BlastZone 2
My Grandfather smoked his whole life. I was about 10 years old when my mother said to him, ‘If you ever want to see your grandchildren graduate, you have to stop immediately.’. Tears welled up in his eyes when he realized what exactly was at stake. He gave it up immediately. Three years later he died of lung cancer. It was really sad and destroyed me. My mother said to me- ‘Don’t ever smoke. Please don’t put your family through what your Grandfather put us through." I agreed. At 28, I have never touched a cigarette. I must say, I feel a very slight sense of regret for never having done it, because this game gave me cancer anyway.
– Real player with 208.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Fast-Paced Bullet Hell Games.
Apparently the blast zone is actually quite large. BlastZone 2 is a short indie side scrolling shooter (ala R-type but I wouldn’t say this game is that similar to R-type) made by solo developer Mat Edzenga. It features a number of different ships with different load outs, 8 stages filled with enemy ships, interesting 3D graphics and a few extra modes to try your hand at once you have beaten the main game. It also has local 2 players, controller support and costs only a few bucks.
Good
– Real player with 9.6 hrs in game
Steredenn
Yes, get it.
Some thoughts on it:
Steredenn is not infinite per se (Ala Rick Henderson, though I have not played that yet), as each run goes for a set number of stages if you can handle it.
Graphically the game is quite clever with the graphical design; it is super consistent. The sprites are inda bulky, but lends to improved visibility. The bullet patterns are never too tight that they cannot be manuverd plus the combination of enemy waves and bulltet patterns will always pose an interesting challenge to sort out.. The ships do have a tiny hit box, it is clearly shown at the beginning of the stage, a small reticule around your ships zooms in into the cockpit, clearly indicating the weak spot. Quite clever. The game has a cool way of displaying vital info on the sihp itself. Like the light that traverses your ship to indicate reloading times. Playing without the HUD is almost entirely possible.
– Real player with 24.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Fast-Paced Roguelite Games.
Most of the time when I start a new game, I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what to expect from it. Once in a while though, you can really be caught off guard and surprised. Steredenn is one of those games that surprised me, and fortunately it was a good one. It is a game that combines an old genre with a clever twist to produce something fresh and fun.
At its core, Steredenn is a horizontal shoot ‘em up. Many shmups require large amounts of memorization in order to be successful. Steredenn alters that idea by having semi-randomly generated stages. It works well, and the end result is that no two runs will be exactly the same. Not only are the stages randomly generated, but so are the upgrades and weapon drops. There are also hazards that may appear such as asteroid fields, meteor showers, laser rain, and more. Initially it can be very difficult to dodge some things. I recall seeing a few waves that I thought were impossible to dodge, but upon further practice I was able to solve them as if they were puzzles.
– Real player with 19.1 hrs in game
Re.Surs
Cool game kind.
pros:
-
great visual style. Very atmospheric and stylish levels.
-
action battles as you need to use hero abilities in time.
-
different weapons with which you can kill demons.
-
different bosses, not very difficult though, it’s okay.
-
intricate strange plot.
-
good jokes)
-
good price.
-
I liked the crazy dancing letters)))
cons:
-
some bosses and fights pissed me off.
-
some basics 2d scroller shooterics are not presented, but mechan yeah it’s experimental.
– Real player with 6.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Fast-Paced Side Scroller Games.
Quite a cool game, of course not without drawbacks.
cool stuff:
1. Lots of action, especially in the end. Almost Serious Sam sometimes, but you always have proper gun to destroy demons.
2. Some bosses remind old good game console games.
3. Surprisingly lots of stuff for indie game - several main characters, lots of guns, lots of demons
4. Complex and interesting plot, but sometimes there is a feeling like watching Dune without reading book - very interesting, but understood nothing.
