Strania - The Stella Machina -
From modern STG pioneers G.rev, Strania takes its root deep into games such as Cybattler, MUSHA Aleste, Spriggan Mk II and other 90’s mech shooters, while adding the mesmerizing and cinematic experience typical to G.rev that can be seen in some of their other titles such as Border Down or Under Defeat.
With collaboration from Treasure’s former employee Hiroshi Iuchi as graphic designer, famous for directing games such as Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga, and an exhilarating soundtrack with sharp sound effects produced by Keishi Yonao (Asuka 120%, Mad Stalker, Neural Gear), Strania is an accessible shooter that focuses more on environmental aspects rather than just throwing a million bullets at you on a lifeless terrain.
– Real player with 472.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Bullet Hell Shoot 'Em Up Games.
Well, here’s my 2 cents on it, lol! X3
From the makers of Border Down, Under Defeat, both Senko no Ronde’s, Mamoru-Kun Curse, and their latest title Kokuga. Comes G.Rev’s Strania - The Stella Machina - (Seisou Kouki Strania/星霜鋼機ストラニア), their first title on Steam.
Previously developed for XBLA and the Nesica-(X)-Live Arcade, Strania is a shoot-em-up/shmup/STG, in which you’re fighting a war against both the Stranian and the Vower armies vaying conquest. Yes, there is a story on both sides if you check the “How-To-Play” section after you see the mechanics of the game.
– Real player with 96.4 hrs in game
Deathroids
Deathroids is a great shmup which is heavily inspired by old school conventions of the genre. It plays really well and is challenging enough to keep you coming back to try to improve your score. Last but not least, it has a superb soundtrack
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Bullet Hell Shoot 'Em Up Games.
IT’S THE FUNNIEST ANGRY WILL EVER FEEL. Let’s face it: a shoot-them-up in space, trying to kill robots that moves extremely erratic throughout the screen, as if they weren’t bothering with inertia or g-force (THEY ARE ROBOTS AFTER ALL) and shooting at you, and chasing you and only a really obsessively assassin A.I. would do it. You gonna die a lot! (or as they say: neutralized) And you gonna feel angry and will keep trying because now it’s personal. You HAVE TO annihilate them!
– Real player with 0.4 hrs in game
Mechstermination Force
Short campaign but great replayability especially in local coop with my son. (No technical issues.)
– Real player with 21.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Bullet Hell Robots Games.
June 4th, 2020: this is an update of my initial review from May, 26th, 2020.
After having played the game in 3 distinct sessions for a total of 14 hours-ish, I unfortunately feel like I can’t recommend this game ON STEAM.
The game itself (for 95% of it) is GREAT.
Unfortunately, the game is really broken on Steam and the developer doesn’t seem to be able to fix it to run a stable version that everybody can run and play….
Either the game doesn’t start altogether or it starts painfully but then crashes hours into it and is a hassle to restart.
– Real player with 19.3 hrs in game
Senko no Ronde 2 旋光の輪舞２
Ok, so I’m gonna re-do the review as the old one was for the VERY first version of the game, and after revisiting it with an older RIP I used to own and videos I did, the game has wildly changed.
First, who’s G.Rev?
Most of the Staff is formed by former Taito Employees, you know about G Darius? Ikaruga? Well, this devs were inside those releases doing some sort of collaboration on programming or another, and you can see them in the game credits.
They also did most iMobile Japanese ports (“java” phone ports).
– Real player with 310.7 hrs in game
Awesome game. One part shoot-em-up, one part fighting game, Senko No Ronde 2 provides intense action and mind games as you and your opponent swarm eachother with bullets. I highly recommend this game if you are familiar with both game types.
I am running this game on a computer with specs below the minimum, however it is working just fine for me (YOUR RESULTS MAY VARY).
The negative i see is sometimes you’ll be matched with someone and the match is laggy.
– Real player with 16.6 hrs in game
Uragun
First things first: U are a gun indeed (with a soft, mechanical heart) and you are here to take back what was lost – the Earth. The fun part is… you are absolutely free to do whatever it takes to fulfill your goal. Not bad, right? Get ready for some serious action!
