Good Knight
Gameplay-
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Nothing special
☐ Okay
☐ Bad
Graphics-
☑ Masterpiece (runs on potato systems)
☐ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Will do
☐ Bad
☐ Awful
Audio
☑ Amazing (Great music playing as one gets clapped)
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
Audience
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Everyone
Story-
☐ Lovely
☑ Good (need to play more to understand the story)
☐ Average
☐ Not great
☐ None
Difficult-
☐ Just press a bunch of buttons
☐ Easy
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
– Real player with 77.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Bullet Hell Puzzle Games.
A fresh take on the bullet hell/puzzle genre
At first glance, Good Knight looks messy/confusing/intimidating. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying the game for what it is: at its core a very challenging bullet hell that will make you come back for more.
The game’s premise is very, very, simple: it’s a one-button puzzle/bullet hell game. Your character is always on the move on the stage. You press a button, your character changes direction. That’s the basics! The key to progressing in the game is recognizing patterns and rhythms, knowing when to use the optional slowdowns, and dodging at the right time. The tutorial itself reinforces the fact that the mechanics are basic enough that it immediately throws you into the main game almost immediately. Side note: there may be a need to improve the tutorial instructions because I’ve seen a few players take a bit to figure out how to progress from it.
– Real player with 51.9 hrs in game
Deathsmiles
La la la… Halloween party! La la la… Let’s Trick-or-treat!
~HALLOWEEN JUNKY ORCHESTRA
If you’re not the bullet hell enthusiast, then you may stop reading this review right now. Just because, like any other bullet hell game out there, this one is not for you. At least, not yet. Bullet hell games are known to be (way) harder than regular SHMUPs and, even though this one is not the hardest one of the kind, you’ll still die a lot without having much fun. Sure, there are difficulty levels here, but… let’s just say that as long as you’re not an experienced SHMUP player, you’re not ready for this. You have been warned. Now, if you are a fan of such entertainment, then, I guess, one word will be enough for you to get the idea about what do we have here. The word is – cave. CAVE Interactive. Creators of the DoDonPachi, Ketsui and Mushihimesama series.
– Real player with 54.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Bullet Hell Shoot 'Em Up Games.
Deathsmiles is one of the few horizontal shooters by CAVE. Due to its unique nonlinear nature, it also happens to be one of their easier offerings, and therefore suitable for players new to the genre. It debuted in Japanese arcades in 2007, and was later released on iOS, Android, and Xbox 360. Thanks to Degica, it has now been released on PC as well. The Steam release includes normal, arcade, and 1.1 versions of both the original and MBL (Mega Black Label).
As the name suggests, the arcade versions have the same graphical appearance as the original arcade release. I could be mistaken, but as far as I know, normal mode is exactly the same as arcade mode except it features upgraded graphics. I purchased the game exclusively for the original versions of normal/arcade mode so I can’t say I have the knowledge to speak at length about 1.1 or MBL. From what I know, in 1.1 you have a greater degree of control over the character’s familiar. MBL is a different version of the game that features an additional playable character. What I do know, however, is that some or all of the modes of MBL are either missing slowdown or don’t have it at all. If you’re buying the game just to play anything other than the original version, I highly suggest exercising caution and doing some research. That said, the remainder of this review will be about the normal original version of the game.
