Drainus New Indie Shoot Em' Up Review! Brilliant, Beautiful, and Unbalanced

[@h.t.steiner5567]

A lot of your complaints about the game are maybe not a misunderstanding Team Ladybug has with shmups, and it's more just an issue with their design philosophy with games, because they are just as apparent with their metroidvania games. My favorite genre is metroidvanias and I can tell you, when I finish a run of Bloostained or Symphony of the Night I want to hop right back into playing another round with a different build or route, but with Team Lady Bug's releases, I beat the game once and don't really want to touch them again, despite them being solid and pretty fun. Their game Deedlit labyrinth is like a cross between Symphony of the Night and Ikaruga, as it has the two colored bullet absorption mechanic, but once you've played the game once, there's nothing more to see or do, which is a stark contrast with many games in the genre as much of the appeal of metroidvanias is discovery and trying out new things. The stages in their metroid vanias are also extremely linier, so there's no sense of discovery or tangible progress in subsequent playthroughs. I like their games quite a bit, but replayability and time wasting is something they as a developer really need to look at across the board, especially if they're going to make games in the genres they do. It feels like they have a solid foundation and then just throw whatever they think is cool in and pray it works instead of actually seeing if it does work.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

This is great stuff! So it sounds like this a game design issue across all their games, that's really interesting!

[@soratheorangejuicemascot5809]

@@TheElectricUnderground I wanna see a topic about this.

[@inrptn]

Yeah, but I loved Deedlit.

[@h.t.steiner5567]

@@inrptn I also enjoyed it, and I had a ton of fun with the Sakuya one and the Konosuba one. I actually really like team ladybug's games and i want them to succeed because they make games I like. I want them to make 10/10 games by working on the issues keeping them as 7/10.

[@treebush]

@@h.t.steiner5567 meh I prefer ladybugs design philosophy

[@GordonGordon]

Team Ladybug has their basis in the doujin scene... Small indie team with themed one-offs. Their metroidvanias are also bullet hell mashups. That being said, they are definitely style>>>difficulty. I suck with shmups, so I'm happy to see this to credits for once. I had trouble with Astebreed for instance...

[@Squirrelsquid]

I would like to note, that Team Ladybug developed shmups before, when they were making their games under the Doujin circle name "Krobon Station". The series of Mogura games being shoot em ups. It was a one man operation back then, so supposedly when they expanded their team, they changed the name to Team Ladybug.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

The hidden lore!! I knew there would be some ha!

[@streetmagik3105]

Oh, this is the team that did Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonderlabyrinth. It's a straight up Symphony of the Night clone, in a good way imo. This looks interesting, but I totally get your points. Oh, I got my shirt a couple days ago. It looks great dude!👍 Thanks again, and glad I could support the channel.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah their other games look interesting as well! Glad you are enjoying the shirt!!! 👕

[@willisjackson3080]

I just got a copy from Strictly Limited games. It reminds me of a combination of Border Down, Einhander, and the Thunderforce series. A great side scroller.

[@Galaxy40k]

I wasn't surprised at all when Team Ladybug released an STG. While their previous games are superficially Metroidvanias, they really are tightly designed games focused on quick action and boss fights that have you weaving between patterns of projectiles. So basically all they had to do was turn their anime girl into a spaceship and they already were basically there, lol. Regardless of the issues Dranius has, this is gonna be a day 1 purchase for me the second it comes to console if for no other reason than to support the devs. Ladybug is legit one of my fav indies

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah they are clearly talented

[@stevenjohnson8736]

I wasn’t surprise that ugly a** love smelling my FART because u told me my FART smell like peppermint candy 😃

[@ian-blum]

Dr. Ainus

[@Christof_Classen]

*In SHORT: Its not a Bullet-Hell, its a Bullet-Party ;)*

[@theconsolekiller7113]

This review sold me on the game. Recently completed it. Great game. May replay it on Hard.

[@futureskeletons66669]

Just picked this up on Switch, have to say - very impressed so far. I'd hope this team would be considered for a new Gradius if Konami are still looking for competent indie devs to continue their older franchises. That and an M2 rebuff of Gradius V would make for a very nice 2023. Can but dream.

