Short but sweet. Not sure on the twist, seems an excuse to do very similar levels again, but the core gameplay is very satisfying, large explosions, cool weapons and decent soundtrack.
Short little romp, amazing visuals, great music, the story isn't anything to write home about but you play schmups for the action and challenge anyway. The bullet absorption mechanic was really fun to use, and your incentivized to replay the game after you clear it normally. Defs a solid time.
Was pretty fun (albeit rather easy) going through the normal campaign. That being said, it veers a bit too much on the "bullet hell" side of things for me to really want to sink my teeth into the arcade or harder difficulties. I really did like the idea of sucking in bullets and sending them back at enemies though- it's a really unique mechanic. I'd love to see it done in a traditional/non bullet hell title some day.
Liguei esse schmup sem muita pretensão e praticamente não consegui parar de jogar até terminar a primeira metade dele (e só parei pq tinha um compromisso). Depois foram 2 sentadas para fechar o modo normal. O pixel art é a maravilhoso e a inventividade dos chefes e alguns inimigos é muito legal, um desafio legal sem ser de arrancar os cabelos (sim Ikaruga, estou falando de você) e uma historinha bacunada de fundo. Quer mais o que?
Magically beautiful and extremely approachable. I feel like this is my new fav shmup. Pretty easy to get the hang of and feels like it could be fun the master. Being able to upgrade at anytime is a treat but I feel like more could’ve been done to make your ship incredibly stupid (like 10 weapons slots and removing weapon overrides) but that would definitely ruin the games balance. A short and sweet experience though. Don’t come here for extremely hard bullet hell, its just a fun little treat for those who may just want to dip their toes in the shmup waters without getting too overwhelmed.
Meio que no fim do dia não importa mudar o equipamento no meio da missão, se a parada é apertar e segurar botão!!!!
Team Ladybug at it again with their insane pixel art wizardry. Their games and studio definitely deserve more recognition.
Pros:
+ PS1 era graphic style is distinctive
+ impressive backgrounds and partical effects
+ guard mechanic is a unique selling point that just works
+ boss fights are creative and frequently surprising
+ the missions never outstay their welcome
+ levels have frequent checkpoints
+ story can be quickly skipped
+ movement speed can be adjusted mid-game
+ option to disable collision damage with floors and ceilings
+ large amount of customization options
+ ships can be customized mid-mission...
Cons:
- ...but most weapons feel alike
- attacking backwards is only possible with certain upgrades
- second playthrough becomes a bullet hell
- dying is a double punishment
- restarts don't refill upgrades or smart bombs
- upgrades are generally too expensive
- smart bomb gets refilled too slowly
- enemy debris effects add a lot of confusion
- the tutorial only explains half of the mechanics
- default button configuration is useless
Playtime: 3 hours, two playthroughs on Normal difficulty. Roughly half of all upgrades acquired.
Magic Moment: Seeing each of the planetary backgrounds for the first time. Entering the Credits scene and being surprised by the story twist.
Blahgic Moment: Dying to a boss and realizing that death is a double punishment that makes progress extremely difficult.
Verdict:
Drainus is an old-school, arcade vertical shooter with a distinctive guard mechanic. While it offers high production values, it also shares the core issues that plagued arcade shooters since their inception: the difficulty is frstratingly high, deaths are often cheap or even unpreventable, and the punishment for dying is brutal. Loosing not only weapon upgrades but also your smart bombs is a frustrating double punishment that makes the game harder the longer you are stuck in a section, when it should actually be the other way around. The architecture of some sections and bosses makes it practically impossible to avoid damage on your first attempt, and the later levels and second playthrough devolve into frantic bullet hell parcours. Even though it is possible to change loadouts between and even inside of missions, most primary weapons feel alike, even though the shooting mechanics itself feel satisfying.
Play it if you crave the olden days of the arcades and like the art style, but one playthrough is certainly enough and there are many similar games that offer this type of experience.
