AISZplus is not an essential STG, neither its developer had the ambition of revolutionize the scene, being a small project created in his spare time. But at the same time, it's much more than its screenshots make it seem at a first glance.
With a fifth level which is one of the most memorable final levels in the genre, having a level of creativity and sense of awe that reminds the grand finale of Metal Black.
Its second half is so good, that at the end it let us a bad taste of mouth. Because the first two levels are rather generic in comparison, and too easy.
It doesn't help that its scoring system is too simple, not having a second layer of depth that forces us to play in a risky way to obtain better scores.
Talking about the difficulty level, this is a great STG for beginners, with a balance that reminds us Terarin Games (not as easy in its final level, thought). After a couple of plays to learn its mechanics, I obtained a 1CC in my third try. And believe me, I'm not a super player in the genre.
And here it comes what is maybe its major flaw: it only includes a difficulty level. That has been designed to be friendly for beginners in the first couple of levels, and challenging in the final part. I really miss a second Hard difficulty level, aimed for veterans in the genre.
Even with this, veterans will have a lot of fun trying to get a good score at the end. Which basically will force them to master the last hard level, not losing all the bombs, shields and lives accumulated. For every live, bomb and shield remaining, you will get an extra bonus.
Talking about low production values, the game doesn't have a register of the scores or a single menu. So you are forced to take a screenshot of your final performance, giving you bad memories from the 16 bits era.
Graphically, this game could have been a visual masterpiece giving the level of creativity in its use of abstract vectors to create memorable moments. But sadly, it lacks any use of shaders to increase the immersiveness. With the neon parts not shining in the screen.
And musically, you will love or hate its soundtrack. The author has looked to the avant-garde of contemporary electronic music. With experimental pieces that evoke the idiosyncratic Buchla sound, fitting the more creative parts. So if you are into experimental sound design like me, you will really appreciate his work, that resembles Marble Madness. While others will miss a more melodic or catching soundtrack.
This use of music together with the creative use of abstract vectors and its imaginative level design, form at the end a game that is not a masterpiece. But that irradiates personality, showing the labour of love of an auteur which is more concerned about the creative part of his work, and not as concerned about the technical part or in increasing the production values. But this is also the magic of AISZPlus.
