Technocide

Technocide happens to be one of the most original STG designs I've come across in quite sometime. It's very non-traditional in its configuration as a non-linear and choice driven STG. Slight roguelike features such as random planet/mission choice and random purchasable shop items make each playthrough feel fresh as does its core gameplay loop of ever increasing difficulty. The weapon/overkill system and how kills are scored/tallied is superbly designed as well IMO as is the players #1 priority to protect the mothership from enemies exiting the screen. There is not another STG like this that I know of. This is a real hidden gem. P.S> If there is anything that should be added its online leaderboards for expert mode. The game deserves it. EDIT: Also wanted to mention that the BGM is superb as well!

Nice hack and explode style destroy-them-all mayhem!

i like it. i suck at it.

Completed a run on normal difficulty, will give expert a shot soon. Pros: - Punchy weapons, overall brilliant gamefeel - Really nailed the nostalgic artstyle of early 00s(ish) homegrown games - Chain scoring and other shmup mechanics add depth and are presented in a beginner friendly way Cons: - OST has a few weaker tracks that are used during the first few levels An easy recommend for fans of shmups like Raptor and Jets 'n' Guns

Might not appeal to most due to lack of upgrades and meta-progression. The goal of this shoot’em-up is a little different. Instead of just completing a stage, you must prevent enemies from reaching the bottom of the screen. This is largely done with your main cannon, which has auto-fire to make things a little easier on your fingers. All you have to do is fly around the screen, intercepting any enemies that appear at the top. While a few enemy spacecraft may still slip through, each will deplete one health bar from your mothership. When all of your health is depleted, the game ends and you must restart from the beginning. There’s no meta-progression, but you get to select one gear you acquired from the previous run. Each stage contains numerous waves, and each stage introduces new threats. Enemies include simple ships that die after a few shots, carriers that withstand more punishment, faster dart-like ships, and so on. Aside from the main gun, you have a special super weapon that must be refilled by collecting power cells dropped by defeated enemies. Depending on the main gun, the weapon is active as long as you hold the button, allowing you to keep it and use it when necessary, or it uses a charge. New main weapons are unlocked as you progress. You begin with a quick machine gun, but quickly progress to a pulse gun that shoots slower but travels in a straight line and a shotgun with a small range but a larger area. After the first boss, you also get to combine two of them together. Sadly, this comes at a price because combination makes both weapons worse. Stages use a rogue-lite mechanic. You can choose any mission that is presented to you, but any that you do not accept will be lost. This is important because each mission carries its own reward. For instance, you can heal the mothership, get new equipment, or gain reputation points. Reputation points are the game's currency that you get by destroying enemies. They may be used in a shop, but you must complete a stage with the "shop" reward. A shop contains random offers, and you can purchase passive gear that works all the time or weapons with limited ammo that recharge after each stage.

Reminds me of a legendary DemonStar, but plays very differently. Has some interesting twists in mechanics that work really well like that the objective is to protect your base ship by not lettings enemies through instead of trying to survive and thinking when to go for overkills for massive points. With the price tag this is highly recommended for any shmup fans!

The first hour of technocide is amazing, as it seems like it's a fresh and interesting hidden gem. And it still could be. But the game has some pretty fundamental design problems at the same time that really prevent it from being great. The biggest issue is the weapon balance is not good. The basic pea shooter you get at the start is the best weapon because all the enemies tend to move horizontally, and it's the only weapon with a movement pattern that deals with that. Later on you can "fuse" weapons which just makes them worse. Situational patterns to use other weapons (like are present in the trailer) mean you have to play worse to set them up and don't really come up in game. The game also has issues on the steam deck. There is extreme input lag, it seems 200 ms+, and the enemies are so tiny they fuse with the background art. This is also probably going to be an issue for anybody with vision problems on a PC. I'm still giving it a thumbs up because it's interesting from a design perspective.

Definitely one of those pick and play type of games. Though I haven't played much, I can recommend it. The trailer tells most of the gameplay. You play as a someone in a spaceship defending a cargo/mother ship from enemy forces. The gameplay goes as this: the scene starts and you pretty much have to prevent the enemies that are appearing from the top of the screen from reaching the bottom of the screen. And that's it. You get upgrades every once in a while and are able to repair your cargo/mother ship in between missions. It's simple but it works. The only downsides are that if you die and lose all the cargo ship's health, you are done with your current game and have to try again from the beginning which I don't like, since I'm not good at these types of games. I haven't been able to progress through the story because of this. I probably won't ever but I have a feeling that other people will get good enough to finish the game. Plays great on steam deck!

Pour protéger le vaisseau mère, aucun alien ne doit passer. J'aime les graphismes à l'ancienne avec la jouabilité moderne. Le jeu reste lisible même avec beaucoup d'aliens à l'écran. Les différentes armes, spéciales/boutique/armes de base, permettent de varier les parties. Passer d'une arme à l'autre n'est pas évident au début mais ça enrichit le gameplay. On cherche ses combinaisons préférées pour être plus efficace afin d'aller jusqu'au boss final. Les niveaux de difficulté permettent de jouer quel que soit son skill et la possibilité de garder une arme de la partie précédente permet de personnaliser son vaisseau. C'est satisfaisant, et donne envie de progresser. Je recommande si vous aimez les shmups à la fois classiques et avec un côté roguelite

Game received for free through LazyOtter. Game is a new take on the vertical 2d shooter, arcade style. Interesting story at least, particularly relevant today. Did not play more than a few levels... Def on the harder side even just on "normal". Some enemies are obnoxious and could use a rebalance. Dying resets but you can choose a save to get back to close to where you were. Dislike the 1 to 3 ratio on choices for which colony to save, feels very X-com, and I hated that feature about that game too. If you are a preexisting fan of the genre, go for it. Otherwise, most people will probably find their money better spent elsewhere.