[@MarquisDeSang]

The game gets easier if you are a 1cc guy, but it also get more and more difficult for people who are average player. This is the opposite of what it should be.

[@LixeiraDoFrost]

Yeah, there is some hidden lore: the director/main dev from Team Ladybug had this secondary "brand" for his solo dev games called Krobon Station. He did develop another shmup as his second main release with that name, it's called Mogura Reverse. Weirdly enough, Mogura Reverse is also a VERY INSANE, VERY FUN shoot'em up, but also a very unbalanced game. It's an interesting doujin if you just want to test it, but some issues did hinder me from playing to the end. Especially how the Gradius Effect is too strong on that one and especially the fact it's locked on 30 FPS or something, which really gets unfeasible considering how fast the final levels get. Love your content. Would love an Akashicverse video.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

There s always the hidden lore ha! Thanks for the cool update! Glad you are enjoying the channel ☺️

[@TheArcadeMonarch]

Picked this up yesterday, and as a not very experienced shmupper, I absolutely loved it. The visuals are awesome, the different weapons/upgrades are fun to experiment with, the speed selection wheel is a great find, and overall its a blast to play. I agree that the shop system is not very elegant. Would have been better if you could create 2 (or more) load outs and then swap between them with a single button. That would save a lot of downtime spent in these shop menus. And yeah for me it was also the second loop where I upgraded the guard bar, and was like: wth did I not do this sooner, haha. Anyway, great review, thanks!

[@silverfoenix]

Can't wait for the sequal.... Milkus

[@futureskeletons66669]

When you see something like this or Devil Engine, you know you're dealing with a competent developer. I just wish someone like G-Rev would take these guys in hand and help them take it over the finishing line, so to speak and help them deliver the special sauce that you get from a pro STG. Like if Cave got involved with Jamestown. Another great video. Very thoughtful.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I agree with this idea a lot. That would be great if the more experienced dev teams that are basically retired could have a role in consulting the newer teams :-)

[@zom4775]

I'm almost certain that the reason for the games length is because they are afraid refunds on steam.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Ha good point!!!! The meta

[@pc-0343]

that college dropout parrellel was somehow so fitting to explaining the games level design, sometimes spectacle hurts in the long run, initial impressions tend to be less important than most like to admit...

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah I m glad you appreciate the reference! I sometimes worry that when I use pop culture references people will be scratching their heads

[@thefractalcactus]

As someone that plays tons of fighting games as well, all you need to do is look at the recent success of games like Guilty Gear Strive and see that visuals play a HUGE part in getting people interested in something that is niche. So yeah, I definitely agree on that end.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yes the graphics upgrade in xrd back in the day massively shifted public interest in the series! No doubt about it!

[@Flashback_Jack]

For me it's a combination of visuals AND sound design that hits you hard about six inches behind the breastbone. There's nothing like a gorgeous game with whimpy sound effects--hugely depressing. Probably the best sound design and graphics have to be R-Type and Gradius (especially Gradius V). Schildmaid MX and Grand Cross Revolution are pretty good in their own right too.

[@Adrot]

After taking a break from shmups like DU3, this was a fun experience. I felt in control all the time, maybe too in control haha. I like their previous work in other metroidvanias and the visual spectacle is always their strong choice. Being not too judgemental of your style, I can recommend it to my friends that haven't played shmups.

[@fuchssteinert2017]

This came out of nowhere. I saw the review by Bullet Heaven and i could not believe what i was seeing. Such a mighty sexy brand new shmup. I bought it right away and i think its very good indeed. Im not good at shmups and i dont think its too easy. The 2nd loop is quite challenging for me, even on the lowest difficulty. I can absolutley understand that true shmup experts like Mark are feeling different about it, though.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah it's crazy this came out of nowhere ha, shmups are one of the last genres where this seems to happen ha!

[@beuler3463]

hey The Electric Underground, Treasure is working on a new Game, hoppe it is a Shooter. This year is Treasures 30th Anniversary. Maybe you can make a video about it.

