Astro Fighters 2

the game is raw and unpolished: - a typical level looks like one big grey texture - bullet patters are boring - a performance on a steam deck is terrible with constant fps drops and long loading times - a game size is bloated, 5+ Gb for a very bad visuals

Some games carve their own niche by defying genre norms. Astro Fighters II is not one of them. The game pushes the player toward the middle of the screen by bringing enemies in from the bottom and top of the screen. That alone I guess isn't too bad, but there's no buffer zone where enemies will not shoot at you, and they'll shoot well before entering the screen. This means if you're close to the top or bottom of the screen, it's quite possible to get killed seconds before even seeing the enemy appear. The "normal" ship speed feels 4x faster than the "focus" attack speed, which doesn't feel very good to control. Going from the slow focus speed to normal speed feels very jarring, like I don't have full control of the ship. There are a ton of other minor things like the visual indication of shot direction is being way too subtle, way too bright and bloomy bullets, the game over screen persisting for like 10 seconds without letting you back out, the odd mechanic of subtracting score for using the slowdown ability. The list goes on. None of that would make me refund a game, after all, it's an inexpensive indie game and the dev is entitled to their choices. No, I'm refunding because of this developer's shady and unprofessional behavior. Immediately after this game when up for sale there were 10+ positive reviews, but they've only ever reviewed this dev's games (with very short play times) and have little to no profile information. They seem to either be paid for, or are sock puppet accounts to boost their games. One of them going as far as saying a negative reviewer is "jealous" of the dev? WTF? The negative review mentioned performance issues on Steam Deck, and the dev response was "works for me" with some smarmy comments about getting the device repaired, and how the person is trying to "review bomb" them...with a single bad review. Yet another "WTF" moment. I can confirm this initial release doesn't run well on Steam Deck. The menus hover between 11 and 30 FPS, which makes navigating them feel unresponsive. In-game it started running at 90 FPS, but pretty soon tanked to 50-60 FPS. I had to lock the screen refresh to 60 for a relatively consistent experience, even with graphics settings all the way down, and there were still stutters consistently every few seconds.

The demo for this game came out some time ago now and it really left me wanting more of this game. Astro Fighters 2 challenges the player to resist the temptation to keep levelling up and instead sacrifice better damage points for the safety net of enemy bullet cancelling smart bombs and spread shots. You could go all out and take the level up (to a max of level 5) but the enemy will also increase their level meaning they fire more often and shoot faster bullets. This strategic element would be enough to make the game stand out as a classic shmup but on top of this there are also a wide variety of special collectable items which can be stored (2 slots), switched around (slot 1 will be activated) and activated with the left bumper. This adds further depth to the gameplay. Do you spam the power up items when you get them or think ahead to the next bullet spurting mid-level or end-level boss? The choice is the players and this is a brilliant design choice allowing me to attack the enemy however I feel like it. Most shmups have you hugging the bottom of the screen but this game forces you to linger near the centre as enemies (and bullets) can come in from the bottom of the screen. The game is presented in 16:9 aspect ration which offsets the need to stay central giving you space to move more horizontally than most other shmups. This tackles wide screen shmup issues where there is generally too much screen space to occupy and not enough enemy activity. More shmups need to take this approach so wide screen can become the norm for the genre. The ship shot direction can be toggled between front and back firing with the right bumper meaning that enemies from both above and below the player can be dealt with without the need to circle behind each enemy. The game has multiple modes to unlock (hard / extreme mode, gauntlet (survival) modes (timed and endless)) and high score boards for the difficulty modes are shared for the main game but each gauntlet mode has its own score board. The game also lets you know your real time rank on the leader board as you play which is a great touch and encourages high score chasing as well as showing you who the next player is to beat on the table and how many points away you are from reaching their score. Players who feel overwhelmed by the non stop action can slow the game down with the left trigger at the cost of scored points and this is a valid tactic for getting through some of the tougher boss battles and enemy formations in the game. Keyboard and Mouse is supported and the button glyths change accordingly in game (no idea why the dev doesn't advertise this on steam as it shows controller only) Completed the game on Normal, Hard and Extreme difficulty modes so I think i'm qualified to say this is definitely a great shmup that looks beautiful and plays silky smooth on my rig. Oh and I played the Hard Mode in Black and White and the Extreme Mode in Green Screen filters (very retro feeling and it was awesome to change up the graphics, props to the dev for including these and not forcing them onto players). I didn't like all of the filters but there's choices there which is great. This game is not steam deck verified but does run on steam deck, seen some youtubers playing it and the performance looked solid so when I get a steam deck I will be downloading it and trying it there as this would be awesome to play on the go.

