Crystal Comet

Crystal Comet is a twin stick shmup meets party game. Choose between local coop and/or play together with AI partners in a squad of four. The AI players are actually pretty good. It looks like a shmup but feels more like a chaotic twin stick shooter with the enemies coming from all directions. Even though you play together you get separate scores which makes it fun to try to outscore each other. Quite a few different themed stages, bosses and three modes to keep you (and your friends) entertained for a good while.

[b] Target Audience: [/b] [I] Those Who Will Play with Friends like the old Beat Em Up Arcade Games [/i] [b] Summary: [/b] This is a hard one to sum up in a thumbs up/thumbs down evaluation. The game definitely has an audience: as there isn't a lot of games out there in the Top down shooter/Coop/Competitive/Beat em Up like genre that it goes for here: and when the game is hitting all cylinders, you'll feel like your with your friends in the arcade, just playing together around and laughing and having fun. I'd make a joke about being old enough to know when therre were arcades other then dave and busters......but now I just made myself depressed. The thing is, the game's biggest issue has to do with the difficulty. Your characters and game design elements regarding enemy placement and damage taken really makes it easy to get through without really running into major problems. I think the scoring system is a little tilted to survivability and not effectiveness in killing things, and the standard partner AI is a little bit too effective. I think the game can turn into a visual mess at times, despite some great music and a lot of different planet/monster design. And yet, it's the type of game that you play with friends via Steam Remote Play and it's going to really be strong for those looking for a more casual yet a little chaotic game experience. The thing is, there's not a lot of games that I can think of that are like this specifically (tell me if I'm wrong), which is why despite my issues, it gets the thumbs up. It definitely has room to grow however. [b] Review Video: [/b]: https://youtu.be/GaNUh5F-JHQ [u] Lists: [/u] [b]Positives:[/b] [list] [*] Creates the formula to really enjoy with friends without it being taken super seriously. [*] You do feel the chaos of everything on screen. Feels taken from an arcade. [*] Music really drives the action forward and is a highlight. [*] Good variety in presentation design with the different planets. [*] Good selection of powerups [/list] [b]Negatives:[/b] [list] [*] Difficulty is lacking in several areas: veterans of the genre aren't going to feel the rush of the genre in terms of SHMUPs/Top Down Shooter [*] The AI is a little too effective at its base level when it comes to your partners. [*] About 50% off the bosses need a ramp up in terms of spectical and awe. [*] Visual noise can make it hard to focus on very specific things and can start to give a headache. [/list] [b] If you want more reviews/information regarding games I've reviewed, visit my curator. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/6861768/]Dragnix Curator [/url][/b]

Story mode: https://youtu.be/zj_fMIxDofI This is an excellent SHMUP, and if that's the only thing you read here - that's the important bit. You have a few characters to choose from, though outside of the ship you fly there isn't a huge difference in what you'll experience from a narrative aspect. The story plays out through various conversations between enemies, bosses, and your teammates. There are branching paths, which encourages multiple play throughs so you can experience new things. I won't say every run is going to be a new experience, but there's enough content here to really have you go through many, many times. It's worth it. The game has somewhat distinct art, something that makes me nostalgic for the 90s. I personally love this style of pixel art, because I can jump forward 10 years in time and I'm still going to think this looks great. Pixel art never ages. It's timeless. A very cool thing about this game is that there is an immense amount of variety. There are dozens of unique looking enemies and bosses. Even your teammate's ships look fairly unique. But, combat. That's probably the real reason anyone plays a SHMUP. Is it good? Absolutely. It's great. And it's not even that you're blowing up enemies with a variety of standard and special attacks. Nope. Regardless of how cool and entertaining that is, it's barely a scratch on what makes combat feel so good here. It's your teammates. You're legitimately part of a squad that is working together to defeat enemies. And they are not some mindless drones that just get in the way. They kill enemies, collect health and special weapons, as well as the crystals(used to unlock new ships in Random Mode). It's super impressive, and made me feel like I was part of a team. Music is a pretty good mix of some rock'n'roll style metal, maybe heavy metal. I don't know music genres. It's good music. It fits the game great. Raptor comes to mind. There are multiple endings to the game. Given the different endings in the game and the different branches you can take to get there, it really encourages multiple playthroughs. You also have Random Mode after you finish the game. Random Mode is a pretty cool addition and I quite like it as well.

