You only need one button in this Bullet Hell gem

One Btn Bosses lives up to its name: you only need one button to take on the chaotic, bullet-hail bosses.

Released on August 6th by developer Midnight Munchies, One Btn Bosses looks simple: on a 2D plane consisting mainly of shapes and lines, you control a small spaceship (in fact a tiny dot, a la Asteroid) which automatically fires its own bullets at the enemy, which fire back at the same time — lots of bullets, deadly shapes reminiscent of the lava floor and lasers.

With its top-down view, One Btn Bosses puts everything on the same plane, limiting the ship’s movement as you try to dodge bullets. The ship moves forward or backward on a fixed rail that is usually a circle, square, or curved line. One button affects the ship’s movement. When you first start the game, the button changes direction; if your ship is moving forward, pressing the button reverses its course, which is useful for dodging enemy attacks. But when you change direction, the rate at which your weapon spits bullets slows down.

As you progress, you’ll unlock different abilities; for example, an early upgrade changes the button from a switch that affects directional changes to a one-touch dash, which lets you quickly blast through enemy bullets. There are also attack upgrades for weapons, such as adding lasers to your ship, which, like abilities, can be toggled in and out between levels.

The art style and design are clean and polished. The gameplay is straightforward. The attack mechanic is of course limited to one button. But within those limitations it is One Btn Bosses shines — it turns a single button into a bastion of possibility in a world of many rules.

There are two modes to work through, the first of which is a short (around four hours) campaign that sees you play as a grunt employee battling literal corporate bosses launching attacks on your ship. You’ll soon unlock the second mode — the roguelite portion of the game, called Rifts & Developments, which sees you fight through procedurally generated levels. You can switch between modes at any time, but your unlocks from the campaign won’t apply to the roguelite mode. That’s because One Btn Bosses‘ roguelite is fairly traditional in its structure: you start with nothing special and collect upgrades and abilities that change with each new round. It’s a fun way to try out a bunch of different skills while blasting through fast-paced, really challenging levels.

One Btn Bosses keeps the game interesting level after level by slightly adjusting the boss attacks and the playing field each time. One Btn Bosses is never slow, but it does start off simple, with enemies firing their bullets straight at you – no complicated patterns to dodge. But it quickly becomes more complex, with less and less room for error. There’s an occasional quirk in the level – there’s a curved linear path with portals at either end to simulate the constant movement of a circle without, well, being a circle. It requires a mix of reflexes and strategy to stay balanced when you have to press one button; when you press it, as I said before, it slows down the attack speed, which means you have to fight the boss longer – and stay alive! – (The attack speed actually slows down every time you press the button, regardless of the skill you choose.)

So what do you prioritize? Well, that’s up to you. I’m the anxious type of player who always presses the button to avoid the boss; I don’t mind staying in a level longer as long as I play it safe. But for the speedrunners out there, they want precise pushes that keep the attack speed high to finish the level quickly. That’s the beauty of One Btn Bosses — it allows room for complexity and different strategies, even within the strictest rules.

One Btn Bosses was released on August 6 on Windows PC. The game was reviewed on a Steam Deck using a download code provided by Midnight Munchies. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You may additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.