NEXT JUMP: Shmup Tactics
Well now, it’s time to review yet another roguelike… or is it a turn-based strategy game? Bullet-hell? Yep, Next Jump: Shmup Tactics is all three of these things at once. These genres seem like they absolutely should not go together… it sounds totally nonsensical. But not only is the combination viable, but it works out really well here.
In this game, your overall goal is to reach the Dragon Mothership and defeat it, because apparently they stole your space beer (???) and ran off with it. Like any good shmup, this means a long battle through about a kersquillion enemy ships on your way to fight the boss at the end. As this game is part roguelike, everything is procedural, so you’ll be getting a very different experience every time.
– Real player with 9.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Bullet Hell Shoot 'Em Up Games.
This is a fantastic game if you like small-scale turn-based tactical battles in space. The core gameplay is turn-based shoot ‘em up with simplified FTL-like sector jumping in between the skirmishes. It’s not really much like FTL except superficially. It’s a great game nonetheless!
First, the downsides. It’s a relatively short game. It’s very replayable but even if you like it, you probably won’t play for many tens of hours. It’s also cheap though.
The battle map is small and doesn’t contain much except various enemies. Not realy a downside in my opinion, just a game design choice. Think of the map as a chess board.
– Real player with 8.9 hrs in game
The Last Federation
How do I explain this? Bullet Hell meets Civilizations in Space?
You have 8 races, all with very identifiably anatomies ranging from small furry barn-owls to Metroid style Chozo-esque utopian robots to a planet of robots who act like Bender from Futurama to a warlike crab? people (what the hell is a Burlust). The main game mode has you trying to make a unified Federation to stop genocides like the one that happened to your awesome 4 headed dragon race. You can research technology on you rown or with other races to improve your relations with them, help build structures on planets that can either strengthen defenses, help production/livelihood, or just make a bunch of TV channels that help different races learn that they’re not supposed to hate everyone.
– Real player with 114.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Bullet Hell Simulation Games.
There is a lot to say about The last federation that already has been said by people better at this kind of stuff than me, but another voice in the ether never hurt nobody :)
Right of the bat it should be said that the general concept is a twist on the old grand strategy formula of “unify the world to win” but excecuted in such a way that your character aren’t a contestant among others as much as the one that decided that an ensured galactic peace is something to work for. As such your job is to first create the federation, and then persuade the eight races of the galaxy to join it.
– Real player with 40.5 hrs in game
The Treehouse Man
Simple, moderately difficult, fairly polished little indie game.
Pros:
-Relaxing but mysterious atmosphere and aesthetic, aided by a crisp sound design and soundtrack.
-Combat system works smoothly, combining enough strategy to make your choices matter with moderately difficult bullet hell elements. May be quite a challenge for some, or fairly easy to those more experienced with bullet hell type games. Difficulty curve is also self-correcting; due to the way in which players obtain experience and currency, those who die more will naturally end up with a slightly less difficult play experience over time.
– Real player with 12.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Bullet Hell RPG Games.
Well Hunchback Studios, you’re batting two for two. I’ll have to keep an eye out for anything else you produce because I really enjoyed this game as well.
Recently, I listened to a video talking about the flaws of the AAA market and how they are continually striving for BIGGER and more lucrative games. This game returns us to a quiet, short game that I managed to beat in about 10 hours.
The visuals are very similar to the last game Gloom and I really appreciate it. The dark off-gray colors give a depressing theme that very much accentuate the the tone of the story. The audio does too. While no song really blows my mind, that really isn’t the point. It does its job to give you this sad vibe that you can feel as you drift across this river.
– Real player with 10.6 hrs in game