– Real player with 24.8 hrs in game
DEMON’S TILT
The Developer has proved that the impossible can be achieved; to actually refine an already perfect game and make it even better with every subsequent update. Pinball goes back decades and the game that Demon’s Tilt is based on is actually around almost thirty years old. The Pc Engine hosted some amazing shooters (including it’s almost arcade perfect version of R-Type), Gunhed and the aforementioned Devil Crash, which was the best occult themed pinball game ever created and nothing could ever come close UNTIL Demon’s Tilt emerged nearly three decades on the heels of Devil Crash. Three decades is a very long time to wait for a worthy successor and surprisingly, nobody tried to replicate or improve on Devil Crash until now…first enter the developer of Demon’s Tilt and later the publisher who came on board and the game went from being pretty special to nigh-on-perfect with scaling, rotation, tons of large hand drawn sprites, shmup elements and the occult. Wow, this is like winning the lottery and every time you play this utterly stunning pinball game you are constantly rewarded with more discoveries and higher scores. The table is good stretching up three screens high and the mood is dark but when things liven up it does get hectic and very colourful. The music is straight out of a Megadrive/Genesis but the core game remains true to the Devil Crash formula. Occult pinball just got better and gets better with every update, the developer has to be seriously applauded for making the impossible happen, can you get better than perfect? He has proved that you can with a resounding YES. Every update of Demon’s Tilt either tweaks or adds something new. And we haven’t even left EA yet. For the price, you get the best pinball on Steam and for your time, you get happy memories created in seriously wanting to beat your high score again and again. Going retro with Occult Pinball with hints of Saturn, Neo Geo, and Playstation thrown in. The epitome of the perfect video pinball game 100/100 and it just keeps on getting better.
– Real player with 31.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Bullet Hell Pinball Games.
DEMON’S TILT
DEMON’S TILT is a retro-stylized pinball on a huge 3 sections table. I’ve played with Xbox controller and I believe it’s much more comfortable than keyboard for this game.
I can say only positive things about DEMON’S TILT:
-
Gameplay is very addictive and the game is a great fun for short playsessions
-
Cool music/sound effects
-
Game looks really good + there’s plenty of settings to adjust visuals/colours
-
I’m not super impressed by bosses in a current state, but the whole table in general is absolutely awesome.
– Real player with 22.6 hrs in game
东方栖霞园 ~ Blue devil in the Belvedere.
A fun, modern fangame based on the Touhou Project series. Similarly to Elegant Impermanence of Sakura, the previous work of the developers, there is a gimmick in this game too; the power overwhelming mechanic.
Regarding the mechanic, I feel using it during the stage portions makes the game a bit too forgiving. However, during the bosses it’s often the reverse. Activating the mechanic can make some of the nons/spell cards quite ridiculous, which is a fun challenge in of itself. This makes scoring in this game quite fun and challenging. One nitpick about the mechanic is that you can’t really opt out of it; misses are an automatic power overwhelming activation as long as you have bombs and max power. However, the game is designed around using the mechanic, so why one would want to play without it is beyond me. Regarding stage difficulty, it’s very linear, with the hardest parts being at the end of the game.
– Real player with 46.3 hrs in game
The latest fangame from 东方祈华梦制作组, their previous excellent fangame Eternal Impermanence of Sakura (from now on abbreviated as EIoS). Blue Devil in the Belvedere provides a more traditional Touhou experience (with power, point of collection)
The amount of gameplay and visual polish in this title is amazing. There are a lot of quality of life features to make it more enjoyable to play and help with visibility. Also present in this game is a health bar with numeric values, so you know exactly how well you’re doing during an attack. This health bar is visible for both spells and non-spells. The dialog and translation are vastly improved from their first game.
– Real player with 22.9 hrs in game
Akinofa
Decent old school shoot-em-up. This is not “bullet hell”.
Collect gold as you progress so when you die you can spend it for upgrades.
The upgrades save as you play, so the more you grind for gold, the more upgrades you can earn and make yourself stronger.
Achievements are easy to collect, although once you have 13/13 and steam recognises you have 13/13 it still does not count the game as completed, even though it says it is completed.
The game does not show up as completed nor does it show in “games” list on profile.
– Real player with 2.5 hrs in game
Cube Gothic
Even for an Arkhouse game, this was a very masochistic experience, it’s shame because this game has a great story and I wish more people could experience it - it’s almost like the developer does not want anyone to see his artwork. It took me slightly over 4 hours to complete, it’s pretty long for a 2D bullet-hell, give or take a few hours depending on your reflexes. The narrative is connected to at least 2 other Arkhouse games, so if you skip those you might have a hard time understanding the importance of recurring characters. Even though I love the narrative in his games, Arkhouse stories are very metaphorical, there is some space for personal interpretation. Unfortunately, the difficulty is not fair, I don’t mind challenging gameplay, but a lot of it has to do with confusing hitboxes, punishing checkpoint system, and the need for excessive stage repetition. If you don’t play carefully you can potentially create a very poor checkpoint with low HP, although sometimes you can reload the game and go a bit further back.