Played through this game on Steamdeck and it was a very pleasant experience. There are options to lower graphics quality in game and all 8 levels were true 3D. Not sure what the nonesense negative reviewer is crying about, seems like jealousy or something to me. Game is awesome, if unsure go search footage on youtube. Currently 3rd on the main leaderboard ;-)

Awesome game, Great graphics and slick moment to moment gameplay.

Very addictive shooter, had lots of fun playing this.

This shmup is brilliant! Unlocked the gauntlet mode, cleared the 6 minute challenge then got my butt handed to me on the 10 minute challenge. Graphics are superb and the back grounds keep changing on gauntlet mode which keeps it feeling fresh. Going back for more later.

Since threats are never completely wiped out, the second part reveals that the enemy has returned in greater force. Your well-earned retirement is therefore cancelled, and you are called back into action. That is all the justification this shoot ’em up with bullet-hell mechanics needs. This genre revolves around dodging what feels like an impossible number of bullets that can appear on the screen at the same time. Because of that, your hitbox is extremely small and positioned at the center of your aircraft. For greater precision, you slow down when firing, and you can temporarily slow down further with a separate button, although this reduces your overall points. That might not matter if you are not aiming for the highest score. Your offense comes from the main weapon, which can fire either forward or backward with the press of a button. It starts off weak but can be upgraded by draining a special bar. The bar fills by collecting medals from destroyed enemies or by grazing, a mechanic unique to bullet-hell games where you fly dangerously close to enemy bullets. Grazing fills the bar much faster than collecting medals. Upgrading your weapon increases your damage, but it also strengthens the enemies, which is noticeable through their faster projectiles. As tempting as constant upgrades may seem, leveling up too much is not a good strategy. Instead, it is better to save the power bar for two special abilities, both capable of destroying standard enemy bullets. The first ability is a spread shot that covers the area in front of you. The second is a bomb that clears all bullets from the screen. Since neither ability drains the entire power bar, you can use them regularly, and the bomb in particular will become your best friend. Using it while several enemies are on screen will generate enough medals to refill the power bar you just spent, often leaving you with a bit extra. You can choose between three ships, though the only real difference is their attack pattern. The first focuses its fire directly in front of you, the second covers a slightly wider area, and the third spreads across the widest range. A wider spread makes it easier to hit enemies, but they will not go down as quickly as they would under concentrated fire. Stages follow a consistent structure. You face several waves of basic enemies, then a mid-level boss, followed by more waves, and finally a stage-ending boss fight. Unfortunately, the bosses themselves are not particularly interesting. They are simply larger airships that neither break apart nor introduce especially unique attacks. Instead, they increase the number of bullets they fire as you deal more damage. There are also a few annoyances. Some enemies suddenly rush in from the bottom without any warning. While ships do not cause collision damage, these enemies can appear right next to you and begin firing immediately, leaving no room to dodge. One boss encounter is also deliberately drawn out because the same boss appears again later in another stage, this time accompanied by a second one. It’s attacks are the most annoying in the game. Despite these issues, it remains a very enjoyable title if you are into bullet-hell or shoot ’em ups in general. Once you learn to use bombs regularly to clear the screen of the countless bullets that would otherwise be impossible to dodge, the game really opens up. In addition to easy and normal difficulty modes, there is also a gauntlet mode where you must survive for six minutes.

Absolutely love this arcade style shmup and the procedural gauntlet mode is great once you unlock it. Class game!

Played the demo and absolutely loved it! Just completed the game on Normal difficulty mode and immediately the Hard mode presents itself... OMG So much depth and replay value in this game it's unheard of for the price asked. Hats off to the solo dev that made this game, it really is a brilliant shmup worthy of any shooter fans time. Once you hit the flow state this gem really shines.