[@wewyllenium]

Gradius V is still perfect! :D

[@wewyllenium]

But I'll check this out. I love travelling and great visuals :D

[@imago3847]

Never would have guessed these folks would do a shmup, despite their metroidvanias having arcade elements in their design. Grabbed it by chance on release day, put about five and half hours in so far and I agree it is unbalanced but man the visuals/art design and gameplay feel so damn good. Props to Team Ladybug for putting out a badass shmup, despite some flaws that could be fixed or patched. I'm kind of on the fence about the longer transitions, I like them but as mentioned the more you play the more you want to skip them. The amount of weapons/options and mix of bullet hell and more so classic kind of remind me of Qute games to a certain extent. Also in the way that the shop doesn't stray into Euro territory thankfully haha. Anyhow, I really dig this game, despite arcade made needing some fixes in my opinion.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Oh yes great stuff! I agree it does remind me of qte as well! I would love to see this dev continue making shmups because they are clearly talented :-)

[@ok.meinong]

i mean they also already made a touhou game :P

[@javirodriguez6852]

Thank you for all your reviews and discoveries around this beloved genre. You always find brilliant and interesting games to play and enjoy and it's something all of us, as casual gamers, are obliged to thank you for.

[@slopesgameroom]

This looks insane. Totally missed this. great review

[@TheElectricUnderground]

It is a really fun playthrough the first few times through!

[@Skelta75]

Bought it the day it came out. Played through both loops on normal, 1CCed Arcade and about to finish the second loop on Hard, it really is on the easy side. I'm seriously looking forward to Ridiculous mode because unlike many other shmups (Grand Cross...) I can't stop playing it! Charging up Guard and firing back feels extremely satisfying. I would even say it feels better than the absorption system in Ikaruga because it really is your second main shot and not just a smart bomb substitute. Btw, there's a pretty solid story in there that deserves to be mentioned;-)

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah the absorb system is like a cross between ikaruga absorb and ccwe lock on fire, it s really fun :-) shout out to the story ha, I skipped it but noticed you land in England it looks like

[@timothykirby4406]

I love your channel because you understand!I love the in depth discussion of game mechanics and balance. It’s always been very interesting to me. Speaking of Treasure, you really should do a full look at Sin and Punishment 2. Absolutely the best Wii game. They were really firing on all cylinders when they made it. Made the Wiimote super fun to use. The game deserves so much more attention than it gets. Everyone talks about the first on N64 but honestly the sequel is where it’s at.

[@robsmall6466]

Would love to see this genre become easily available for everyone again. Digital. Yes. But physical is either limited edition or has to be purchased from another region. Love to see a good compilation with some classic entries or a standard version of this that's easy to pick up from a store. Plenty of other genre available. More shoot em ups please

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yes I agree I think having accessible priced physical PC releases would be really great. I think I am going to try and do something like that with house of bullets actually

[@robsmall6466]

@@TheElectricUnderground I'm a strong believer in making games available to as wide an audience as possible. It used to be very easy to come across a traditional shoot em up at your local store. Hellfire, R Type, Thunderforce, Aleste, Axelay..... even more obscure ones. There is still a nice selection and large variety of genres available to ordinary gamers but the traditional shoot em up seems very scarce at the moment. The more people that get to play them and are exposed to them from a young age the better for the future of the genre as a whole

[@futureskeletons66669]

@@robsmall6466 It's been attempted and almost bankrupted the publishers. There is plenty of talk online that's often confused for 'buzz' that doesn't transfer to payments being made, unfortunately. See Rising Star games who in spite of licensing Cave's and G-Rev's games, learned the haaaaard way. They were hit with titanium plated reality check. People often refer to the nerds on the Shmups forum when it comes to STG/Shmup data and game approval, but if you look at that forum regularly, it's the same 15 people and has been for a very long time. That's the core audience - 15 nerds online and some guys in Japan. Dev teams like M2 make their money producing mini consoles and collections. They invest a percentage of that profit in their own things like Shot Triggers which break even or take a loss. Usually the latter. Shmups are an ultra niche concern. The mainstream understand them, but they don't grasp their arcade nature. That simply credit feeding a game to completion is not the intention. I love them. I usually have a mainstream AAA on the go, but I have a bunch of arcade style games on the go as well. I am the exception. I'm nearly 50 and used to waste my childhood smoking cigarettes and eating onion rings in arcades. The norm now is having a AAA on the go and something to play online and maybe a sports title. The only real way fwd I see is digital only, sell cheap (£6 max) and produce as many games as possible. You're more likely to have people take a punt this way.

