Xenogunner

[i](disclaimer, I'm friends with a couple of the developers and I've been a beta tester for a large portion of development - this is why my Steam hours at time of review are so low, because the time I've spent playing is from non-Steam beta copies)[/i] Xenogunner is fun. Like, ridiculously fun. It's very polished and it's easy to jump into and play. It's a good length, something you can finish your first run of in the span of an afternoon and part of your evening, and it's also very replayable. Besides the levels themselves being worth playing multiple times, there's two characters that play differently from one another, and a customizable boss gauntlet available to offer some more content after you're done with the base game. The game's art style is gorgeous, the music is fitting, and the bosses are unique and fun to play against. It really feels like a proper modernization of the genre, with good quality of life features alongside polished controls and UI, while still having authentic gameplay. Xenogunner is a challenging game, but it's well-balanced and the default difficulty settings are enjoyable for people like me who aren't very good at these kinds of games, while still providing a challenge for others with more experience. There are detailed difficulty settings that allow you to make the game easier, but also allow you to make it harder to a ridiculous extent if you find the default settings too easy or want to go for a challenge run. There's a few settings dedicated to accessibility as well - you're able to disable screen shaking effects, make the game brighter, and reduce the overall speed of the game if you want or need to. The main issue is the poor controller support. It's fully playable and enjoyable with a gamepad, but navigating the menus and setting up the controller can be a pain. The in-game menus will still refer to the bindings for keyboard instead of controller, so you should make sure to check the bindings on the configuration screen at the start, and be aware that the button combo to return to the menu from in-game with a controller is select+start.

Enquanto a história talvez soe interessante para você, esse definitivamente não é o foco de Xenogunner. Então vamos ao que importa! Enquanto se trata de um game de plataforma, Xenogunner é extremamente desafiador em sua natureza ‘Run and Gun’. Cada fase traz um chefe mais desafiador que a anterior, e é sua tarefa derrotar todos. O jogo desenvolvido pela Happy Frog Games faz uso de diversas referências de games do mesmo gênero para criar algo bem diferente. Ou seja, esse com certeza não é um game para todo mundo. Com seus diferentes tipos de poderes, você irá enfrentar todo tipo de inimigos. As fases são fáceis, então, o verdadeiro desafio estará te esperando no final delas, nos chefes. Cada um com seus padrões a serem decorados. O modo sem cutscenes e o estilo do jogo, tornam ele perfeito para os amantes de speedruns. Ainda é possível jogar no modo Custom Gauntlet, onde você escolhe quais chefes irá enfrentar. E então, isso vai te permitir treinar para futuras runs. O jogo ainda possui episódios nos quais você vai poder focar. Além de diferentes personagens com suas próprias peculiaridades. Ou seja, Xenogunner é ótimo para os jogadores que gostam de um verdadeiro desafio. E traz consigo uma trilha sonora perfeita para ação. Talvez seu maior defeito real, e muito provavelmente alguns de vocês não ligam para isso, seja não ter achievements. Após passar milênios decorando os padrões de cada chefe e finalmente derrota-lo, você simplesmente segue ao próximo nível. Achievements adicionariam uma nova sensação de recompensa ao game. Além disso, para um game desse gênero, fica faltando um timer para contabilizar o tempo gasto em cada fase. Os gráficos são simpáticos e sem dúvidas são o que chama atenção logo de cara. Se você gosta de games de plataforma realmente desafiadores e de focar nas enérgicas lutas com chefes, Xenogunner é para você. Ele está custando R$28,99 e certamente traz tempo de jogo, claro, dependendo das suas habilidades, suficiente para se pagar. POSTADO INICIALMENTE EM THAT GAME ROCKS >> https://thatgamerocks.com/artigos/um-chefe-por-fase-em-xenogunner/

I adore this boss-rush action game despite its various flaws. If you like the gameplay in the trailer and can afford it, I totally recommend it. If you're on the fence, though, consider watching some gameplay on Youtube or checking out a speedrun. The Good: + The music is HYPE! But also kinda weird. Love listening to this with Skullcandy Crushers ANC for that extra bass rumble. + Thrilling hyper-action boss-rush side-scrolling shmup-platformer, very much like Gunstar Heroes or much more closely Alien Soldier for the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive. There aren't that many games like this. + All of the playable characters play differently and have different campaigns, providing replayability. + Several variables in the options menu allow changing difficulty through HP modifiers and optional bonuses for clearing all enemies in levels. Assist options allow playing the game at a lower speed. + Wild, colorful art. + Not too short, not too long. Speedruns can clear the game in under 20 minutes. A first time player can expect 4-10 to clear all of the main story campaigns, an an extra hour or two to clear the hidden campaign. + Fun Hidden bosses / character can be found by being patient at certain parts of the game. + Relatively light-hearted sensibilities overall. + Pretty cutscenes for the main character's story campaign. The Bad: - The story is OK, but not particularly coherent. There is some amusing hidden lore. But there's a little bit of mood whiplash, and after seeing all the art a few times, it becomes forgettable. I still don't quite know what exactly Xenonature is, despite knowing it's critical to how the story works. If you're a fan of Treasure games like Sin and Punishment however, this disjointed story is perfectly on-brand. Right down to the inexplicable inevitable space level. - Goofy boss design and silly goofball plot is somewhat at odds with the punishing difficulty. - No built in timer of any kind. - No achievements. Instead, would-be achievements are handled in the form of badges, which accumulate and can be used to unlock bonus content in the Custom Gauntlet mode. - Technical jank with the control system - Pressing keyboard or mouse inputs after enabling gamepad play may disable the gamepad until the game is returned to the title screen and gamepad re-enabled. For speedrunning, this means you will not be able to use the split hotkey for LiveSplit while playing on Gamepad. There is also no "fire" button due to the twin-stick layout, making certain bosses requiring timed hits just a little more frustrating. (Unfortunately, input problems seem to be the norm for games made in Clickteam Fusion. Keyboard and Mouse heavily recommended.)

