[h3][i]Why wouldn't you just sleep?[/i][/h3]
Working title, later scrapped for fear of eye-rolling corniness and inaccuracy: [i]"Signalis and Ikaruga Walk Into A Bar..."[/i]
I feel as though I have a duty to first complete this on Vivid Nightmare—the game's Hard Mode equivalent—and [i]also[/i] experiment with a couple of playstyles before I write anything that's 110% concrete, but at the same time, my mind is pretty much made up, with or without that experience/those approaches;
If STGs are in your ballpark, this has to go on your list. Like, frame one. If they're [i]not[/i] in your ballpark, but you want to play something with a distinct air of intrigue to it, this still has to go on your list. It's in that rare territory of "I will straight up buy this for you if you promise me that you'll give it a fair shake," especially because this work deserves to have more eyeballs in its general direction; it feels [i]wrong[/i] seeing this exist in that certain indie realm of heavy obscurity, even if it's somewhat apt, thematically.
[b]The elevator pitch:[/b] You are a rabbit with a sword. You have two attacks, a passive melee ability that activates whenever you're in collision range with a target [i](side note; the lack of collision damage/death here took me aback initially, but it's for the better - more on that later),[/i] and a quote-unquote sprint. Or dash. Whatever you wanna call it. No power-ups, no particularly advanced scoring mechanics - a kill raises your multiplier/chain, which goes up to 8× and resets after 1.6 seconds if you don't keep it up - and a rudimentary HP system in place of the usual lives-and-bombs coupling.
From the outset, this is how [i]Rotschwert[/i] tickles my brain; it's a distinctly simplistic game. On some level, that's kinda the point. There is no grandiose, larger-than-life goal, there are no achievements, there's not a whole lot in the way of fanfare in the wake of your "victories." It's in the style, too - black, grey, and white as far as the eye can see, with sharp, occasional hints of cyan and red whenever you attack. It makes for an aesthetic approach that [b]really[/b] sticks. I haven't played a whole lot (or, well, not [i]as much[/i] when compared to the hours upon hours I sunk into, say, Ikaruga or ZeroRanger), but [i]Rotschwert's[/i] design—on all fronts: visual, stage/segment, sound, music—burrowed itself into my lobes after about two scuffed playthroughs. (Some of those bullet patterns are to die for. [i]Often literally.[/i])
There's a solid, if vague approach to storytelling here. It's one of those entries where I'd be hard-pressed to tell you what I think the [i]exact[/i] point of it is, or what the details are, But I adore that as well. I've found myself idly thinking about its last couple of stages and its finale (on Ordinary Dream/Normal, anyway), the latter being helped immensely by the thick air of mystery that envelops it. I'd rather not add much beyond that since [b]a)[/b] I feel like there's still more to uncover, or at least more to see, and [b]b)[/b] it's best experienced on your own time. Very much a "go in blind and see what you make of it" situation.
Oh, er, right, I left the collision thing on ice and then didn't touch on it at all. Excuse me. Let's rectify that: The conscious choice of not having any target-collision damage is awesome. It was [i]inevitable[/i], given that melee would either be notably risky or perhaps straight up tiresome otherwise, but even so, it greatly tickles that part of the brain that wants something to shake up the usual. It's a mechanic that invites you to play a fair bit more... [i]brashly[/i] than you might be accustomed to, for lack of a better term—and this also serves as a good transition into a quick paragraph on gameplay, because [i]Rotschwert[/i] is more than open to you using your melee and dashing around the screen like you're being paid for it. After all, the alternative is - likelier than not - death. To [b]not[/b] play aggressively, to not charge at a moment's notice, means opening yourself up to a frankly absurd amount of Danmaku™, as all enemies (sans popcorn) will always fire one way or another if left alone, some with far more intimidating patterns than others... and that's on Normal, so your guess is as good as mine with regards to how that ramps up in the later stages on Hard. Jolly good if you're a bigger fan of dodging, though—you even have a dedicated story mode where the goal is strictly to dodge and not gain any score at all if that tickles your fancy, by the way. Too much unlearning required for me, though.
Gah. I feel like I want to gush more about several other things, but I'm staring at my keyboard here after typing all that out and I think it's ultimately fine to leave it at... well, all of that. Bottom line: [i]Rotschwert[/i] is a delightful, immediately-intriguing game that asks little of the player and gives [i]much[/i] in return if you open up to it and meet it halfway. For five bucks, it feels like I'm undercutting Winged Fox by quite a bit - but even so, the least I can do is clasp my hands and bow in gratitude for their effort in putting all of this together and letting it out into the world. To Aru: I'll be looking forward to [i]Nullschwert[/i] with a wide grin on my face in the meanwhile.
[h3][i]Without your kind here, there would be no joy left in the Abyss...[/i][/h3]
Hiding deeply within the Forest of Smoke. 