[@robsmall6466]

@@futureskeletons66669 Still think it can be done. Thankfully there is still a surprising amount of different genres released physically that are not gated behind FOMO vampires. Pricing is key. Say £29.99 for a ten game collection with perhaps a couple of unlockable bonuses ( nothing too strenuous for the average player ). Consumer will feel they are getting value for money. Advertise. If the compilation and individual games get good scores, shout about it. Look at Microids and the modern interpretations of Toki and Joe and Mac. Valfaris got an easily available physical. When selecting the compilation include some traditional shoot em ups and not all hard core bullet hell examples. Atari 50 seems to have gone down well and can be picked up anywhere. A good example to follow

[@futureskeletons66669]

@@robsmall6466 £30 is a big up-front ask for even 10 games. That model is dead which is why Arcade Archives are doing OK. Atari 50 was pushed on nostalgia for the Atari brand, to people who wear Atari t-shirts because they think it's part of their identity. I can't imagine why anyone who didn't have a 2600 at home would buy that compilation. Namco for example pushed mid priced collections that no one bought, but at £6 per game and the option of selecting your own Namco games, they are now selling games to people who'd previously ignored their collections. I can't be the only one, I likely represent a large percentage of customers. I'd never have bought a Namco collection with games I don't care about for £30 just to get one game I do, but since Namco have joined ACA I now have a folder on my PS5 with 11 Namco games. That's a share of £66 that Namco would never have got, otherwise. Its working for them, otherwise they wouldn't be pushing out Namco games 2-3 times a month. I think devs need to take a look at this. They need to expect less return per game, but push out more games with consistent quality, at a price the public are willing to pay. The public don't get the replay value, but at £6 they might buy your game and play it through occasionally and if that represents fun for them, they might buy another. Otherwise £35 for a Shot Triggers is a BIG ask for them. Proven by the fact that M2 abandoned Western releases after pushing BATTLE GAREGGA a revered game that flopped in the West and only sold a few thousand in Japan because they had an arcade culture that continued long after ours died and the game is a 'big deal'. Objective reality needs to be addressed. There is a fantasy around this genre that doesn't actually exist. An enthusiastic niche audience cannot sustain the model as it stands. It has to change. Talk and a couple of KZbin channels doesn't keep the lights on. I'd love to see a poll of people in this comments section and Shmup Junkie's to see how many actually bought a full price STG last year. Drainus has been on Steam now since May 22, it has 582 reviews and 6 current players globally. It had a peak of 194 players upon release 9 mths ago. I wonder what percentage 582 is of the actual number sold.

[@nerdzone]

Knowing the later works of Team Ladybug well, I feel you were spot on with the suggestion that Ridiculous mode was doing thing for the memes. The fact that you thought it playable and semi-fun attests to your skill but I feel Team Ladybug were going for a shump on the extreme easier side compared to the usual game in the genre. Nothing wrong with that, we need some of those IMO. No every game should be for everyone. The reason why I would never critisize an author that does not want to include an easy mode you could breeze through is precisely the reason I would never critisize Team Ladybug for doing the opposite. I was on the fence whether I should play the game now or in a few months before your review but I am now sure I would like to play it sooner rather than later.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

yeah the difficulty and the marketing discussion is an interesting one! Glad the review was helpful! :-D

[@ShmupsBR]

I'm playing this game now and I totally agree with you in many ways. I still don't have a strong opinion about it, but I'd like to give it a couple of hours of attention and try the ridiculous mode. It's super fun, but definitely not what I was expecting... in some good and bad ways.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah rediculious mode is brutal ha. I think it would be great if they balanced it more so that the early part of the game your not so underpowered

[@boghogSTG]

Amazing looking game, shame the gameplay doesn't live up to the visuals. It's frustrating because it feels like the game's a few patches away from being great. Natsuki Chronicles is a great case study, game's got a similar kind of shop system that's arguably even more expansive in ways but its pretty well balanced.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah team lady bug visuals with qte gameplay!