+ PS1 era graphic style is distinctive
+ impressive backgrounds and partical effects
+ guard mechanic is a unique selling point that just works
+ boss fights are creative and frequently surprising
+ the missions never outstay their welcome
+ levels have frequent checkpoints
+ story can be quickly skipped
+ movement speed can be adjusted mid-game
+ option to disable collision damage with floors and ceilings
+ large amount of customization options
+ ships can be customized mid-mission...
Cons:
- ...but most weapons feel alike
- attacking backwards is only possible with certain upgrades
- second playthrough becomes a bullet hell
- dying is a double punishment
- restarts don't refill upgrades or smart bombs
- upgrades are generally too expensive
- smart bomb gets refilled too slowly
- enemy debris effects add a lot of confusion
- the tutorial only explains half of the mechanics
- default button configuration is useless
Playtime: 3 hours, two playthroughs on Normal difficulty. Roughly half of all upgrades acquired.
Magic Moment: Seeing each of the planetary backgrounds for the first time. Entering the Credits scene and being surprised by the story twist.
Blahgic Moment: Dying to a boss and realizing that death is a double punishment that makes progress extremely difficult.
Verdict:
Drainus is an old-school, arcade vertical shooter with a distinctive guard mechanic. While it offers high production values, it also shares the core issues that plagued arcade shooters since their inception: the difficulty is frstratingly high, deaths are often cheap or even unpreventable, and the punishment for dying is brutal. Loosing not only weapon upgrades but also your smart bombs is a frustrating double punishment that makes the game harder the longer you are stuck in a section, when it should actually be the other way around. The architecture of some sections and bosses makes it practically impossible to avoid damage on your first attempt, and the later levels and second playthrough devolve into frantic bullet hell parcours. Even though it is possible to change loadouts between and even inside of missions, most primary weapons feel alike, even though the shooting mechanics itself feel satisfying.
Play it if you crave the olden days of the arcades and like the art style, but one playthrough is certainly enough and there are many similar games that offer this type of experience.
Gli Shoot em Up sono divertenti e DRAINUS non è un'eccezione. Team Ladybug come al solito sforna Pixel Art da paura. La novità qui è che la navicella è in grado di assorbire proiettili di energia per un periodo di tempo limitato e rilasciarli in colpi ancora più potenti. La presenza di un sistema di potenziamenti con diverse opzioni tra cui scegliere offre diversi tipi di approccio per le numerose partite che si andranno ad affrontare , ma parlo per gli amanti di Arcade o del genere. La varietà offerta dai potenziamenti però mina sulla difficoltà del titolo , cosa che potrebbe far storcere il naso ai Fan del genere sempre alla ricerca di sfide più malate. Nonostante ciò un ottimo titolo accessibile per chi vuole approcciare il genere. La trama potevano anche non scriverla.
why do video games have plots? (generally a fun version of this kind of game!)
Fun shmup. Forgettable, rushed story as expected from a shmup. I like the idea of absorbing attacks and retaliating using the stored power. Rather short game, but the first play-through ending does give you a reason to replay immediately.
I barely play shmups so I've got no idea what separates a good shmup from a great one.
All I can say is that I had a hell of a time with DRAINUS. Its mechanics are fairly simple - around 90% of shots thrown at you you can absorb by turning on the shield and then fire back. Throughout the game you also get energy tanks you can spend on upgrading your ship in any way you like, from adding more options, weapons, or base stats, to upgrading your shields and bomb capacity.
With how little experience I have with the genre I went into the game on Easy, and I think this might've been a mistake. The game has 5 or 6 difficulty modes, with some being unlocked after completion, and it seems like the easy skill is basically just power fantasy. I think I died 3 times in total.
The game seems pretty forgiving: it doesn't kill you on the first hit, so I'd advise even new players to go for Normal (unless it's a complete hell later on, but the first stage seemed fine to me). Rest assured, I'll be replaying this game.
