Drainus Review (Shotgun Justice)
---see where this game landed on my SHMUP tier list beneath this review!---
A fantastic SHMUP!
This one uses a shield mechanic; You need to hold on/off the shield button frequently to pass through bullets and lasers. The shield recharges quickly and It reflects the bullets back when you release the button (often incentivizing or forcing you to move into the bullets).
The game has some interesting scrolling level designs and well-made bosses with multiple phases that feel different from one another. I played another game from the same dev recently: Blade Chimera and it wouldn't surprise me if they used the same soundtrack for both of them (probably didn't, but it has that same, lively-but-filler vibe).
As is common in this genre, it's a little too short. Which is my only real complaint with the game.
This is why my favourite SHMUP is the survivor-roguelite hybrid: Gunlocked. I think genre mashups of that nature will eventually be the future of SHMUPs (for me, at least).
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My SHMUP Tier List
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-Simply personal taste. I’m excluding roguelikes, boss rushes and genre mash ups-
Loved: Jamestown | ZeroRanger | Super Hydorah | Tyrian 2000 |
Great: Drainus | Super Galaxy Squadron EX Turbo |
Decent: Steel Empire | G-Darius | Ganablade | Dogfight | Angel at Dusk* |
Meh: Nanoforce | Steel Rain | Eigengrau* | Zenzizenzic* | Steel Vampire | Natsuki Chronicles | Nebula Fighter | Zangeki Warp |
Awful: Ginga Force |
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-Probably played another 100+ Shmups, but I only started this list recently and am sticking mostly to modern releases
-Not including any 'flying anime girl shmups' as they don't appeal to me. Believe me, I've tried.
* = Felt like I was on the same screen the entire time, which I dislike.