[@parrishharris3008]

Your absolutely right my guy, the development team really should've name this game the way you pronounce it because Drainus is horrible.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Ha for sure

[@andyauthor2007]

Nothing ticks me off more than a SHMUP where if you die you might as well start the whole game over because after dying you are so underpowered that there is NO WAY you're going to be able to progress. The worst game I can think of that is guilty of this (a game I do NOT recommend is Space Blaze). If you die in that game, OMFG! And using a 'continue' is even worse. If you see the continue screen in that game, just start the whole game over again, don't even bother trying because you're just going to waste a whole bunch of time getting rekd.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Agreed 💯. The main game difficulties don't have this problem, but this is what makes rediculious mode so frustrating. Basically if you die recover is hell and you are underpowered for sooo long!

[@AKTANEARCADE]

Hahahaha this intro is amazing 😜 100% agree with you on the visuals!!! Great point and analogy on the skits 😎 very thoughtful reviewing on this one. Love this vid. I'm super excited to play this myself.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Thanks so much my dude!!! Yes skits are the bane of my existence as a music listener for this reason. I will actually rip the cd, take them out, and then burn it again ha

[@AKTANEARCADE]

@@TheElectricUnderground can't wait for the podcast on song density 😂

[@omyguzman1796]

Been playing for the past few days Im having my fun with it. The ship is super cool, the game have some interesting and fresh ideas for casual players like me probably attractive to new players of the genre. Worth checking out for devs out there imo this release its positive for the genre

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yes I really like the originality of the game, I think the bullet absorb mechanic is a solid hook for new players 🪝

[@dr.phil.pepper3325]

I've played Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth and Touhou Luna Nights from Team Ladybug and it seems like all those games are centered around shield and absorb mechanics. So I wouldn't see Draius as a shmup with shield mechanics but more as a Ladybug shielding game in a shmup setting.

[@sibbyeskie]

Once had a nasty case of Drainus. I thought it would never end.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

You have my condolences XD

[@Error_4x5]

They might as well take the shop out if they add a recommended option. What the shop needs is better descriptions of what each upgrade does. Features like the shop really worked when games came with a manuals.

[@reziture]

I really dig this game but totally understand ur view on the faults…also love the reference to Kanye’a The College Dropout, the skits will drive you mad after the 80th listen lol

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Thanks so much my dude! Yes I think the cd analogy is a helpful way to describe shmup level design, where nothing can be filler

[@ps3inquisition441]

Damn this game looks good. I’m definitely buying it.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

The graphics are red hot! Made me happy to see their level of quality

[@MrFuggleGuggle]

It's a good game, but, yes - it's a bit easy and is not 'non-stop action' like a truly great schmup should be. But I like their work so far and look forward to Team Ladybug's next joint.

[@then1533]

Very good review as usual and very thought provoking too. Difficulty and challenge vs accessibility ,attempting to cover all player strengths, trying to grow the genre while(for the devs) needing to make a profit must be a real dichotomy times. I haven't had chance to try it yet but probably will at some point if only to support the dev plus ,as you pointed out, the game does have some great features like that speed wheel. This review made me really curious to hear your take on Rolling Gunner's Over Power mode. I'm a very average player and content to remain so but ,even so, I much prefer Original mode for the depth it offers but OP is way more accessible- my son loves it

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah that s a great point, maybe I will do a 1cc commentary of overpower and share my thoughts!

