out our launch-day video that covers the entire first star system, a ship evolve, and the crafting of our second ship:
