Following the excellent Star Hunter DX, Raging Blasters, and Crimzon Clover - World EXplosion from Steam to the Switch eShop is Banana Bytes’ Sophstar, a vertically oriented bullet hell shoot-em-up with clearly delineated sprites set against simplistic rolling backgrounds. There are a whopping nine ships to choose from, all with different behaviours, pros, and cons, meaning it takes time and effort to figure out what works for you. Some have disappointing spread shots but killer secondary weapons, while others have access to a teleport that’s like playing Russian Roulette.
Each ship’s base features are fairly eccentric, too. You have several different speeds, moderated by two different firing modes and the 'L' and 'ZL' triggers, which slow you down to a crawl if desired. Teleports work on a quick recharge basis and can be used to get out of clinches, but you need a moment to prep it before you can use it, and this timing requires expert precision and knowledge in later stages. All said and done, the effort involved in finding your comfort zone will either be alluring or excessive, depending on your sensibilities.
The scoring system in Sophstar has been implemented with a good amount of care and knowledge, where diminishing point icons left behind by destroyed craft can be swept up early for greater returns. This requires a strategy known as 'point-blanking', where you spend much of your time in a risk-reward scenario in the top half of the screen.
The initial stage looks mundane and feels uninspired, but halfway through stage two things start to simmer. Depending on your chosen craft's base speed, you may need to start hitting one of those slow-down buttons to effectively needle through — and not accidentally crash into — the fire coming your way. This, of course, depends on the player’s skill level and play style, but the feature works if you can exploit it properly.
There are plenty of bosses and mid-bosses, too, and some are more interesting than others. While things don’t start to feel bullet hell-proper until around halfway through, stages six through eight present a legitimate test. For score hunters, the game is deep; for survivalists, you can accrue continues and gain plenty of life extenders.
Unique to Sophstar, the Cadet School mode is fantastic. This mode comprises of a series of 60 mini-missions where not firing for a prolonged period or racking up scores within a time limit can net higher ranks. Each mission is well-designed, great fun, and doubles as training for teleportation and speed control.
The music, sadly, isn’t quite there though. While inoffensive, the unaggressive ditties are altogether body-slammed by the likes of Andro Dunos 2 and Raging Blasters. And, despite its many original ideas, it's an experience that never feels wholly captivating. It can be confusing initially to know what to do with all the buttons, and for at least half of the game, you don’t really need to use them much, especially if you’re all-in for the score. Stage six's tunnel boss and stage seven's Radiant Silvergun-styled chicanes require pragmatic use of the brakes and teleportation features, but it would have been nice to have seen such inventive implementation early on.
That said, it's still a competently assembled title: smooth, clean, and enjoyable. What it lacks in gravity and bravado it makes up for in balanced scoring mechanics and an interesting teleportation twist. While its Cadet Mode is its brightest spark, the main campaign shoots for the stars but falls just short of reaching them.
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Probably pair this with an order for Demon Gaze from Red Art Games at some point. Those fine French folk have good taste. https://www.redartgames.com/15-nintendo-switch
I’ll give this a go eventually. I’m on a buying freeze.
Removed - off-topic; user is banned
@Dezzy70 they would still need to buy the IP from SEGA. Nintendo owns the publishing rights to Bayonetta 2 & 3 but SEGA owns the IP
These sci fi games sometimes have some really cool looking cover art and then you click and it's the worst graphics you've ever seen
@shinokami
Was thinking more for future games they could buy Platinum Games as a whole so they become Team Nintendo out right.
The review didn't cover the all important question... Is there any input lag??
The review put graphics as a con but I really like the artstyle. I'm definitely tempted by this game now but I have soooo many shmups already I'm kind of afraid my Switch will burst into flame.
I'll put it on the wishlist not to wait for a sale, just to wait because I won't stop practicing in Radiant Silvergun for this. Also, "The number of variables across crafts can be overbearing." This seems like a pro to me, lol.
I can't imagine why having 9 completely unique crafts could been seen as a negative
If Pulstar had local wireless multiplayer . . .
You need to play Hazelnut Hex, @Tom-Massey
@Satan Hazelnut Hex is a fantastic game! Just picked it up the other day and I'm enjoying the heck out of it
@Bottnik Easily one of the best STG on Switch. Perfectly paced and just difficult enough to be challenging w/out being insanely Danmaku.
@Tom-Massey when reviewing a shmup or any score-based game really, for the love of god PLEASE MENTION IF THERE ARE ONLINE LEADERBOARDS.
It says nothing on the eShop’s blurb, as many pubs fail to mention, but a review? It’s frankly important information for the kind of audience that is interested in these games.
@Satan I wholeheartedly agree with that - I'll admit I enjoy danmaku games, but Hex really is refreshingly paced and has enough challenge without being insane... Plus the story cracks me up lol
@DashKappei Sir, you’re absolutely right.
This is a mini-review where the first submitted draft was 850 words and I was kindly asked to chop it down to as close to 500 as possible. That’s space at a premium and because of me counting words and trying to include key factors about how the experience feels, that point was overlooked. It’s one I don’t think I’ve ever overlooked before when doing shmup coverage - but point well taken.
From memory, I don’t believe this game (currently) supports online leaderboards. Perhaps in a future update.
@Satan Sounds good! I’ll have a look into it. I’m really fired up for boghog’s Mechanical Star Astra atm, and hoping to see that make it to Switch one day. Redpulse, his previous work, was pretty damn good, and the MSA demo is very promising.
I really resonate with the lukewarm tone of this review. Banana Bytes put a lot of heart into this game: the visuals are crisp, the ships are varied, and Cadet Mode is a blessing. But it does not all come together for me, either. The shooting does not feel very satisfying, the music is lackluster, and the SFX - in particular - are low-quality and chintzy. I applaud the effort, but hope they'll go for a more focused approach next time. (And I do think limiting themselves to only one ship - and designing the game around it - would help improve the underwhelming gamefeel of this one.)
I picked this up in a sale, recently. I'm getting tired of Indie stg. I can't quite put a finger on why I find this game uninspiring, I just do. I wish Cave were still making console games. Even Drainus, while it looks great becomes a chore quite quickly.
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