[@alleycat6259]

The ability to constantly pause to swap weapons and stuff also kinda put me off, I liked arcade mode because it discouraged spamming the menu button to pick out whatever tools were most appropriate and often ended up not adjusting my kit until after a level was over anyway. Also one thing that was not obvious to me at all was that the power of the shield reflect increases the longer you hold it, even past the green circle bar on your ship filling. I think they could have communicated that better visually by making the green reflect stuff change a bit as it powers up? I was releasing it when the circle bar was full and was wondering why it felt so weak at times. Really cool game, though, I hope they add in more arcade mode difficulty options! To address your secret lore asterisk, members of Team Ladybug made at least a handful of freeware(?) stgs beforehand. Krobon made Mogura 1 and 2 and then later Mogura Rebirth 1-3, and i believe peposoft made a bunch of small shooting games as well in the past if their website is anything to go by. I've only really played Mogura Rebirth 2, but it was pretty and enjoyable enough. It seems most of the mogura games are no longer available now, as they were taken down from vector for whatever reason. For Mogura Rebirth 2 I always suspected it was due to the music, because some of the tracks sounded suspiciously similar to Megaman X3 songs. EDIT: actually I do see the charge up on the reflect shield increasing over time but it is extremely subtle and I didn't pick up on it because I was usually inside a bunch of lasers or whatever, oops.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah the menu is an issue, I don't think in a shmup you should pause at all (side topic) but especially over and over to weapon switch ha. I knew there would be some secret lore, happens every time ha

[@Mauricio_Magus]

I love this game, and as a casual shmup fan it's nice to be able to finish one haha.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Ha yeah I think it s def made with that in mind :-)

[@mbe102]

The mechanics in this look like they're right up my alley!

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah if you like bullet eating games you cannot go wrong, I had a lot of fun with it

[@eternalmonsoon8103]

I like that mentioning shops in shmups reminded me of Blood Money.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Hitman blood money?! I love that game :-)

[@BoneDog1215]

are we sure it’s not actually supposed to be pronounced dry-niss? like raiden and gaiden

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Oh maybe! I don't know japanese at all ha, so your guess is good as mine.

[@HighLanderPonyYT]

The shoutout to other games is appreciated. Easier to hunt down stuff to play this way.

[@julianseph842gamez5]

Drainus is such an excellent shooter! I would love to give it a try!

[@TheElectricUnderground]

It s a fun time!!

[@RewdanSprites]

I think Eschatos did a pretty good bullet absorb mechanic and judgement silversword. This game look great! Definitely checking it out!

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yes judgement silversword has a really cool shield system!! The game can also run at high framerate :-)

[@_Sebastiaan]

i wish konami made a remaster of Parodius for all platforms, would pay good money for it

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Sexy parodius!

[@LincolnBerryIII]

The lock-on homing laser mechanic looks like what makes it too easy; like all you have to do is dodge and spam the lock-on weapon.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yes if I were to diagnose the difficulty, I would say that guard needs to be nerfed a bit, like you said, and damage needs to be higher

[@Kesvalk]

team ladybug made a touhou game, it doesn't matter it's a metroidvania, it counts!

[@darylward4039]

Been waiting on your take on this :D

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I m glad to hear that :-) damn review took a few days to put together

[@darylward4039]

Yeah and you are spot on with your assessment. This is the closest to GuiltyGear Visual advancement, Dranius continues to floor me in that respect. I enjoyed the change of pace difficulty wise cus I'm a novice. It's unbalanced for sure. But it's so slick :D And its a small team so it goes to show that the bar can be raised, just needs the right vision and team. Nothing about this feels compromised quality wise. Just some unfortunate short sightedness holding it back. My main gripe is.... The ship customisation menus. They aren't optimised enough. You can't remove an option with out going into a menu and selecting remove. Removing should be its own button (maybe it is but i couldn't find it) and custom load out hotkeys would be amazing. Something to streamline that process. Dezatopia had a cool In game shop / upgrade menu, something like that would have been nice. I guess the only problem with streamlining is that it removes the customisation element... Hmmm :) decisions decisions! If this game picks up a scoring focused community, I think the arcade mode, mixed with a rebalanced Rediculous difficulty, would be where its at. Cheers for the review :)

[@SicketMog]

Graphics look great. Give me this... but vertically

[@TheElectricUnderground]

that would be awesome!!

[@HighLanderPonyYT]

This one's great! Can you cover Super Hydorah, please? (If you haven't yet.)

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I hope to at some point!