Your enemy does not sleep and you will face a large, varied roster of hostile AI machines – from little spiders to [no spoiler allowed]. It’s totally up to you how will you approach the danger. Choose your weapon sets, scavenge for additional resources, and experiment. Find your perfect combination and embrace dual-wielding!
Play with the environment, cook some deadly combos, and enjoy the carnage. Also, feel free to play with our original system called HEAT. Whenever an enemy dies, it drops a resource called HEAT and you can use it to unlock different attacks or just to repair yourself. Be careful and use it wisely!
This is not a school academy, this is a punk rock gig, an improv show! You can never be sure what to expect, but it will most likely be very fun to watch! You are here to save the day and to have loads of fun!
-
Play as a cute-but-deadly mech unit and “cook” him just the way you like it
-
Upgrade your weapons with mods, granting them awesome bonuses
-
Experiment, find your perfect combo, improvise your way out of trouble
-
Grow your mech thanks to an in-depth player progression
-
Visit familiar locations – here as futuristic biomes controlled by enemy AI
Astebreed: Definitive Edition
First: ignore the “TOO EASY” reviews. They are jokes. None of them took note of score, 1CCed Hard mode or even COMPLETED it.
One of the best, most underrated indie games out there, made doubly impressive by the development company’s obscurity & status as part-time devs. Despite classic arcade-like design principles, it’s not a “nostalgia game”; it can hardly be described as “X meets Y”. Maybe Sin & Punishment’s cinematic on-rails presentation + a shmup’s bullet dodging + Alien Soldier’s sheer variety of stuff to do… but that wouldn’t really do it justice.
– Real player with 48.1 hrs in game
This review will be primarily focused on the Definitive Edition release and it’s new features. Owners of the original version will automatically receive the Definitive Edition update for free.
SCORE: 8/10
Pros: Extremely fast-paced action with varying degrees of difficulty, absolutely stunning visuals (further enhanced particles and blur for the Definitive Edition), extremely memorable soundtrack (new tracks have been added), high replayability even for a considerably short game. Extensive (and even slighty interactive) gallery provides fans of the game a more in-depth look at virtually everything involved with the lore. Further enhanced optimization options (including higher resolution support).
– Real player with 43.1 hrs in game
Hell Blasters
I’m fairly new to playing shoot em ups (shmups) to actually be good at them rather than just credit feed my way through an arcade game. I wanted to get into ‘bullet hell’ shmups but the games are really intimidating. This game was recommended because the designer is an accomplished bullet hell player who made the gameplay the top priority - and made it so you can use the story mode to actually learn to play a bullet hell.
It’s been an absolute blast and the story mode really delivers bite sized chunks of training and the arcade so you can practice them and learn how to deal with the enemies.
– Real player with 24.4 hrs in game
This is the Bluesmobile of shmups. It may not look like much on the outside, but it’s got the cop motor, cop tires, and probably even the cig lighter. Great level design & bullet patterns, a ton of modes, leader board & replays, great shmup tunes, it’s all there. Great work, devs!
– Real player with 12.5 hrs in game
Bibots
Bibots is a top-down shooter rogue lite with an emphasis on bullet hell action. Switch between two characters, explore and clear areas full of monsters, unlock abilities, customize your characters, die, learn and retry to save the world.
Play as Tayar, the crob explorer and the unexpected savior of his world, Takaful. Pick your guns, guts and go counter the plans of an evil mastermind. Tayar is not alone to accomplish this feat, chosen by a Bibot (actually luckily stumbled upon one) he gains the ability to transform into one of those ancient mechanical creatures. Each Bibot has his own strengths, try them all and pick your favourite according to your own playstyle.
Key Features
Discover a colourful world
Venture through mysterious temples in a colourful world full of characters to discover but also inhabited by dangerous monsters. The world is divided into regions, each with its own atmosphere to discover. The regions are procedurally generated and contain hand crafted battle rooms, treasures, merchants and secrets changing each time you play. Protect your home from vile enemies corrupting the fauna and threatening Takaful.