– Real player with 6.8 hrs in game
Oh this game…
I WANTED to like this game. I SO wanted to! The art style and the music was interesting! And while the game was hard, it was still fun! But then in the middle, the game jumped the shark with a m weird maze and minesweeper level and PLATFORMING levels which made no sense!
And the levels starting getting VERY cheap and annoying! Sadistically cheap! Being hit out of nowhere by attacks you can’t see! Weakpoints that you have to guess to find! And the story jumping the shark like that! And the most annoying thing being much of the non-story text being backwards! That made things VERY annoying to understand!
– Real player with 5.8 hrs in game
Gates of Hell
Great game! Very Fun!
If you want a fun, inexpensive, pretty looking,
Serious Sam crossed with Doom, wave based
shooter this is it.
I recommend toggle the setting to let you
keep run always enabled as walk speed is
a death sentence.
9/10 for price and fun value.
– Real player with 0.9 hrs in game
Redeeming features absolutely nothing. Not worth buying.
– Real player with 0.6 hrs in game
Lost to Time
Its pretty fun. Controls are hard to get used to, but it’s a good game. I would love to continue playing, but I ended up stuck in an area of the game I was not meant to reach yet, and am unable to leave :I
– Real player with 15.0 hrs in game
It’s not good as I expected two years ago, when I got its demo… in many aspects, not good. But I still like its pixel graphics. And maybe its story.
Rouge-like warning ！！
Score 5/10
Not suggested to buy it without a 50% discount.
– Real player with 9.6 hrs in game
Valfaris: Mecha Therion
Therion returns as the hunt for Lord Vroll continues. Pilot an advanced machine of death and destruction in this explosive 2.5D side-scrolling shoot ‘em up, and sequel to the critically acclaimed Valfaris. Strap in and unleash mecha hell!
After escaping Valfaris, Therion’s hunt for the evil Lord Vroll has taken him across the galaxy. As the final, inevitable showdown looms, Therion harnesses the awesome combat ability of his secret weapon – Mecha Therion!
A formidable suit of weaponised metal, Mecha Therion can be equipped with an array of devastating firepower, including enemy eviscerating favourites such as Bringer of Mayhem, Skysplitter, and Therion’s trademark Hellwraith.
Strap in and unleash mecha hell!
-
Fight through multiple levels of hostile alien territory
-
Master a range of Melee, Ballistic, and Destroyer class weapons
-
Configure your Mecha loadout with your favourite weapon combos
-
Earn Blood Metal to upgrade weapons and add-ons
Cathedral 3-D
“I like the aesthetics and bold discount tactics” - My friend Berry
I’ve got to say that this game is really great. I don’t know if there is anything else like it or if it’s emulating a style but that does not matter. Cathedral 3D’s movement, speed, style, and mechanics combine for an awesome time.
The game has a simple tutorial, some would argue to simple. Just get in there and play, figure out routes, learn what attacks work best, and stack combo orbs which give you invincibility, shield, or invincibility for your chest. To reload your health and ammo, you must be holding the chest as you run over the grails. Additionally, your point modifier depletes if you stray to far from the chest.
– Real player with 17.9 hrs in game
I’d say this game is well worth your time if youre a fan of arena shooters with a unique spin. Fans of Devil Daggers and the like will feel at home with this fast paced First Person Demon-er.
While the game doesn’t do much in terms of hand holding, there’s a bit to take in mechanic wise at first. But after a few play-throughs and learning the ins and outs on your own its an easy beast to tame. Flying around as a demon in this massive gorgeous cathedral feels so satisfying and blasting away and taking out your foes its a lot of fun.
– Real player with 9.0 hrs in game