I'd heard this was an exceptional Contra-style game, but I'm not usually one for action games. These days, I'll often play through a game like this one time after a lot of frustration and then never pick it up again, which seemed like a pretty good reason to not pick it up at the like $15 it goes for. However, since it's on Game Pass, I figured it would be worth giving a try, and dang was it EVER. I beat it last night, and then played through it maybe four or five times more this morning just because I was having so much fun. I don't think I've ever enjoyed an action game this much, at least since I started writing about games in any capacity. I've spent maybe 5 or 6 total hours with it, but I doubt that this will be the last time I blaze some chrome.

Blazing Chrome is a 2 player co-op Contra-style run'n'gun game that's pretty immediately familiar to anyone who has played 16-bit Contra, especially Contra: Hard Corps. That said, it also takes a fair bit of inspiration from Metal Slug, and I was getting the feeling of at least a dash of Mega Man Zero. The style is VERY much an homage 90's gritty pop, and they do a great job of replicating the Contra aesthetic while still putting their own flair on things. The playable character designs are fun, and I like that half the cast are both female and designed in a way that is more "power" than "sex appeal". It's a nice change from how the casts of games like this have been in the past (and often still are). The music is pumping and fits the game really well, and the game has a great "16-bit if the animations were way better" style to it, kinda like how Shovel Knight looks 8-bit but with far better animation quality. The game knocks it out of the park for presentation for sure, even going as far as to include really low-quality voice samples to make it feel like a REAL 90's game XD

There are different types of weapons you can get and swap between (like Contra), and if you get close enough your character will do a quite powerful melee attack (like Metal Slug). You can even find mechs to stomp around in in some levels, also like Metal Slug. What gives me a bit of Mega Man Zero vibe is just how powerful the melee attack is. The melee attack in Metal Slug is good, but it never seems good enough to warrant using as anything other than a last resort. Your soldiers in Blazing Chrome have both a powerful melee attack (with a quite large arcing range) as well as being nimble enough to dodge around enemies, giving a really big risk-reward to meleeing enemies instead of just shooting them. That was one of my favorite parts of Mega Man Zero, and this is really scratching that same itch.

There are two types of characters in Blazing Chrome, but one set of them you only unlock after beating the game once. The default ones play very much like classic Contra characters, with nimble jumps, hitting the triggers to change between your collected weapons (which you lose if you die with it, except for your default weapon), and the aforementioned auto-melee attack ala Metal Slug. There are also support bots you can pick up which can provide two extra hits before death, be an auto-firing option for you, or make you faster and give you a double jump! You also have an invincible, Smash Bros-style dodge roll you can do by holding down and pressing A, but I really wish that could be rebound. SO many times I died by trying to fire downwards and then trying to jump, or trying to jump down through the platform I was standing on (something this game doesn't have at all).

The other characters you unlock after beating the game once are what the game calls the ninja characters, and they're far more melee-focused and totally change how you play the game. Not only do they not have an auto-melee, they don't even get multiple weapons. What they get instead is VERY powerful though. Their one weapons is a medium-range melee attack that is only manual, but if you charge it, it gets way more powerful and has a screen-wide range. Instead of having the triggers change weapons (which they don't have), it is an air-dodge that they can do which even hurts enemies you pass through. This makes them really good at bosses but struggle a bit with normal enemies (because of the more limited range), which is the opposite of how I felt the default, range-focused characters play. Using the normal dodge rolls, let alone the airborne dodges, takes some getting used to, but you feel like a BOSS when you can actually start dodging enemy attacks properly XD.

Then probably the last thing I really love about Blazing Chrome is the difficulty. The game is as hard as you want it to be, with three modes of easy, normal, and hardcore (which is locked until you beat normal). Easy is normal mode but with 8 lives per continue, and normal has 6 lives per continue and more enemies. Hardcore mode is only 4 lives per continue, but is the ONLY mode with limited continues (4 of them) and has a CRAP ton of enemies (I could never beat it on anything but normal). But even then, levels are split up into several sections, and while dying instantly respawns you Contra-style, using a continue restarts you at that section and not at the start of the whole stage. This makes the game feel far less punishing than an actual 90's game and really helped me stick with it because it's so much easier to practice the bits you're having trouble with. That's by no means to say that Blazing Chrome is an easy game, but I really appreciated just how much it allows the player to engage with it on their own terms in a way that is really not common with games like this (in my experience at least) outside of breaking out a Game Genie.

Verdict: Highly Recommended. This is definitely one of my favorite games I've played all year, and one of my new favorite action games ever. Blazing Chrome is a love letter to 90's run'n'guns that is faithful, improves on those old games' faults, and manages to stand on its own without feeling like some cheap copy. It is an absolutely stellar game and if you like run'n'guns at all, you are doing yourself a great disservice by holding out on Blazing Chrome.

