ASTROLANCER

A good retro inspired game. The Guardian Legend was a fun game back on the old NES and this game brought out a lot of that! Some stuff could be expanded upon better but I loved going through this one! I should go back on harder difficulties...

I started playing the NES at 5 and there was a game that was always my favorite. This game was always unknown by anyone I talked to and even online. But at some point this game became a "hidden gem." It was about time! "Guardian Legends." No other game felt like it. Fast forward about 30 years. Someone created a game similar and it is very enjoyable. "Astrolancer!" It is a fun game and a great stroll down memory lane. I hope the creator finds it reasonable to make a sequel!

As somebody who's been a passionate fan of The Guardian Legend since owning the NES cartridge as a kid, this immediately caught my attention. And it doesn't disappoint! Everything I would have wanted from a remake/sequel/reimagining of TGL is here: more varied areas, more modern shmup mechanics, the works. I think the lance dash with I-frames is an excellent addition, especially given the game leaning more into modern Bullet Hell. I love the retro graphics and music, and I enjoy the storyline and its moral ambiguity. I have a few quibbles, but they're very minor: I would have liked a more even split between the "labyrinth" and "corridor" sections, as the game focuses primarily on the "labyrinth" areas. The game is also significantly more linear than The Guardian Legend, being divided into stages rather than a fully interconnected map. Having the option to toggle the strafe, rather than it being a separate game mode, would have been nice. And the difficulty ramp between normal enemies and "Bullet Hell" bosses is very steep. Again, though, these are minor and personal quibbles and I still immensely enjoyed the game. Overall, though: If you are or were a fan of The Guardian Legend, pick up this game immediately.

This game does exactly what good retro games should do: captures the nostalgic aesthetics while not being afraid to embrace QoL features. Great character designs, fun boss fights, lots of weapons, there's so much to love about this game. It's not a very long game, but it doesn't need to be. $6 is an absolute steal for this.

ASTROLANCER is a solid first effort from Studio Hexeye. It has a lot of things pulled from classic NES games as well as modern Space SHMUPs where the mechanics and gameplay types combine for a satisfactory experience. PROS: +Solid, consistent art style with impressive pixel art for cutscenes and bosses. +Finding upgrade currency via secret walls feels rewarding, and I enjoyed deciding on your upgrade path throughout the game's levels. +The levels are pretty perfectly paced. They're not too long or too short, and the SHMUP sections feel like a good break from the top-down sections and vice versa. + Good soundtrack, although a little one-note at times. + A good spread of difficulty options for people who want the game to be easier or harder. + It's cheap! $6 USD is a great price. CONS: - Contrary to the bosses and main character, the generic enemies and levels do not stand out much. They're numerous but unmemorable. ~ The top-down sections, while generally good, begin to feel pretty samey and they take up more of the game than the space shooter segments. I personally was expecting more of a 50/50 split, where it's actually like 75/25. I don't have much to complain about with ASTROLANCER. I think it's worth the money for what you get, and I enjoyed playing it! I hope this dev makes more fun action games and not a farming sim or something. 8/10

A very simple yet engaging game that offers a lot of replayability and depth despite it's short runtime. I's quite challenging, and I'd recommend the game to anyone familiar with Blaster Master Zero or SHMUPS. he story is also a lot more interesting than you'd be lead to believe at the start.

Such a fun and challenging game, really glad you put the cheats in so it can be reasonably finished. Really enjoyed all of the references and designs similar to The Guardian Legend on the NES, especially one of the forms of the end boss. ASTROLANCER is *the* spiritual successor to The Guardian Legend, great work!!!

Hidden gem achada na sale de shmups. O jogo mistura uma espécie de run and gun top-down com shmup, com gráficos que remetem a jogos da era 8 bits. As fases são todas no estilo top-down, com sub-bosses e um boss maior no final. Após enfrentar esse boss, ele tenta escapar do planeta e o jogo muda para o estilo shmup, re-enfrentando ele no final da fase. Os padrões de tiros dos bosses mudam a medida que o HP deles é reduzido. As fases exploratórias contém diversas áreas secretas, onde pode se achar novas armas e itens que permitem upgrades ao final delas. Muito bom, bem competente e divertido. Jogado no Normal que é bem tranquilo. A dificuldade mais alta tem um incremento considerável, com mais projéteis na tela, projéteis mais fortes e com mais tiros teleguiados para o jogador.

The first time I heard about this game, someone praised it and said that it was very similar to The Guardian Legend, which is one of my favorite NES games. I picked it up shortly after that, and I really enjoyed it! Structurally, it differs in that it's a linear stage-based experience as opposed to TGL's large map that you can freely explore and tackle stages whenever you desire. If I had to choose, I would rather have a focus on exploration, but Astrolancer's adaptation of the formula is fun in its own way. To offer a few constructive comments, I felt like my movement was a little too restricted at times during the on-foot segments, which made it frustrating to dodge bullets. Getting caught on walls and corners when I'm moving around, especially when using the thrust ability, felt like it could be improved. Also, I'd welcome a bit more variety to the stages, such as different objectives or things to interact with. I enjoyed the story, which has lots of nice little pixel art cutscenes between each stage. It felt like it had a lot of personality and love put into it. The shmup stages were very well done, and they're fairly forgiving since you can take many hits before dying. After finishing the game, there was a note from the developer that said something along the lines of, "If this is the only game I ever finish, thanks for checking it out." I want to say to that person, you did a great job with this! I hope you continue to create, and I'd love to see what you come up with next. Even if you've never played The Guardian Legend, you should check this game out -- especially if you like shmups.

An interesting mix of vertical shmup and top-down 8-directional shooter gameplay. Don’t be intimidated by the mention of “shmup” though. I forget which difficulty I played (maybe Normal?) but it was honestly a walk in the park and I don’t even have many shmups or bullet hells under my belt. Unfortunately, I probably should’ve played on a higher difficulty since I found the experience to be pretty forgettable without a solid challenge. The art style and soundtrack were nice but it’s hard to stand out these days on a retro inspired art style and OST. It’s a solid game though and if you’re at all proficient with action games then I recommend turning up the difficulty and enjoying the challenge.