As of this moment, I'm the first paying customer to review this game, which is a little sad considering how AWESOME Crystal Comet is. This game is a delight to play. It's a twin-stick shooter built for four players, and it's gloriously messy in the best way. I can't wait to do some four-player runs with this. Single player is fun enough while you're getting your bearings, but I managed to rope a second player in and seeing who could get the highest score was an absolute blast. The presentation hits all the right spots in an age where I'm constantly trying to escape bad AI art. The graphics remind me of old shareware games where artists spent hours making cool weird stuff in Deluxe Paint. My favorites were the cow monster that lactates aliens and the dragon girl twins. The soundtrack is mostly cool metal, and the writing has a lot of dry sarcastic wit. I've only played enough to unlock a couple of bonus ships for Random Mode, but I'm already hoping to get some people together for this at my next couch co-op night. I think there's enough going on under the hood to get my friends hooked for a couple playthroughs at a time.

[quote]A review copy was provided by the developer.[/quote] [quote]Follow my Curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41363546-Fruit-N-Doggie-Reviews/]Fruit N Doggie Reviews,[/url] so you can be updated whenever I post a new review.[/quote] [h1]Overall Rating - Mediocre ★★★☆☆[/h1] [h1]First Impressions[/h1] When I saw Crystal Comet (CC) available for review, I contacted the developer about it with some questions. I was warned that it'd be a chaotic SHMUP, but wasn't really sure why that'd be the case, as the images and trailer didn't convey it'd be any worse than most games of that nature. After trying the game briefly, I saw what he meant, and tried it again later when my friend visited on the weekend. It made for an interesting experience, as I was surprised we actually beat it. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] The main distinction about this SHMUP is that there's always four ships on screen, with the AI controlling all of the ones not played by a person. With how many enemies flood the screen, you'll appreciate having the AI covering your blind spots. Annoying, when looking at the results screen, they always seemed to do better than I had, no matter how consistently I'd avoided taking any damage. Across the playthrough, you'll sometimes have a choice between what planet to visit next, creating some variance. However, certain stages are constants, forcing you down a particular story line, which I found somewhat lackluster. Amongst the different boss battles, I thought the worst one was when you fought versions of your own characters from an alternate timeline. Even ignoring the questions such an encounter raises, the action was too frantic to clearly distinguish between friend and foe. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3260011750 [h1]Controls[/h1] Normally a twin-stick shooter would have fairly basic controls, but in this case, I found them a bit difficult to manage. What creates this confusion for me was how many things the ship can do. Between reviving an ally, warping around the screen edge, activating the unique special attack, and boosting my movement speed, there's several powers to consider at any time. Since you can't just spam these freely, it requires you to be aware of how much energy you have left. For me, managing the controls wasn't as instinctive as I'd expect for a SHMUP, especially because you can also stop firing momentarily to let your weapon power build-up for more damage. [h1]Story[/h1] I understand the basic premise of the plot, but don't think it coheres incredibly well. For instance, your team is made up of beings from a variety of backgrounds and places, and you're told that this comet is having a large impact on the galaxy. However, even though the characters banter with each other, it doesn't really expand your understanding or perspective on this setting. Considering that you get to choose where you go after every stage, I think a summary of the planet you're traveling to would have made a nice difference. What makes this place worth going to, how does it relate to the surrounding area, and so forth. As an example, I'd refer to StarFox 64, as they outlined how Andross was trying to weaponize the resources available in each place. Not to give away too much of the final boss, but my friend and I were perplexed when the credits started playing, “Wait, that's it?” With the mechanics in mind, it's one way to generate several endings, but without meaningful character development, there's not much point or strength to it. Plus, as each playthrough takes about an hour, it comes across more of an attempt to pad the length, “Well, they'll have to play this game over and over now. There's so many endings available.” https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3260011562 [h1]Visuals[/h1] With everything happening on screen, it isn't enough to reach the level of a true bullet hell, but it still comes across as chaos and clutter. Generally, one aspect that helps with bullet hells, is how those waves of projectiles come in patterns, usually made up of nearly identical shapes and colors. However, with CC, at any given time, you'll have enemies of different shapes and sizes coming from all directions, including their projectiles, and blown-up debris. The stage I hated most for this was when facing the “invisible” enemies, as they'd pop-up partway on the screen, instead of clearly coming in from the sides. I've gotten a bit more used to it now, but having so many things on the screen isn't an upside to this game. [h1]Sound Design[/h1] Matching all the chaos on-screen, the music for this title is composed of rock and roll songs. I think the high-paced tunes are a good accompaniment, and can't really distract you anymore from everything going on already. It's a bit subtle by contrast, but I'm fairly sure a certain sound effect occurs when your ship takes damage. That was something I wasn't always positive about, whether or not I had taken a hit, as things are just so chaotic. There isn't a ton of dialogue, but when the characters banter with one another, their lines are voice-acted. It's a nice touch for a small developer to include. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3260012114 [h1]Pros[/h1] 🌟 You'll earn a form of currency, with which you can unlock different ships in Random Mode. 🌟 It's hectic, but this is a decent local coop title. [h1]Cons[/h1] ❌ Simplicity is often for the best. There's plenty of good ideas, but they shouldn't necessarily overlap everything that sounds interesting on top of each other. Even with the AI being programmed to efficiently deal with enemies, I can't help but think they get confused too. ❌ There are achievements for beating each boss, and picking up the special weapon they give you. It'd be like getting an achievement for beating a boss in Mega Man, and then getting the weapon afterwards. You should only get one or the other. ❌ A single playthrough only takes about an hour, with little reason for repeated playthroughs. [h1]Tips[/h1] 🔍 Switch between using your aimed projectiles to hit enemies off to the side, or behind you, and shooting straight ahead. Firing straight ahead is more powerful, but can only fire in that direction. 🔍 In theory, you might pick the ship that does the least damage, so the AI can make use of that extra firepower. It all depends on how good you are at hitting the mark. [h1]Final Thoughts[/h1] Ultimately, I lean away from this title, because I think the developer focused too much on areas that didn't really improve the quality of the game. For example, having several power-ups seemingly is a perk, but most of the time, you can hardly tell what's going on. If you asked me to explain what the power-up I just picked up was doing in contrast to another one, at best you'd get a blank stare and shrug of my shoulders, because I haven't a clue. Additionally, even though I appreciate the idea for the range of endings, without a stronger establishment to the story, the pay-off lacks strength, “Oh, this character was greedy. Did anybody ever say anything pertaining to that?” Getting the AI to play itself without completely distorting the gameplay is impressive to me. I hope the developer can use that basis to develop a title that's more focused. [quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]Follow our curator page: [b]IndieGems[/b] if you like and want to see more reviews like this one.[/url][/quote] [table] [tr] [th]PC Specs[/th] [th]Performance[/th] [/tr] [tr] [td]Ryzen 2700 RTX 2070 16GB RAM ADATA SSD 1920x1080 [/td] [td]The game ran without incident on default settings. 💖 - CC is healthy [/td] [/tr] [/table]

