Great game, but online multiplayer is a must.
Although I don't have any friends, I definitely suggest a 2-4 player online matchmaking. This will add some flavor to the game so you don't always have to play with aimbot AI's.

I played this at an event in Austin, and it was a blast. It's a great party game. Can't wait to play this the next time I have friends over. While it supports keyboard controls, I recommend using gamepads and turning on Pilot Execution mode.

This game is going to ensure that your gamer friends at any party or get together stay for hours and have a blast! ...And for that, this game is a STEAL even at it's regular full price here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZbyKEzqMoY&feature=youtu.be

My son and I were both surprised how much fun a game like this can be. It scores a whopping 94% score using my person indie game scoring system and earns a "High Recommend" from me!

You can play with up to four players LOCALLY and use any combination of controllers and keyboard with a maximum of two players using keys on the keyboard. If you would prefer to play solo against one, two, or three CPU controller ships, you can do that as well,but I believe playing against other human players is where the real fun comes and where this game shines like a diamond.

94% = Very High Recommend! It's more fun that it might look! Give it a shot is my best advice I can give. You can thank me later! =)

Astro Duel is the most fun you'll have shooting your lame friends in space. Except they're not lame because you'll be playing Astro Duel and yelling obsenities at each other. Unless you're a child then you'll probably be pooping yourself because you've never experienced a video game this good before. Move over Call of Duty. IT'S TIME TO DUEL.....TO ASTRO DUEL....IN SPACE.....WITH LASERS.....AND STUFF.

Tip: Pilot Execution mode is dope.

Fun game, it's mostly intended to be a local multiplayer astroid game with no online functionality. but this game is perfect to play at a friend's house.

One of those games that makes you burst out laughing or burst into obscenities. Or both. Mostly both.

It's kind of like a love child between Asteroids and Towerfall Ascension. It has far more options than Astroids. It has far less options than Towerfall Ascension.

Some random things that some fellow multiplayer retro-gamers might be interested to know:

* 2 to 4 players, local shared screen, small arena, top down 2D space shooter.
* you can add 1 to 3 bots. There are 2 bot difficulty levels, and each bot can be assigned difficulty levels independently.
* Bots are more of an optional "add some variety when you only have 2 or 3 players" kind of thing, So 1 player vs bots I'd not recommend. They are especially stupid regarding proximity mines you drop. You're going to need 1 to 3 buddies to come over and play with you, because there is...
* no online multiplayer
* full screen or windowed
* Gamepad functions: Turn left, thrust, turn right, fire regular, fire/activate special weapon (pickups), and Dash (short boost/dodge forward).
* Regular weapon and boost each take 1 ammo. If you don't have ammo, you cannot boost or shoot temporarily.
*Your ammo slowly regenerates, represented as squares orbiting your ship (3 max). So you (and your opponent) know just how much you can dash or shoot. Which is good, because it prevents spamming either.
* Joystick bindings and keyboard bindings are not re-mappable in-game.
* game supports 0, 1 or 2 players on the keyboard (but I'd not recommend 2 players unless you have an n-key rollover keyboard)
* Music can be turned off so it won't interfere if you're playing your own.
* PowerUps can be turned off, dashes cannot be turned off.
* Friendly Fire can be toggled (for team DM)
* Turning left or right seems to have some issues on my PS3 (on PC) controller's dpads, so we just use the analog pads. Move thumb right to rotate ship clockwise, not move thumb up to point ship up. Up and down serve no function. Like Asteroids. And it's digital: there are not different turn speeds.
* The map selection screen shows 13 maps, with a random option. But it seems the "random" pool of maps leaves a couple out. This game is just begging for a map designer program for more maps and the ability to toggle which maps are included in "random".

One thing that really sets this game apart is the "pilot hunters". With pilot hunters, after you blow up a ship (one hit does it) the pilot is left behind, and he's got little thrusters on him to fly around. He can't shoot or dash. You must either shoot the pilot or ram him with your ship to actually earn the kill. If you don't, after 6 seconds, his ship will respawn back on top of him. The balance is spot on for fun, it's not too difficult, nor too easy to take out the pilots. Well placed laser shots, or missle shots close to center of the blast will take out the ship and the pilot with one shot, but those are both powerups.

Now if only someone would make a similar 4 player game, with more complexity. Like 4-player Star Control 2... I digress.

9/10.
Would be a 10/10 if it had many more customization options like Towerfall Ascension, even if that meant pay for DLC.

Anyway, this is a great game and one of my "go to" games for 2 to 4 player shared-screen gaming fun. I think I purchased this when it was on sale, but had I paid full price: I would still be very satisfied with the purchase.

I collect a bunch of local multiplayer games and this one is aight. There is better, but Astro Duel can totally hold you over for a couple nights with the right people next to you.

Astro Duel is a game that sneaks up on ya. It looks like Asteroids and Samurai Gun had a baby... but it turns out that the baby is actually like a Baby Rambo with twin uzis and insane kung fu skills and also a tail! That's how awesome this game is. I'm so stoked it's finally on Steam, cause now I can play it on my big screen and punk all my bois and baes with my insane astro dueling skills. If you're hard up for a game that will make you laugh, cry, scream, and probably get a whole pizza dumped on your head, then this is the game for you.

Good fun!

This game is lots of fun especially with 4 players. All the different game modes are great and the powerups make for some wonderfully tense and fun moments. The only thing I'd do to improve it would be to add more powerups (bouncing bullets for one would be cool), more maps, and maybe another game mode or two. It's well worth the money if you have a couple of friends.