Shmadow

Tags: Shootemup & Bullet Hell Additional Tags: Delete Local Content & Remove from Library TLDR: Design Flaws. Limited FOV type gameplay. Must use firing to light up screen as well as defend yourself. Many cheap deaths, luck, and going in blind. No matter how good I get at a game I will never be able to see in the dark. Smadow limits your FOV to a tiny area around your protag and everything else is pitch black other than bullets. Then it spawns a bunch of black orbs that are basically invisible in the black grainy low resolution soup. Occasionally you get to fight a red dot boss. Your protag a ball of light shrinks when hurt which diminishes his hitbox but because of the aforementionned problems with FOV and invisible enemies it does not matter. The moment a boss shows up he becomes the main target, your gun can no longer light the rest of the screen to warn you of incoming danger, you need to dodge the boss spellcards and inevitably run into danger no matter how big your hitbox is. Even if you did see the black dot in time around your protag you are left with next to no reaction time to change your aim towards it. The game had little to no sound effects, the minimalistic sprites looked grainy and cheap and the whole monochromatic thing with red foes was not even given a lacquer of polish. It just feels like a flash game. Your protag autofires which removes even more of the agency, interactivity and impression of control the player seeks to establish in these kinds of games that require a high degree of mastery and perserverance. Redeeming Qualities: Cool Music Tracks Xbox 360 pad works great Controls and aiming seemed alright