Steam SHMUP sale... featuring Starward Rogue!

[Pepisolo]

Just bigging up a Steam sale that recently went live. SHMUPS galore!

http://store.steampowered.com/sale/shmup/

I'm pretty out of touch with the more recent SHMUP scene. Anything good on here worth picking up? Aside from SR, of course! I should probably grab a few of these.

Oh, also if there's anybody on the forum who hasn't picked up SR yet, then now might be a good time to do so. 55% off. If you're into SHMUPS, of course, or you just want to throw some cash at Arcen.

[x4000]

That is way more SHMUPs than I realized existed on Steam!  Wow, very cool.

[Draco18s]

That's...a lot of shmup.

I wish there was some way to see the review percentage in some way while browsing that page, even if it was a straight thumbs up/thumbs down indicator.  That way I could skim the list and look for one that has both an intersting thumbnail and a thumbs up.

[Wingflier]

Any suggestions?

Preferably one with co-op multiplayer. Preferably one with lots of different customization (like ships, weapons, powerups). I haven't played a good shmup in years!

[Pepisolo]

That's...a lot of shmup.

Aye, lots of choice here. Here's what I'm looking at so far: Satazius, Downwell, Revolver360, Steam and Metal, Galacide, Sky Force, Procyon, Renegade Ops, Zeit, Raiden IV, Glorkan Warrior, Ultratron, Hitogata Happa, Enemy Mind, Void Invaders, Gigantic Army, Roche Fusion, Syder Arcade, Retro/Grade, Sine Mora, Crimson Clover, The Next Penelope, GundeadLigne, Symphony, Shoot 1 UP, Savant, Explosionade, Vulkaiser, Ballpoint: Universe, Bullshot, State of Anarchy, and Danmaku Unlimited 2...so, yeah, I've got to whittle this lot down a fair bit! 

[Coppermantis]

That's...a lot of shmup.

I wish there was some way to see the review percentage in some way while browsing that page, even if it was a straight thumbs up/thumbs down indicator.  That way I could skim the list and look for one that has both an intersting thumbnail and a thumbs up.

If you click on the "see more shoot 'em up games" at the bottom, it brings you to Steam's whole shmup catalog, which shows the sale prices as well as the user rating percentages.

[TheVampire100]

Savant was a nice little game, arcade-like. You try to improve your highscore but aside from this there isn't much to do in the game. There aren't many stages and it's pretty much the same every time you play it. It has however a really cool soundtrack, done by the musical artist of the same name. It's at least that worth if nothing else.

Syder Arcade is a game I cannot recommend but that's just my personal experience with it. the first level was all fun and nice but the second one is a desaster. You have to guard a giant space ship in the background and the problem is the space ship moves automatically and cannot dodge, you also have no way of clearing shots, which means you have o shoot enemies before they can shoot. After many tries I gave up. I never got past this level, so I cannot speak for the rest of the game but this experience spoiled the game for me anyway.
Someone who is better in games like this might still enjoy it but the hook for these games is that you rely on your own reflexes which you cannot in that perticular level.

Enemy Mind is however worth to try out, it has an interesting game mechanic: You take over the ships of enemies. You are some kind of supernatural being that can take over the minds of other life forms. All ships in the game have limtied ammo, if you are out of ammo you either have to dodge the rest of the level or you can shoot yourself to another ship and take direct control of it.
Each ship has its own weapon that acts differently, one ship may shoot directly to the front, anoher may use split shots.
There are different factions in the game that shoot not only you but also each other, depending on what faction ship you have, you can hear the thoughts and memories of the person you are currently using. This gives background knowledge about the lore but is just a tiny extra bit and can be skipped.

[Pepisolo]

Savant was a nice little game, arcade-like. You try to improve your highscore but aside from this there isn't much to do in the game. There aren't many stages and it's pretty much the same every time you play it. It has however a really cool soundtrack, done by the musical artist of the same name. It's at least that worth if nothing else.

Yeah, this looked pretty good, I'll grab that, I think.