Contra style action game with six levels that combine the usual sidescrolling shooting sections, a few hoverbike sections, and a flying rail shooter segment. You have a basic weapon and melee attack and can find a powerful grenade launcher, a beam weapon that can shoot slowly or be charged up for a long constant burst, or a constantly firing shorter beam that follows your weapon movements. You can also find and have one active robot powerup that can make you faster, block two hits, or one that gives you more firepower by shooting in the direction you are aiming. You can unlock two extra characters when you beat them game that have a more melee focused playstyle, different modes and difficulties are also unlocked after beating it. Can be more forgiving by not only letting you continue after losing all of your lives on the same stage but at the section of the stage that you died on. The ability to select the stage you want to play will help you practice what you need to if you are trying for speed, no death, etc runs or if you just want to play your favorite stages again.

Solid spiritual successor to Contra, has some nice variety, although enemy types can get repetitive. The combat has some depth to it, since you can do a melee attack when enemies are next to you, as well as different upgrade types, adding some variety in how you approach bosses, although the grenade powerup is very broken. The difficulty spikes are immense, but that's to be expected from this genre. I think that if this game had a more intriguing story and more enemy variety, I would've liked it more, but for a run and gun, you could do a lot worse, and this one is a very solid game.

Lately, I've been diving into retro-style games, the kind you just turn on, play, beat, and you're done—much like the classic NES and SNES games. These are perfect for a casual afternoon of gaming. In my search, I found a treasure trove of PS2 games and many indie titles. Among the indies, JoyMaster studio’s games caught my eye.

What stands out about JoyMaster's games is their direct parody of old franchises, many of which no longer exist. For instance, Oniken, inspired by old games like Ninja Gaiden with visuals reminiscent of Berserk. Odallus, on the other hand, evokes the older Castlevania series with its exploration aspects and somewhat clunky controls. But the game that grabbed my attention the most is their latest release, Blazing Chrome, a tribute to Contra, which thrilled me because I love Contra and similar games like Gunstar Heroes and Alien Soldier.

Blazing Chrome is essentially a 2D run-and-gun shooter, reminiscent of classic games like Contra (especially Contra Hard Corps), Alien Soldier, Metal Slug, Alien Storm, and even a bit of Forgotten Worlds. It's a retro game through and through, with beautiful pixel art cutscenes that resemble old anime. The story is straightforward: after an apocalypse, you fight the bad guys. The focus here is clearly on gameplay rather than a complex narrative.

The gameplay is frenetic, typical for this genre. You hold down the shoot button and try to survive the bullet hell. The animations are stunningly detailed, with effects like explosions and particle animations that are just delightful. The graphics evoke the Mega Drive, SNES, or even Game Boy Advance, aiming to replicate the arcade experience faithfully.

The music is fantastic, with a real 16-bit era vibe, though it was hard to appreciate fully with all the shooting and explosions and my friend and I laughing and shouting throughout the game. This actually added to the charm, bringing back the nostalgic feeling of playing co-op on the couch.

Playing in co-op was a blast. We discovered new weapons and power-ups together and felt like champions after each boss fight. I found the game relatively easy, partly because we played on normal mode with 5 lives and infinite continues. The generous checkpoints meant we could keep trying until we figured out a strategy, reminiscent of the Metal Slug console games where you die repeatedly but eventually succeed.

I wanted to try the hardcore mode, but you need to beat the campaign on normal first. While normal mode wasn't too hard, some moments were frustrating. However, thanks to the numerous checkpoints, we managed to beat it without too much trouble. Easier difficulty isn't always bad as it makes the game more accessible, but the gap between normal and hardcore modes felt too wide.

The game excels in design, with bosses that telegraph their attacks, allowing you to predict their moves. This extends to level design, where traps are introduced in a safe way before becoming challenging, teaching you mechanics without explicit tutorials.

However, the vehicle stages and special stages were a bit too fast, causing discomfort. The backgrounds moved so smoothly that our vision got messed up, making it hard to focus. A slower background could solve this while maintaining the fast-paced feel. The jetpack stage had a stunning 2D-3D effect that strained our eyes less but was still a relief when it ended. Slowing the background here would help without losing the visual impact.

Despite this, the game is nearly perfect. The main issue was the vehicle stages, and the difficulty options could be better balanced. Normal mode was too easy, and hardcore too challenging. Fewer checkpoints in normal mode would have made it more satisfying.

Overall, Blazing Chrome is an excellent game, a rare linear indie title that's not a Metroidvania. It's fast-paced, visually stunning, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys run-and-gun shooters.