[@HighLanderPonyYT]

@@TheElectricUnderground cool

[@KevenLC]

Looks good ! I will certainly buy it if it ever comes out on ps4/ps5.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I wonder if that s possible with the game engine they use? I m honestly not sure ha

[@darylward4039]

As far as I can tell, it's a modified version of Game Maker (at least, one of the Mogura Engines is) So hopefully it can be ported :)

[@unicoiroots3266]

Maybe I'm just old school or a stick in the mud but less is more when it comes to STG's. A few power ups to pick up, two or three different shot types, But with a speed selection instead of pick ups, one hit deaths over life bars and throw me 1 or 2 simple sheild pickups. I despise medals, items and other shit all over the screen. I'm not into scoring much, but I do believe it very important. Maybe score through quick kills or distance from kill or something very simple. I wish game designers spent more time balancing enemy pattern timing and HP with bullet damage instead of incorporation of odd mechanics. Feels like lipstick on a pig if the core game isn't solid enough. Im sorry for sounding like Oscar the grouch in my garbage can when I should be excited with the shmup scenes current revival but the more new stuff I see is overall going in a different direction than I would like.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah I can be the same way! There s nothing like a really solid grounded shmup. I agree that I don't want to see the genre steer away from this too much moving forward. Games like this are a great alternative, but I hope it doesn't become the norm

[@technicolormischief-maker5683]

If it does become the norm, I doubt it will be forever, what with shmups being so centered around the hardcore playerbase. Though it does seem that the old-school style has fallen away in lieu of danmaku for a while now, maybe I’m just not informed enough yet to be proven wrong there. You have my condolences either way on that front ^^;

[@Crcvmbdfl]

i love this game, its outstanding ❤. Great Switch release by SLG too with a nice manual

[@PedroFerreira-sx2gd]

It was the most polarizing game I've played lately. It does many things well and others not so much.the graphics are technically excellent, but artistically they are far from brilliant(not super creative). Enemyes are metallic robots without personality and with a somewhat repetitive color palette, as well as the environmental hazards suffer from the same problem. They are good , but not 10/10 The speed control system is brilliant and many games should learn lessons from it. However I think it can be improved as it is not very intuitive to use in the heat of battle. I would prefer 2 buttons, 1 for each speed and that the speed is locked within its limits. I'll use a practical example to explain. Imagine that we have the minimum speed at 4 and the maximum speed at 9. The maximum speed should only be able to be changed to the minimum limit of 5 (otherwise it is the same or slower than the other speed) I loved the store, mainly because it doesn't penalize bad players, as we can repeat previous levels to earn more coins and we have options that make life easier. I loved the level of customization of the ship and, contrary to your opinion, I think that the interface, although not elegant, is perhaps the best possible. We have 4 weapon slots and to be changing otherwise in the middle of the battle is complicated. Now I'm going to talk about what I didn't like. I didn't find the bullet patterns interesting. I'm in the second loop of normal and I stopped for a while not because of the difficulty, but because of lack of interest. I never had that sense of accomplishment of feeling super human dodging bullets. I felt like a robot playing, it was all mechanical and repetitive. Maybe I can still change my mind if I play other difficulties. In the end is a good game (but far from being great), and does what zeroranger and jamestown do for casual players, but not for hardcore.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah I do think the game would greatly benefit for a mode that is more balanced for experienced players. Rediculious mode offers more challenge, but is not balanced at all ha

[@VJFranzK]

You're right. 😉 And good discussion.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Thanks my dude! I tried to cover both the game and interesting topics around game design :-)

[@TTIOTT]

Love this game!!!

[@TheElectricUnderground]

It s a fun one :-)

[@fuzzbear677]

I wonder make a shumps for 1up arcade I would love to own something like that🕹🎮😀👍🏾

[@dingo535]

Jam packed journey of jank. Beautiful graphics though. I’m mixed on this game, sometimes it’s amazing but at other times it just feels kinda undercooked.

[@warhawkfan1234]

Dranius on hard feels easier than gradius on easy. It's still a ton if fun.

[@CitizenCoder]

This game looks like a lot of fun. Personally id like more stages, when is 4 hours a long game? 😂

[@MrJBRPG]

Try playing the game using only absorb as much as possible, and then it becomes much more of a challenge. The boss health being long on some parts does make this quite tedious.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah they went overboard with the boss health

[@h.t.steiner5567]

Drainus? Sorry, Dr.Ainus is my father; I'm not a doctor. Call me Ainus.