5. One of plot twist in the middle reminded me half life, that was quite cool.
– Real player with 6.2 hrs in game
CYGNI: All Guns Blazing
It’s a twin-stick vertical scrolling Shooter hybrid with a cinematic flare (being developed by two self-taught artists and developers):
An unrelenting onslaught of eye-popping visuals, ear bursting soundscapes and mind-melting action makes CYGNI the vanguard for the next generation of Shoot-em Ups.
Outgunned, outmanned and out on your own, plunge into a sky full of hell in a last-ditch battle for survival. Choose to route power between weapons or shield systems and go up against unrelenting waves of ground and aerial enemies. Upgrade your ship by picking up new tech and take down colossal alien bosses in visceral combat; do whatever it takes to survive.
CYGNI assaults the eyes, ears and mind to deliver an extraordinarily exhilarating video game experience. CYGNI does not seek to reinvent Shoot’em Ups but to elevate the genre to deliver the heightened sensations of a truly next-generation experience.
Encamped within the remains of a long-lost civilization on the planet CYGNI, Earth forces are decimated by a surprise attack from a powerful, biomechanical, alien race. As one of the last pilots on the last carrier in the fleet, you are the only line of defence against the unyielding alien bombardment.
Cygni Features:
• With next generation visuals, animation and special effects, CYGNI is a cinematic shoot’em up.
• Be the lone fighter battling through intensely hostile levels filled with waves of air and ground assaults.
• Choose where to route power on the fly switching between shields (defensive) or weapons systems (offensive).
• Collect energy to power up your ship and energise weaponry from hard-hitting nukes to inescapable vortex bombs.
• Launch air-to-air and air-to-ground attacks as you traverse neon-lit metropolises, moon-like landscapes and even outer space.
• Go one-on-one against gargantuan enemies in cinematically epic boss battles.
• Full orchestral score and immersive sound design.
Natsuki Chronicles
Nothing dies in one hit, and your weapons always don’t feel powerful enough. Every killing requires a dedication of varied levels, even for one formation of “zako"s (popcorn enemies). Isn’t that cool? Also you don’t die in one hit either. But when you die, it will be a rather slow and painful process happening over a long period of time.
Also it’s a shield-based game, you are not likely be able to dodge some bullets and that’s totally okay, it won’t drag down the whole run and you can save it. But when you couldn’t, it will be a rather slow and painful process of death happening over a long period of time.
– Real player with 31.7 hrs in game
This game is amazing ! It reminds me of U.N. Squadron for the SNES also known as Area 88 in Japan, which is one of my all time favorite horizontal shooters . I use this comparison due to the fact that you can upgrade your weaponry , although I wish that changing planes was also an option . The game play is truly the star of the show , the controls are precise ,the graphics are great and the boss battles are extremely challenging . If your having difficulty completing a level , level up your weapons and additional shields are awarded to make the battle more manageable . I would highly recommend this game to anyone is a fan of the horizontal shooter genre of games .
– Real player with 19.3 hrs in game
Bladestar
I got this game because I was in the mood for a good-old-fashioned shooter, but I was tired of all the “retro” pixel or SNES graphics that seem to plague this genre. I understand this is an old-fashioned genre, but I like flashy graphics and I want to have my cake and be able to eat it too!
I am pretty pleased with this game overall. I have an older laptop (still runs with Vista) and this game played very well, there may have been some lag with the bosses, I’m not entirely sure, it was ever-so-slight if it was lag. And the game feels like a pretty solid shooter. Lots of fire on screen, lots of moving targets to hit and avoid, powerups to collect all while the game gets increasingly faster and more difficult.
– Real player with 20.5 hrs in game
Ladies and gentlemen allow me to inform you that Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen was not the only interesting title released on my birthday (January 16) this year. Of course it received the majority of the headlines and the water cooler discussion – online as well as off in gaming circles – but Fair Weather Studios’ first entry on Steam is well and truly worthy of your consideration. Unfortunately, for the most part it has been completely and utterly ignored. It’s a real pity. The game does a lot of things right and the majority of those who have played and reviewed it on Steam have walked away leaving positive remarks on the game.
