Ikaruga (2001)

Switch polarity to absorb bullets matching your ship's colour, then spend that stored energy on homing lasers. The useful question becomes which stream to enter, not simply which gap to flee towards. Changing colour also changes which shots are dangerous, so an apparently safe position can become fatal at the wrong switch. Enemy bodies and solid scenery are not made harmless by matching polarity. Choose the current PC or console release for this deliberately binary, highly readable defensive puzzle.