The Sinden Lightgun Brings Classic Arcade Rail Shooters Home


If you're a fan of classic video games and consoles like me, then you've noticed the steady stream of plug-and-play console emulators that have appeared on the market, emulators that are frequently sold as smaller versions of the original console and come pre-packaged with a number of the console's games. What has been missing in these emulators are lightguns that were made for both arcade and console games. Thankfully, somebody else noticed this absence and did something about it--thus, we have the Sinden Lightgun by Sinden Technology Ltd.

I didn't know the Sinden Lightgun existed until I saw a post about it on Facebook. It started as an Indiegogo campaign, and Sinden Technology Ltd. went online during October 2022 to accept orders. The lightgun can be ordered in different colors (red, blue, black or gray), and you can also order a Sinden Arcade Pedal for arcade games that included a pedal feature. The Sinden Lightgun doesn't need a sensor bar, so all the hardware you need is inside the gun itself. 

I ordered a blue lightgun, and it arrived in a tidy box with secure padding. 




The lightgun itself is a sturdy piece of technology. It has the right amount of heft to it, with four buttons and a d-pad that can be customized to accommodate whatever emulator software you are using, and a USB plug for your PC. 





The lightgun also features a pump-action sliding handguard so you can "reload" during the game.





The lightgun's software is downloadable on the official website, sindenlightgun.com. I found the software easy to install and configure on my PC, and within less than an hour I was using my Sinden Lightgun to shoot down hordes of zombies. 

To clarify, the Sinden Lightgun does not come with any software or pre-packaged games of its own. The emulators that are compatible with the Sinden Lightgun have to be accessed separately, and video game distributors such as Steam and itch.io do have selections of rail shooters that work with the Sinden Lightgun. Furthermore, the Sinden Wiki provides very thorough information about which games, operating systems and emulators work with the lightgun and how to set them up. 

My Sinden Lightgun feels like something straight out of an arcade. (It also reminds me of the Dominator weapon from the Psycho-Pass anime series, which would make for a great rail shooter.) I tested it with two zombie shooter games I purchased from Steam--Dead Containment and The House of the Dead: Remake--and it works extremely well. I've played plenty of arcade emulators and arcade game re-releases over the years, but the Sinden Lightgun really took me back to my Dave and Buster's days when I would spend hours shooting at aliens, dinosaurs, zombies and other digital targets.     



Rail shooters of the damned: Dead Containment (above) and
The House of the Dead: Remake (below).



To get the most out of this hardware, it would help to be familiar with game emulators such as MAME, RetroArch and TeknoParrot, since these are the means by which you will be getting access to many vintage arcade and console lightgun games. You should review the Sinden Wiki to get a better idea of how the lightgun works, which games work with it, and the kind of software adjustments you'll need to make to ensure the lightgun's compatibility with different games, operating systems and emulators.

If you love rail shooter games, then I highly recommend that you get a Sinden Lightgun. Don't let the tech details scare you off--the Sinden Lightgun is a fantastic gaming device that was made by rail shooter fans for rail shooter fans. You can order your own Sinden Lightgun here.

You can also check out my VR video review of the Siden Lightgun on my YouTube channel, MindEyeMedia:





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