Geometry Wars Wiki
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"Score as many points as you can with three lives"
—Description from Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions.

Retro Evolved is a game mode introduced in Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved where it was originally known as Evolved.

It was significantly overhauled in Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 to accommodate the new score multiplier system and the new enemy types that have been introduced, The result is the mode that is currently known as Evolved, essentially these they are two very different game modes.

It was reintroduced in Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions, in the Evolved update, and is for the first time referred to its current name, Retro Evolved. It is accessible in Classic Mode and it is virtually identical to its first appearance, aside from a few minor differences. It makes no appearances outside of that mode.

Gameplay[]

The player starts the game with 3 lives and 3 Bombs, and the player will gain a new life every 75,000 points scored, and 1 bomb every 100,000 points scored.

The multiplier is increased by simply destroying enemies and scoring without dying, therefore there are no Geoms to collect. The multiplier is reset every time the player loses a life so using the bombs is very important if the player has a high multiplier and death is imminent.

After scoring 10,000 points, the player will receive one of two types of weapon upgrades, increasing firepower dramatically, whichever of the two upgrades that are active will switch at regular intervals.

Most enemies spawn at random places and at random intervals, ranging from 1 to 5 seconds. However, after some time, enemies will start to frequently spawn in droves from the 4 corners of the map. Gravity Wells will also spawn regularly both in random places around the map and in the corners, use them often since they contribute significantly to the score.

Enemies will also spawn in a circle around the player at certain intervals. While this does not happen very often, it can catch the player by surprise so stay vigilant. If the player is hugging either of the four walls and this happens, some enemies will instead spawn on top of the player, since they can't spawn outside of the game boundaries.

Differences between games[]

In Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved there have been a few changes to the basic formula due to some new game mechanics that have been introduced. Though most of these changes are minor, they should still be listed and the player should always keep them in mind.

  • In the first game, Gravity Wells simply pushed away nearby enemies when destroyed, in the sequels they have been given the ability to destroy nearby enemies when destroyed, this mechanic is retained in the third game and makes them significantly more useful.
  • The Rhino has been redesigned quite a bit. In the first game, the Rhino could be damaged from all angles. They changed the hitbox in the sequels, giving the Rhino the ability to block all attacks from the front, giving it invulnerability from that angle, shooting it head-on only slows it down. The player now has to shoot it from behind in order to destroy it.
  • The Splitters have the ability to split into 2-3 smaller enemies. In the first game those smaller enemies would spin around in a circle towards the player, in the sequels they instead spin around in a circle, not following the player at all.

Tips[]

  • The corners and edges of the map must be avoided, since enemies have a high chance to spawn there, basically spawning right on top of the player, leave some space between you and the walls at all times.
  • When enemies spawn around you in a circle, focus on one direction, shoot in that direction, fly out through that hole and dodge the remaining enemies while shooting them, until you have thinned out their numbers.

Triva[]

  • Retro Evolved is the only classic game mode in Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions that has the camera follow right above the player ship, every other classic mode features a camera that is fixed in the middle of the screen, and tilts in order to see the player.