The Bibots
Choose the Bibot that will join Tayar in his epic journey, accumulate energy during your fights and use it to summon the devastating power of these mechanical beings. Each Bibot has its own playstyle and abilities, use them to fight your toughest enemies or save yourself from impossible situations. Learn to master them! The more you fight with the same Bibot, the more its synergy with Tayar will increase, unlocking new variants of its attacks to customize them before going into battle.
Customize your guns
Equip Tayar with a variety of weapons which you can customize with chips that you will find while exploring or encountering merchants. Experiment and combine their effects to customize your playstyle and create the weapons of your dream with countless possibilities and powerful synergie.
Level up
Accumulate experience during your fights to improve Tayar’s skills. Make it a survivalist, a soldier, a scientist or mix it all up. Each branch grants you access to permanent passives upgrading a wide range of skills and offering you new possibilities to enhance the synergy between Tayar and his Bibot.
Made for speedrunners
Bibots is made for all types of players, therefore we created features and game mechanics thought for speedrunners. The game keeps track of your current run time and you can see it any time while you play. The faster you clean the levels, the more you will be rewarded with bonuses corresponding to your fast play style. Influence your timer by summoning your Bibot and stop the flow of time, switch your characters intelligently to prevent time from running out and unlock a maximum number of rewards.
Die, try and repeat to break your records… Or well, to save the world!
Stardust Galaxy Warriors: Stellar Climax
I’ve had half of an eye on Stardust Galaxy Warriors since it hit Steam Greenlight. I bought it, and my impression of it then was that it was an alright introduction to shmups. I’d hoped to get some of my friends into shmups by playing this with them, but due to my IRL friends being non-gamers, this didn’t pan out. I’ve attempted to get myself through some of the achievements every now and then, so I’ve put an hour into this game “here and there,” and then I put the game down again because I wanted to play something else - I must admit that this game was not made for someone like me. Yet somehow, I keep finding myself playing this game alone, and every time I pick it up I am not disappointed. This game has, so far, been the highlight of my quest through my backlog.
– Real player with 36.5 hrs in game
To start off, I highly recommend anyone that enjoys side scrolling shooters to purchase this game, it is a must have. Feel free to keep reading if you want to know my reason.
I’m not a hardcore fan of shoot-em-ups, I didn’t even know what the word “shump” meant until today, but what I do know is that this game is really fun.
The game is very easy to pick up and play, the controls and mechanics are simple and none of that convoluted stuff, which I feel is a great thing. I don’t want to spend an hour learning about wierd game mechanics when all I want to do is just destroy enemies.
– Real player with 21.4 hrs in game
BLUE SABERS: Early Mission
Overview
Use conventional and three types of special weapons to overcome difficult situations.
Take control of the battlefield with support aircraft!
Long-established STG development team, Blue&White, the first new one in 13 years, and a new origin!
Story
More than a decade of warfare between the MUltinational COmpanys Community (MUCOC) and the International Unification Treaty Organization (IUTO) has left both sides exhausted and A stalemate had been reached.
To break the deadlock, the MUCOC fleet gathered its remaining forces and launched Operation Earth Descent.
Although the IUTOs were allowed to descend, they put up a desperate resistance to prevent the expansion of the front line.
However, there were not enough surplus forces, and the counter-offensive was left in the hands of a mish-mash of new recruits and reserve forces.
The name of the unit was the “Blue Sabres”.
Thus the battle later known as “Second MUCOC War” has began.
Gameplay
The main point of the game is how to make a way with powerful weapons and supply.
Break out of a difficult situation by mastering three types of special weapons, which are limited to normal armament and singular numbers.
Calling for your support aircraft, Garuda, allows you to refuel your special weapons and restore your ship’s shields.
The key to victory is the timing of calling the Garuda.
Features
-
A shmup with a unique supply system.
-
Dynamic camera work with 3D graphics added to the 2D shooting experience.
-
7 stages + Tutorial
-
6 ships + 2 support aircrafts
-
Gamepad supported.