I got the game for beta testing. It was fun testing it and even more so playing it after 1.0 release! You can feel the dev's love for retro shmups on every level. Great pixel art, chaotic action, and a fun narrative. This game is easier (or less hard) playing alone due to a strong AI helping you getting through. I also played it with 2 friends a few runs, but we didn't manage to beat it. Still, it was a good time. Crystal Comet isn't perfect, but why should it be? I recommend it, especially if you're a fan of the genre and of that awesome retro style.

Engage in exhilarating chaos with a squad of helpful companions! This shoot 'em up game offers a simple story and balanced difficulty, making it accessible to players of all skill levels. The fun and easy-to-learn mechanics add depth, while a diverse array of bosses, a number of power-ups, and ships—each with a unique ability—keep the gameplay fresh and exciting. What truly sets this game apart is the intelligent AI that controls the other 3 companion ships in the fleet. Anyone here can drop power-ups and repair each other's ship damage, and believe me, their teamwork feels incredibly natural like playing with your skin & bones pals. You'll find yourself saving them at times, just as they will support you when needed The game's music is outstanding. While the action is addictive, play sessions are designed to last an hour+, preventing excessive gaming and promoting a balanced experience. With multiple ships, modes, branching paths, endings, and a wide variety of enemies, you can easily get 6 hours of entertainment from this game. The on-screen action is intense to the chaotic level, but embrace the mayhem! It's all part of the game's charm and unique, action-packed fun. This is a must-have shmup experience IMO! Congrats RewdanSprites, you got a fan here!