– Real player with 13.8 hrs in game
Everlasting Guilt
Wow this game reminds me of Furi but in FPS you will fight multiple Bosses with different ability and different weapons plus every boss fight has his own fight style, I’m also surprised that some areas reminds me of DOOM the game kinda change into arena shooter and you have to kill a lot of different kind of enemies.
As an Indie game made by one man army developer it looks incredible!
you can clearly see a lot of work and efforts happened in the game.
The game is in Early Access phase right now so you will expect more updates, enhancements, areas and missions in the future.
– Real player with 2.0 hrs in game
So I went into this game not sure what to expect, from the trailers it felt like an arena shooter mixed with Doom, and oh boy oh boy what I didn’t expect with the Souls flare to be thrown in as well, the game is not easy at all, even on easy difficulty, but I think that’s part of its charm.
I fought around 4 bosses and didn’t manage to kill any of them, it was challenging but the good kind of challenge, every time I died I learned something new, a new attack pattern, a new trick, a new safe zone, and so on. The challenge was worth it, and I intend to keep going back to it.
– Real player with 1.9 hrs in game
HyperShot
An impressive first entry onto Steam by this indie developer. I madly respect that he has realized his limitations as a new developer and not tried to bite off more than he can chew.
The controls work really well for this game (mouse to move your ship and WASD or arrow keys to fire 4 directions).
I do think that this game could use some very simple changes to make it way more satisfying and fun to play and I gave those suggestions to the developer in this first impressions video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxvOS6IeKP0
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
PAWARUMI
Pawarumi is a fantastic vertical shmup and one of the best of all time. Great graphics, great music, three different difficulty settings with the easiest being super easy and laid back for newcomers and the hardest being perfect for those looking for a traditional bullet hell challenge featuring a crazy true final boss encounter at the end w/ a true ending.
Includes an in-game gallery achievement menu, a Practice mode to play individual stages (and being able to go for achievements that can be unlocked on those specific stages). The game’s three color weapon/enemy color system is quick and easy to pick up on and the game implements the system perfectly, allowing you to score more points, refill your health meter (Shield) and refill your bomb meter (Super). Each stage is really well designed and different from one another, with each section throwing something entirely new at you beyond just new enemy ship types. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a fun and challenging vertical shmup with tons of replay value =)
– Real player with 33.5 hrs in game
I kickstarted this game and haven’t been disappointed. To call it an indie game really doesn’t do it justice - the level of polish is very high. Nice 2.5D graphics that are reminiscent of Radiant Silvergun or Zero Gunner 2, interesting weapon mechanics and a deep scoring system really make Pawarumi stand out among ‘indie’ games, and with just about the right level of difficulty not to scare beginners off. The game has 5 levels each with it’s own unique theme - first level is a snow base, second is a weapons factory set in industry and lava, find the rest out for yourself :-p. With mid bosses and bosses that you can blow bits off to maximize score, anyone who’s played shooters before will be right at home. Only real omission is the lack of a 2 player mode. Definitely worth £12.99 of anyone’s money!
– Real player with 16.8 hrs in game
SodaCity
SodaCity is a small indie game that offers old-school gamers a familiar (yet distant) experience; one of the retro shoot-‘em-ups, in classic 2D side-scrolling perspective with countless hours of fun distpaching enemies left and right and dying over and over again .
This game is pretty straightforward, very what-you-see-if-what-you-get.
The gameplay, as I described, is old-school cool that us adult gamers (at the time of my review anyway) will feel at home with, but it’s also worth noting that once you’ve played a few hours, it’s easily discernible that it’s also deeper than it seems at first glance. Truly, each type of weapon offers very distinct possibilities, for example.
– Real player with 12.1 hrs in game
Awesome Game Team ! . I really enjoyed it. Slightly difficult at times when your just starting but gets easier as you progress. Very fun . A hero Can vs. 10k+ villian cans…. yeah im in .
– Real player with 10.9 hrs in game