Games by Live Wire
Reviews of Live Wire Games
Review ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom In The Mist (Switch) - An Incredibly Polished, Downbeat Metroidvania
One that shouldn't be mist
A few years ago, developers Adglobe and Live Wire (which, fun fact, also developed Harvestella) released a Metroidvania called Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights to high praise. Combining a heavy atmosphere with tough, Soulslike combat in a dark fantasy world, it stood out as a notably quality addition to a genre that...
Review DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou (Switch) - Cave's Vicious Shooter Is Close To The Series' Best
Elemental rage
Holding the Guinness World Record for "Most prolific developer of danmaku shooters” — a tenuous plaudit seemingly concocted entirely for their receipt — Cave’s five DonPachi entries form bullet points in the company’s evolution, from Toaplan-esque beginnings to a full-blown, bullet hell renaissance. SaiDaiOuJou, the...
Review Harvestella (Switch) - A Promising Genre Hybrid That Needs Some Watering
Sowing seeds
These days, it feels like games are very generally cast into either the ‘Indie’ or ‘AAA’ categories, regardless of genre. Square Enix has been a major publisher that’s notably been pushing back against this dichotomy by putting out several games that are smaller in scope than something like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but have...
Review Radiant Silvergun (Switch) - A Superb Shmup That's Still One Of The Very Best
No refuge
Making it business to boycott sensible business practices, Treasure’s commitment to dying consoles once cemented it as Japan’s most revered boutique developer. A practice that gave rise to some of gaming’s most significant works, Radiant Silvergun is a product of both spectacular overachievement and unapologetic showboating. Once...
Mini Review DoDonPachi Resurrection (Switch) - Same Great Game, Same Old Problems
Bee-rilliant, bee-witching, bee-ry annoying
Another day, another prestigious arcade shmup finds a happy new home for itself on the Switch. This may sound like we’ve skipped straight to the end of this review a few paragraphs early but as it’s been a full decade since DoDonPachi Resurrection’s English Xbox 360 release, more than that since it...
Review Espgaluda II (Switch) - Localisation Issues Can't Spoil This Superb Shmup
There’s a fly in the full extent of the jam
Espgaluda II’s originally a 2005 arcade game by legendary developer Cave, responsible for the already-released Switch ports of Mushihimesama and Progear (via Capcom Arcade Stadium), the upcoming Deathsmiles I & II collection, and before that a string of high-quality arcade shmups stretching all the...
Latest Live Wire News
Tuesday11th Mar 2025
News Ender Magnolia: Bloom In The Mist Adds New Game Plus In Free Update
Now it's really blossoming
Adglobe and Live Wire's critically acclaimed Metroidvania Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist has received a free update, and its adds a few brand new features to the already fantastic game. In version 1.1.0, which is now live on Steam and is coming to consoles soon, you'll be able to take part in Boss Rush Mode. You unlock...
Sunday2nd Feb 2025
News Ender Magnolia: Bloom In The Mist Receives A New Update
Here's what you can expect...
The dark fantasy Metroidvania Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist arrived on the Switch eShop towards the end of last month and it's now received an update. This bumps the title up to Version 1.0.3 and includes some adjustments as well as a bunch of bug fixes. Here's the full rundown of what you can expect: Ender...
Thursday19th Dec 2024
News Bullet-Hell Shmup Dodonpachi Saidaioujou Launches Today On Switch
Will you take on the challenge?
Publisher Live Wire has announced that DODONPACHI SAIDAIOUJOU will be available on the Nintendo Switch eShop from today. The game is available now via the North American eShop for $34.99, though at the time of writing, it’s not yet visible via the EU eShop, and Live Wire has not confirmed a release within Europe at...
Monday9th Dec 2024
News Shmup Fans Rejoice! 'DoDonPachi True Death' Is Coming To Switch In Japan This Month
It's true!
Off the back of last year's exquisite Dodonpachi DaiOuJou Blissful Death Re:Incarnation, publisher Live Wire has announced that it's bringing DoDonPachi True Death to Switch in Japan on 19th December. True Death (or 'DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou', in Japan) is the sixth entry in Cave's vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up series, initially...
Tuesday10th Sep 2024
News Beautiful Metroidvania Sequel 'Ender Magnolia' Arrives On Switch January 2025
Bloomin' marvellous
2021's critically acclaimed Metroidvania Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights is getting a sequel. If you're a PC player, you may have already dove into ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist's early access period, but the full release has just been announced. Ender Magnolia launches on all platforms on 22nd January 2025 (or 23rd...
Thursday8th Aug 2024
PSA Get 50% Off 'Mushihimesama' Before Its Switch eShop Delisting This Week
Hurry!
Last month, we reported on the rather sad news that Mushihimesama, the wonderful bullet-hell shmup from developer Cave, would soon be delisted from the Switch eShop. Well folks, there isn't much time left. Mushihimesama will disappear from the digital storefront later this week on 10th August 2024. If you're on the fence about whether to...
Wednesday10th Jul 2024
News Bullet-Hell Shmup 'Mushihimesama' To Be Delisted From The Switch eShop
Grab it while you can
The fantastic bullet-hell shmup Mushihimesama is set to be delisted from the Switch eShop on 10th August 2024. Announced by publisher Live Wire, the reasoning provided for the delisting is that the licensing agreement for the Switch version has expired. It seems that rather than attempt to renew the agreement, the best course...