[@kagemara277]

Dr Ainus, he has a problem with dry A nuss

[@lordraptor5042]

This game is fantastic. What pisses me off is the lack in color variety, of enemy and player fire. What the fuck is that? Its either purple or an ugly light blue. Not to mention the enemy fire has dimension and depth in its effects. Player fire is just a dead flat color. Its a real turn off.

[@colinthies3178]

IDK as someone who easily has bullet visibility / parsing issues I kinda love it. It helps enemy shots stand out better.

[@FrankEBailey]

Haha NintendoLife 'misspelled' the game's title the same way lol! Did you start a trend, Mark?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I must have :-) I came up with calling it drainius ;-D

[@Mick.y.]

Non c'è la classifica online e il punteggio non si resetta dopo aver continuato?

[@MarquisDeSang]

The music is awesome

[@mrkirkaldy6633]

Why are these great games not also going straight to Nintendo Switch? So many only on Pc

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I think it's the dev tools the Japan devs use honestly, they should swap to game maker ha.

[@dyscotopia]

It's weird. I love that they're doing 2d art, but the style just looks too crisp and sterile to me

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yes I think they could have added more grit as well, but the game does look great in motion when you are playing

[@fuzzbear677]

Can you get this on PlayStation 4 a physical copy or is it only download🎮🕹😀👍🏾

[@fuzzbear677]

This is on PlayStation 4 should be a physical copy limited edition right🕹🎮😀👍🏾

[@mosesh06]

such a great graphic

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yes the visuals are great!

[@scienceandmatter8739]

WHAT ABOUT REMOTE LIFE is it worth it?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I m not sure ha!

[@kagemara277]

Is Devil Engine better than this?

[@Heisenberg2097]

Cannot reach the style of Gradius V or Einhänder or RayStorm... at best it's ok. But not iconic.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah it s not on these games level, but it s promising start!

[@fuzzbear677]

Can't you get this on PlayStation 4 and seen it and five🕹🎮😀👍🏾

[@Mick.y.]

no leaderboards..???????? No score reset when continuing...????

[@marthiousknowledge9]

❤❤❤

[@fdevlin5932]

Dry-noose?

[@RuV9999]

at last

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I know this damn stealth release took me by surprise!!

[@RuV9999]

@@TheElectricUnderground honestly im waiting you to review that game 2 or 3 days after it release and finally happened!

[@TheElectricUnderground]

@@RuV9999 yeah it takes me usually 3 days to get a review done by scratch. Not always but usually

[@arthercasillas2755]

I want to thumbs up but it has 666 likes!

[@fdevlin5932]

😂❤

[@gpm8365]

why there are still no at least nier automata shmup sequences level of graphics? and automata graphics are very mediocre even for its time. i waited for something of at least this level from sol cresta, but wow how ugly sol cresta is. why ikaruga is still the best looking 3d-graphics shmup? and ikaruga is ancient. of cos gameplay>artstyle>graphics thats a fact, and its not about ray traced ssao hdr aaa, but will we ever get something decent looking?

[@soratheorangejuicemascot5809]

So 3d is the only thing you consider good?

[@gpm8365]

@@soratheorangejuicemascot5809 no, where did you read it?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I was really let down by sol cresta too visually speaking. I was hoping it would get the Platinum treatment. It is crazy that the PS2 era was the last time shmups kept up with modern graphics. I do think we will see a very good looking 3d shmup in the near future though, because indies are starting to catch up in that regard with stuff like unreal engine being so accessible.

[@soratheorangejuicemascot5809]

@@gpm8365 my bad assumption. But seriously, do you think we will get to see a good 3d shmup with a good visibility?

[@gpm8365]

@@soratheorangejuicemascot5809 theres much more good shmups than i have time to play, so just modern-looking would be enough for the beginning)) modern hardware is more than capable, and as Mark said tools are accessible, so it may some day happen

[@lordgargamel4124]

Gotta love how these reviews are of entirely, your fuckin face as apposed to the game.