A good bit of Gunstar Heroes/Alien Soldier style boss platforming madness that overcomes issues and lack of polish, delivering a surprisingly nice experience. Xenogunner is in a funny position of having a heap of issues and deficiencies, yet the good stuff ultimately brings the game together into an enjoyable package full of creativity, care, crazy bosses and a lot of action. Game's lower points usually reside in the topic of production values. Pixel art is good, but not amazing. Writing has a lot of charm, but it's not the greatest in the world. Cutscenes are lengthy and story is contextual and overly expanded at the same time. Music isn't all the bangers, all the time and few bosses still definitely need few tweaks or overhauls. However, those problems aren't deal breakers and game provides a lot of good stuff to compensate. Controls are very good - responsive, powerful, nimble and fast. Aiming your weapon feels good (if you play on mouse and keyboard, I don't recommend the controller) and most boss patterns and attacks are joyous to dodge or dash through. Game brims with creative ideas and is unapologetic with how strange and out-of-place it can get, while still giving that sense of wonder and curiousity, you often times don't find in games. As a fan for games from this genre, I felt like 15 bucks was the money well spent, but I can definitely see why somebody might have problem with the price point. In that case, put Xenogunner on the sale watch and get it at the comfortable price cut. Still, you need to know that game is surely worth your time (around 4 hours for one of two available characters). Solid recommendation.

I went into the game expecting a run & gun, I found a detailed bullet-hell platformer instead. And so will you. Is that a good or a bad thing? Well, depends on whether you're looking for a bullet-hell platformer. If you are, you'll find lots to like in Xenogunner: bright spritework, snappy controls, enemies with lots of personality, and a vast multitude of attack patterns to surmount. It even manages a decent enough story, considering it's a first commercial effort for the team. But what you won't find is any kind of depth or challenge to the shooting. Weapon-wise every fight boils down to "pick the one weapon that works and hold down the attack button in the enemy's vague direction." So if you're looking for some good combat, you're better off looking elsewhere.

Fun! If you're into challenging, speedy, boss-heavy action games like Alien Soldier or Gunstar Heroes, the style of this game is likely to be to your taste. While it doesn't necessarily bring anything particularly *unique* to the world of action games (aside from a few particularly neat boss concepts), twin-stick platform action games are uncommon enough that I think this is still worth the time of anyone who happens to enjoy that specific genre mashup. Playing through the game in full with both characters will put you somewhere between 4-5 hours of gameplay which means the price may be a bit steep for some players, but if you're the type for whom *time* is more of a premium, I think this game's brisk pace will suit your needs fairly well. Presentation-wise, the music is energetic and pleasant to listen to, and it helps take the edge off the more frustrating fights). The art is generally cute and fairly unique as far as pixel artwork goes, with the variety of pretty key art pieces during cutscenes working to carry the game's dialogue. The story isn't terribly interesting and lore-dumps tend to go on a bit too long, but it constitutes about 5% of the runtime so it's not really an issue.

NOTE: I tested this game prior to release, I'm in the credits. I'm biased as all hell by default. short but sweet boss rush game in the vein of Treasure classics with art and spritework that's cute and ever so slightly horny as per the artist's brand. If that's your thing, you'll get a kick out of it.

pretty cool game. feels kind of half-baked still (not due to lack of achievements but idk overall) somehow felt short and easy, though it's not easy at all actually xd at a baseline, checkpoint system doesn't really force you to get too grippy with more difficult bosses (game literally checkpoints you at EVERY phase change at more longer ones), and alternative to this is too tough imo - beating the whole episode (one out of 3-ish) in one sitting. kind of an overthrow. you could maybe modulate some difficulty settings but this whole thing kind of misses the point then. idk kind of felt like segments between bosses ar maybe a bit too shallow? treasure games had them kind of more challenging, in comparison graphics and music are good and familiar. overall game is fun

It's not very long and I'd argue it should be cheaper, but I had a lot of fun playing this. The controls are tight, it has a nice art style, the music is pretty good and the story is not bad either. If it's on sale, definitely buy it and give it a shot. If you're into action platformers, you'll definitely enjoy this one.

There is no lengthy middle distance, but a large number of boss levels. I like this. Suggest to disable screen shaking effects.