Monday17th Jun 2024
News You Can Save 50% On 4 Of The Best Switch Shmups Right Now
Save on Radiant Silvergun and more
Live Wire has brought us a ton of excellent shmups on the Switch over the years, and four of them are currently heavily discounted on the eShop — thanks to Wario64 for sharing this! On both the North American and European eShops, four titles that we've each scored an 8/10 or 9/10, are 50% off. That means they're...
Wednesday21st Feb 2024
News Critically-Acclaimed Metroidvania 'Ender Lilies' Is Getting A Sequel
Ender Magnolia launches later this year
Publisher Binary Haze Interactive and developers Adglobe and Live Wire had a lovely surprise for us during today's Partner Showcase — ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the mist, a sequel to the acclaimed dark fantasy Metroidvania Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights. Launching on the Switch later this year, Ender...
Friday15th Dec 2023
News Score 50% Off Radiant Silvergun And Other Select Shmups In Live Wire's Christmas Sale
Pew pew
Publisher Live Wire has today revealed a handful of shmup titles that are seeing tasty discounts throughout the holiday season of up to 50%. The publisher's Christmas sale is now live on the Switch eShop and will be running until 3rd January 2024 — plenty of time to pick up any of the ones that catch your eye, we'd say. Chief among the...
Wednesday21st Jun 2023
News Live Wire's Early Summer Sale Slashes Price Of Shooters On Switch eShop
Radiant Silvergun included
Tokyo-based publisher and developer Live Wire is holding an Early Summer Sale on the Switch eShop. A small handful of the studio — which is most famous for porting multiple Cave-developed shooters to the system — have been reduced worldwide, and you can't really go wrong with any of them. The sale started on 16th June...
Wednesday29th Mar 2023
News Score Up To 30% Off Selected Shmups In Live Wire's Spring eShop Sale
Radiant Silvergun, Mushihimesama and more
Publisher Live Wire has announced its Spring Sale for the Switch eShop across all regions, with up to 30% off selected shmup titles. The savings are available right now and will be sticking around until 16th April, so you have plenty of time to snag one game at a discounted price and play it through before...
Friday4th Nov 2022
Video Check Out 12 Minutes Of Harvestella Gameplay Footage
Harvestella-r stuff
Harvestella is out today on Switch, and while we're still busy ploughing the fields for our review, we have got something to show you lovely readers today — some gameplay! Our wonderful Felix has put together a lovely 12-minute slice of footage from the game, and it features a heck of a lot in it. You might expect that given...
Tuesday1st Nov 2022
News The First Review For Square Enix's Farming RPG Harvestella Is Now In
Reaping and sowing
Update [Fri 4th Nov, 2022 14:35]: Reviews for Harvestella should be dropping from today, but we're still working on the NL verdict here. So we'll be just a few more days while we finish off the game and polish up our thoughts. Keep checking back here until our review sprouts! <related ids="140446" label="Further Reading">...
Wednesday19th Oct 2022
News Harvestella To Get Improvements Based On Switch Demo Player Feedback
Plus, winter is coming
Just weeks away from its 4th November release date, Square Enix has shared more details about Live Wire's upcoming RPG farm sim, Harvestella, which include tweaks being made to the game following feedback from players of the Switch demo. Gematsu has shared the list of updates the companies are making to the game — reducing...
Saturday15th Oct 2022
News Superb Shmup Radiant Silvergun Is Getting A Physical Release On Switch
Update: Pre-orders on LRG go live
Update [Sat 15th Oct, 2022 06:55 BST]: Pre-orders for Radiant Silvergun have gone live on the Limited Run Games website. Original article [Thu 13th Oct, 2022 01:25 BST]: If you're a fan of shoot 'em ups, one game you can't go past on the Switch is Radiant Silvergun by Treasure. It made its debut in 1998 and was...
Tuesday20th Sep 2022
News Radiant Silvergun Is Back Up On The North American eShop
Update: You can now shmup to your heart's content
Update #2 [Tue 20th Sep, 2022 14:30 BST]: Treasure fans, shmup fans, rejoice — Radiant Silvergun is now available to purchase from the eShop once again! It appears that the game was re-uploaded to the store earlier today. The web store hasn't updated yet, but we've double-checked the eShop on the...
Tuesday13th Sep 2022
Out Now Treasure's Classic Arcade Shmup 'Radiant Silvergun' Surprise Drops On Switch
Update: Currently unavailable on the North American eShop
Update [Wed 14th Sep, 2022 09:35]: Radiant Silvergun has randomly disappeared from the North American Switch eShop. The trailer has also been made private on YouTube. We've popped the Japanese reveal trailer up top for now so you can still get your shump goodness. For more information on the...
Tuesday23rd Aug 2022
News Nintendo Treehouse: Live Presentation Set For This Thursday
Featuring Splatoon 3 and Harvestella
Nintendo has announced a presentation — no, not a Direct, but a Treehouse: Live presentation. These presentations normally take place during and around E3 or other Directs, but it looks like this will be a stand-alone one, taking place on 25th August. The Treehouse will be split into three segments; the first...