Syder Arcade is a game I cannot recommend but that's just my personal experience with it. the first level was all fun and nice but the second one is a desaster. You have to guard a giant space ship in the background and the problem is the space ship moves automatically and cannot dodge, you also have no way of clearing shots, which means you have o shoot enemies before they can shoot. After many tries I gave up. I never got past this level, so I cannot speak for the rest of the game but this experience spoiled the game for me anyway.
Someone who is better in games like this might still enjoy it but the hook for these games is that you rely on your own reflexes which you cannot in that perticular level.

Thanks for the info. I might still grab this seeing as it's 80% off and pretty cheap, though. Maybe if I can get past that problematic level the rest of the game will be cool.

Enemy Mind is however worth to try out, it has an interesting game mechanic: You take over the ships of enemies. You are some kind of supernatural being that can take over the minds of other life forms. All ships in the game have limtied ammo, if you are out of ammo you either have to dodge the rest of the level or you can shoot yourself to another ship and take direct control of it.
Each ship has its own weapon that acts differently, one ship may shoot directly to the front, anoher may use split shots.
There are different factions in the game that shoot not only you but also each other, depending on what faction ship you have, you can hear the thoughts and memories of the person you are currently using. This gives background knowledge about the lore but is just a tiny extra bit and can be skipped.

Yeah, the concept of this one seems innovative enough to make it worth grabbing. Thanks!

[Draco18s]

I almost finished Enemy Mind, or at least, it feels like it. The level I'm on is just downright difficult.

By the way, you can jump into asteroids too.

[Misery]

Recommendations:

Eschatos:  I'm convinced that this is the second greatest shmup ever made.   The one I consider #1 is coming to Steam but isn't here yet; I have somehow not killed anything out of impatience.  This game also has the benefit of the most goddamn weird final boss I've ever seen.  Not that you'll get there, mind you....  but the game does give you an interesting shield mechanic to use, and two separate weapons, one of which fires straight forward in a thin line, the other fires a wave shot at angles, but NOT directly forward; you have to make use of all of these things to get through.  There are multiple modes here.  Like all modern shmups, the game heavily encourages scoring.  It is fantastic.  There's a lot of creativity here and unique mechanics.

Satazius:  Like Gradius or R-Type?  Classic powerups, that sort of thing?  This is one that you really want.  Though without R-Type's ultra-cramped levels.  The level design is more like that of Gradius.

Raiden 4 Overkill:  Best version of Raiden yet.  You don't get much more "traditional" than this series, as far as vertical scrollers go.  Lots of explosions, and the game's trademarked "seeker beam".   Raiden 3 is on this list too, but that's not even close to as good as 4.   This game also has a rare thing:  A dual-play mode.   Don't know what that is?  You control both player ships with one controller, at the same time.  Doesn't that sound fun?

Deathsmiles:  If you want to try out a bullet-hell type shmup, but DONT want to die 2000 times in the first level, this is the one to go for.  It'll wait until level 5 to do that.  This is by Cave, so the quality level is high.  The weird-level is also high.   There's a cow, at one point.  BIG cow.  Throws Tetris at you.

Mushihime-sama: If you want to try a bullet-hell shmup, and you DO want to die 2000 times in the first level, buy this!

Judgement Silversword:  By the guys that did Eschatos, but from a LONG time ago.  I believe this was on the WonderSwan?  Either way, it's a classic-style game, very good.

Steredenn:  This is a scrolling shmup combined with a roguelike!  You never know what it's going to throw at you, and there are ALOT of weapons.   You can have your ship just outright BITE other ships.  Or other crazy attacks.  This is very nicely balanced, and it's clear that a lot of love and polish went into it.

GundeadliGne:  No, that's not a typo, that's how it's actually spelled/written.   If Touhou combined with Cave, this game is one of the results.  This is actually another favorite of mine, and one of the few games that's capable of actually adjusting to your skill level.  if you're not doing so well, it's not going to be as hard on you.

Gundemonium Recollection:  This is the OTHER result of Touhou+Cave, by the same developer as that previous one.  Both of these games are fairly easy to learn, but you do have to get used to the big sprites; they're bullet-hell though so your hitbox is about the size of 2 pixels.   Another favorite of mine.

eXceed 2nd:  I'll be honest, I don't care for this too much.  But the reason I don't care for it too much is that it plays like Ikaruga.  A lot of people like Ikaruga, so I'm recommending this anyway.

