Top Dog iterates and improves quite a bit, in my view, on the formula tried out in developer MorfeoDev's previous game Afterburn.

There are still swarms of enemy fighters to take out, along with antigravity warships. But the latter are more of a threat in their own right. Better flight controls, with the "barrel roll" from the earlier title no longer triggering at awkward moments when boosting and turning, help out a lot in taking down these threats. Along with a combined gun & missile armament, rather than a choice between the two.

And there's an upgrade system for the player to tweak the performance of their fighter from one wave to the next of the randomized and daily refreshing missions. Speeding up missile reloads, mercifully as later waves contain a whole lot of enemies, increasing flight speed, maneuverability, hull integrity, and repair rate, Victories feel more earned, defeats more deserved, than in Afterburn. While the sprawling dogfights feel more chaotic, with fewer breaks in the action.

Definitely worth checking out, for fans of arcade-style air combat.