Drainus Review (Trypetide)
What a bliss!
A full packaged shoot'em up that knows how to use its predecessors as reference -treating them well- with gorgeous visuals perfectly mixing 2D and 3D in a "pixel art" style. What a very versatile engine they got. The sound design is also a treat, with clearly easy to identify cues and a pretty good soundtrack. For what it's worth, even the little story they put together is pretty enjoyable without sounding too self aware or obnoxious.
Control wise? Simple to understand, easy to remember how it works
One point though... Despite being able to choose to speed up or slow down the ship, the way you have to set the speed (letting a double wheel ("low" and "high") with 9 levels each, appearing on screen) without slowing down or pausing the game seems kind of impractical. At first, it just feels kind of anecdotal, but it will become a real pain if you need to change during more complicated sections... Something they should have put more thought into.
IMHO, I would have just set a few levels (4 or 5 tops) cycling one way only, and basta. It would have become more mechanical, making you use muscle memory and make it easier to process. At least easier than having to think too much about it while getting shot at. Strange decision indeed. I guess the solution for now would be to find THE setting you love the most and stick with it from start to finish.
A few basic stuff aren't necessarily explained properly or at all, gameplay or interface wise too. I'm too accustomed to playing Japanese games without reading (or being able to read) what's on screen though, understanding over time how things work and all... It's obviously easier to understand than a RPG, but I think that past the tutorial section, some tweaks are needed to make it nicer for everyone.
Overall, DRAINUS is a great and proper shmup experience, with a good amount of content, good replayability, and at a freaking fair price to boot... Really wasn't expecting it to be THAT low. Just grab the bundle including the game' soundtrack at this point, no excuses.
Like everyone else noticed, this game apparently came out without any warning nor promotion whatsoever, so in that sense that's a real shame. At the time of this review, I can only hope that the word of mouth will work itself out.
For those that know Team Ladybug's work and were expecting another platformer, it sure is a big surprise.
If you like shoot'em ups though, it's clearly a no-brainer. old shmupers like me will also appreciate the way the team mixed gameplay mechanics from many beloved franchises of the past. And if you're not into the genre yet, don't think twice about it and just enjoy the 2.5D ride~
I don't know what their future project will be, but seeing them doing another genre altogether with so much ease... I can't wait for their next game!