Wirehawk Is My Kind of Handheld Gaming

Some games you see and instantly think, that was made to be played on a handheld. More specifically, Valve’s Steam Deck or the Nintendo Switch, preferably the OLED model, of course. Wirehawk from developer Trax certainly fits that bill.

Steeped in influences from games like Geometry Wars, Galaga, and Asteroids, with perhaps even a touch of Housemarque thrown in for good measure. If you’re hearing echoes of Resogun, you’re not alone, and that’s perfectly fine with me.

Now, back to my beloved handhelds. At the end of a long day of work, there’s nothing better than relaxing, checking out from the world, and zoning out with a game where bullets fly, lasers pop, and collectibles are everywhere.

That’s been my experience playing Wirehawk. I could easily see this one joining my select list of games I turn to when I just need 15–20 minutes to escape, from the everything.

With Steam Next Fest kicking off next week, I’ve been combing through demos looking for games worth checking out. Yeah, I’m one of those types who keeps adding interesting games to my wishlist, only to circle back to them later. Naturally, a neon-colored shoot ’em up inspired by the arcade classics of the ’80s was going to get a second look.

As mentioned, Wirehawk takes inspiration from the vector-based arcade games of the past, replacing traditional sprite graphics with colorful, glowing lines against a black background.

The action is built around quick reactions rather than memorizing scripted enemy patterns. Asteroids, alien ships, and increasingly dangerous projectiles stand between you and your next high score.

Your ship fires automatically, leaving you to concentrate on movement, survival, and collecting power-ups. Those upgrades include additional laser fire, helper drones, homing missiles, and a stasis ability that slows time.

For a game whose Steam Deck compatibility is currently unknown, Wirehawk played great on the device. The UI could use a little help, but that might just be my old eyes failing me at the end of a long workday.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the same luck with DroidDeck. Despite its Steam-based environment, I couldn’t get the demo to load past the spinning Steam logo. But you can be sure that won’t deter me from trying again down the road.

What’s Included in the Demo?

The Wirehawk demo is already available, so there’s no need to wait until Steam Next Fest begins on October 19 to give it a try.

The free demo includes the entire first world, Deep Space, consisting of 10 stages and a boss encounter. Players can experiment with the game’s scoring mechanics, including multipliers reaching 100×, while competing on Steam leaderboards.

The developer estimates that a run through the demo takes approximately 13 minutes, which sounds ideal for a quick arcade session.

Wirehawk is currently scheduled for release in Q1 2027 on PC through Steam.

For anyone who enjoys old-school arcade shooters, neon visuals, and chasing high scores, Wirehawk might be worth adding to the demo queue.

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