Darius Burst CS:  This one is fantastic!  Darius is a series that's been around for a LONG time.  It's a classic-style one, with powerups and multiplayer (actually most of the games on this list have multiplayer).  Darius Burst is to me the best game in the series (and the most recent).  It's particularly good for those that like playing these for score, but it doesn't attempt to actually force the scoring system on you (some games will, you either use the scoring elements or you die a lot).  It also has ALOT of content.  Seriously.  That's not something I can say for most shmups.

eXceed (the first):  Okay, I take it back:  Deathsmiles isn't the best recommendation for a new player in bullet-hell land.  I'd forgotten about this game, you see.  This is pretty good actually, but for me it was WAY too easy.  Easier than Deathsmiles even, I think I took like 40 minutes with this one and had cleared it.  But that means that for anyone that's not familiar with this type of game, this is a good one.   The art style is a little wonky but the gameplay and such is good.

DeltaZeal/Trizeal/XIIZeal/ExZeal:  These have the strangest freaking names but they're all very good.   Traditional-style vertical scrollers.  They can be a little focused on scoring though, and they can get a little weird about it.  But these are all quality games.

Shmups Skill Test:  Strangest thing on the list, it actually goes along with the Zeal games.  There's a reason the image there is of a giant garbage can in space.  That's something from in-game.  Also, your arm will fall off partway through.


There's more to recommend but I've run out of time while typing.

[Mánagarmr]

Ultratron is a great arcade style pew pew. Had lots of fun with it, simple as it is.

Astebreed is GREAT, tbh. I had a lot of fun with a couple of playthroughs of it. No progression, just pure pewpew and pattern learning. Quite anime-style though, so if that's not your schtick, you're gonna get annoyed.

Personally only going to pick up Steredenn. That's the only one that really interests me much.

[Misery]

Personally only going to pick up Steredenn. That's the only one that really interests me much.

Fantastic game, that.  Just be prepared for a bit of frustration here and there.  And a new hatred for shields.  It takes a lot of practice to beat this one.... and then it loops.

And one tip for bosses:  Most boss attacks (not all) can be dodged by mostly staying towards the left side of the screen and moving up and down to dodge.  This isn't a bullet-hell shmup so some of the funkier movements seen in those games aren't usually required here.   

Stages themselves are different though as there are enemies that can come from any direction.

Also, ALL weapons are viable.  Some will not seem so when you get them.  They all have their uses.  Don't try to use grey weapons on bosses though.  It should be really obvious why, once you see them.

[TheVampire100]

I'm sad that Steel Saviour is not on Steam, this game would fit perfectly into this sale. It's in my opinion one of the best Shmups out there, interesting enemy designs, cool graphics and a really challenging difficulty (unless you are Misery).

[Mánagarmr]

Personally only going to pick up Steredenn. That's the only one that really interests me much.

Fantastic game, that.  Just be prepared for a bit of frustration here and there.  And a new hatred for shields.  It takes a lot of practice to beat this one.... and then it loops.

And one tip for bosses:  Most boss attacks (not all) can be dodged by mostly staying towards the left side of the screen and moving up and down to dodge.  This isn't a bullet-hell shmup so some of the funkier movements seen in those games aren't usually required here.   

Stages themselves are different though as there are enemies that can come from any direction.

Also, ALL weapons are viable.  Some will not seem so when you get them.  They all have their uses.  Don't try to use grey weapons on bosses though.  It should be really obvious why, once you see them.

Sounds good. I'll pick it up.

[Pepisolo]

Cheers guys, bought a bunch so far: Eschatos (2nd best, good enough for me), Mushihimesama(about time I tried this), Gundemonium Recollection, SATAZIUS (old school style sounds good), Raiden IV, eXceed 2nd(I do love Ikaruga!), UltraTron, Sine Mora, Savant, Roche Fusion, Downwell, Enemy Mind, and Revolver 360. I might pick up a couple of others too before the sale is over. I'll probably play SATAZIUS first.