Skillfully pilot the Graceful Explosion Machine, a fighter ship armed with a ludicrously overpowered quad-weapon array! Lost in deep space, you’ll shoot, dash and combo your way through jewel-hued uncharted planets, fighting an alien armada to find a way home.
The GEM fighter is the most advanced single pilot fighter in the galaxy, offering precise controls, nimble movement, and devastating firepower.
Prototyping on Graceful Explosion Machine started in mid-2015. The goal was to create a shoot-em-up that was overwhelmingly intense, but also easy to pick up and accessible to a variety of players. It started with a simple question: what if the player could switch between multiple unique and powerful weapons effortlessly? From there, the quad-weapon array was born, and the rest of the game started falling into place.
Graceful Explosion Machine debuted as one of the first indies on the Nintendo Switch in April 2017 to both commercial and critical success. It was released later that summer on the PlayStation 4 and Steam.
Featured at Indie MEGABOOTH — PAX East 2016, PAX West 2016, PAX East 2017
Featured at PlayStation Experience 2016
Featured in the Indie Game Revolution Exhibit — MoPOP (Museum of Pop Culture), Seattle, WA
NOW’s Top 10 Toronto Video Games — NOW Magazine
8/10 — “Graceful Explosion Machine builds an intense, addictive shoot-em-up around a satisfying weapon-juggling system and smart enemies.”
9/10 — “Once you get into the thick of things, gameplay takes on the feeling of something that's rather like a cross of Bayonetta and an arcade shooter.”
9/10 — “Great graphics, killer music, and spot-on controls make this a perfect fit for your Switch.”
4/5 — “Graceful Explosion Machine is a horizontal shooter that acts like a brawler, which means the action gets much closer and more personal.”
“As mesmerizing to play as its name suggests – that perfect hit of zone-out gaming ASMR.”
Original Soundtrack
Available on Bandcamp
Vertex Pop is a Toronto-based indie game development studio founded by Mobeen Fikree. We create feel-good action games: fun, colourful, and intuitive.
Mobeen Fikree Design + Programming
Gabby DaRienzo Art + Visual Design
Robby Duguay Music + Sound Design
Henry Faber Producer + Marketing
Nina Wong Producer + Project Management
Dave Proctor Additional Production
