[b]Sine Mora[/b] is a bullet hell, side-scrolling shooter with a twist. Time isn't on your side.
Easy to play, yet difficult to master, its solid gameplay earns it a recommendation.
[h1] Why would I play this 11 year old game? [/h1]
[b]Bullet hell on a timer[/b]
It's not your typical bullet hell title.
To get more time, kill enemies fast.
Get hit = lose time and power ups
Move fast to re-collect lost power ups or they're gone within seconds.
[b]Difficult[/b]
There are two difficulty settings: Normal, Challenging
Even on Normal: you'll die a lot. As with any bullet hell, you'll need to familiarize yourself with each level's design, enemy spawn points, and boss weak spots. You'll keep coming back though!
Use only your primary weapon to maintain your multiplier. Using your powerful secondary weapon or SloMo will reset the multiplier.
It's challenging but fair: Any continues you lose is because you did something wrong, not because the game had a sudden spike in difficulty or threw a curve ball at you.
[b]Streamlined gameplay[/b]
You can fast-forward everything that is not gameplay (cutscenes, dialogues, and even boss animations)
Very fast load times.
[b]Elegant boss designs and fluid fights[/b]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2971143197
[b]Various worlds to fight in and nice visuals[/b]
Like airborne above the sea, in the depths of the sea, in a droid factory, etc.
This keeps things interesting.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2970775811
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2970778277
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2970779028
[b]High replayability[/b]
Because the levels are fairly short and fun.
Four modes to choose from: Story, Arcade, Score attack, Boss training
Generous 13 continues to make use of per run, and freedom to start from any of the 7 stages (chapters) of the story
[b]Helpful visual hints[/b]
The game isn't about puzzles so it shows you straight away what to hit to beat the bosses and proceed.
[b]Extensive how-to section[/b]
Helpful but it's faster to learn as you go.
Just set your controls to what's more comfortable for you and blast away.
If you were wondering, the language used in achievements is Latin. Sine Mora means Without Delay, a nice nod to both the story and the ingame SloMo mechanic.
[h1] Why wouldn't I though, really? [/h1]
[b]Bottleneck spots[/b]
There's a few that can be very frustrating. Looking at this part in Stage III, the Aiborg Factory https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2970777132
The good news is there are only three such spots in the whole run, start to finish.
[b]Unprovoked SloMo[/b]
Sometimes the game decides to force it (without consuming your meter) with no apparent trigger at all.
[b]Convoluted story[/b]
It's about you fighting the Imperials, whoever they are, with time travel thrown in, and a hard-to-follow father-son story to boot.
If it sounds unnecessarily complicated and a bit ridiculous, that's because it is.
Character design feels weird. They pretty much look like anthropomorphic animals with undiagnosed eating disorders. Just weird.
[b]Grindy achievements[/b]
Achievements are mostly military ranks, so the devs decided to make each one unlock only when the previous rank is unlocked first.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2971058584
Each of these consists of a list of tasks you must complete.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2971058596
Let me put it this way: I beat the game in 7 hours with only 2 out of 10 achievements; one of those I had to look up and intentionally die to get.
On the other hand, a friend has dedicated 42 hours to it and is still 8 / 10.
There's a point when achievements are just too much hassle and not worth it. I feel this is one of those times.
[b]Uninspired music score and mediocre sound effects[/b]
In my experience, they were forgettable, unless you park your screen at the Menu and keep listening for the single track that sounds nice and I could only hear there. lol
That's not how BGM works though.
[h1]Conclusion[/h1]
[b]Sine Mora[/b] is a fun, challenging and well-designed bullet hell shooter.
Recommended for lovers of the genre and masochists alike.
7.5/10
Keep in mind that the original [b]Sine Mora[/b] (this one) has better reviews than the remake [i]Sine Mora Ex[/i].
P.S. Here's a [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2971128034] concise guide[/url] for that pesky bottleneck part.