All I can say is that I had a hell of a time with DRAINUS. Its mechanics are fairly simple - around 90% of shots thrown at you you can absorb by turning on the shield and then fire back. Throughout the game you also get energy tanks you can spend on upgrading your ship in any way you like, from adding more options, weapons, or base stats, to upgrading your shields and bomb capacity.
With how little experience I have with the genre I went into the game on Easy, and I think this might've been a mistake. The game has 5 or 6 difficulty modes, with some being unlocked after completion, and it seems like the easy skill is basically just power fantasy. I think I died 3 times in total.
The game seems pretty forgiving: it doesn't kill you on the first hit, so I'd advise even new players to go for Normal (unless it's a complete hell later on, but the first stage seemed fine to me). Rest assured, I'll be replaying this game.
a little easy and light on content but great pixel art and pretty relaxing
Thoroughly enjoyed Team Ladybug's schmup. Lovely pixel work, great music, and fun gameplay that feels a bit like Ikaruga with absorbing enemy bullets, but being easy enough (on normal at least) that you can actually complete the game without pulling your hair out. I haven't messed with the harder difficulties but I really enjoyed playing through the campaign. Short and sweet, but I still feel like I got my money's worth. Consider me a true Team Ladybug fan at this point.
If I could make one criticism, I would have liked a colorblind option to change the color of the non-energy bullets to something other than pink. It was often extremely hard to tell them apart, and being able to change it to something better contrasting for me like yellow or white would have been nice.
If I could make one criticism, I would have liked a colorblind option to change the color of the non-energy bullets to something other than pink. It was often extremely hard to tell them apart, and being able to change it to something better contrasting for me like yellow or white would have been nice.
One of the most approachable shmups on the market.
Despite losing progress when you die, checkpoints are plentiful and attempts are unlimited.
You can customize shots, bombs and shields your ship have at any time (it slows down the pace a bit at the beginning, but it's nice to have the option), you can also disable taking damage when touching ceilings and the ground. When hit, you only lose one upgrade, you only lose one life if you take damage and have none left.
What sets it apart from the others is the absorption mechanics. Enemy projectiles are physical or energy. Physical attacks must be dodged and energy attacks can be absorbed to fire a megashot.
After finishing the six levels, there is the "Dejá Vu" mode, perhaps it's more difficult, but at this point I didn't notice any change.
I made a build that made it absurd easier. I used an item that replenishes an upgrade (extra hit) in the place of the bomb. At the same time, having all upgrades, the last one activated is a shield, I used one that gave me 3 hits of armor for any type of shot. If I took more than 3 damage, I used an upgrade replenisher and gained the 3 hits armor back. I managed to clear it without dying. There are no trophies for this, but they're all simple and cool to do.
It's cool to have challenge in games, this game can be very tough if you want, but I appreciate it allowing to be broken like that.
Despite losing progress when you die, checkpoints are plentiful and attempts are unlimited.
You can customize shots, bombs and shields your ship have at any time (it slows down the pace a bit at the beginning, but it's nice to have the option), you can also disable taking damage when touching ceilings and the ground. When hit, you only lose one upgrade, you only lose one life if you take damage and have none left.
What sets it apart from the others is the absorption mechanics. Enemy projectiles are physical or energy. Physical attacks must be dodged and energy attacks can be absorbed to fire a megashot.
After finishing the six levels, there is the "Dejá Vu" mode, perhaps it's more difficult, but at this point I didn't notice any change.
I made a build that made it absurd easier. I used an item that replenishes an upgrade (extra hit) in the place of the bomb. At the same time, having all upgrades, the last one activated is a shield, I used one that gave me 3 hits of armor for any type of shot. If I took more than 3 damage, I used an upgrade replenisher and gained the 3 hits armor back. I managed to clear it without dying. There are no trophies for this, but they're all simple and cool to do.
It's cool to have challenge in games, this game can be very tough if you want, but I appreciate it allowing to be broken like that.
Ok, you got a A+ on presentation and effort, BUT, this is not a game, it's maybe half of a game, i beat it in 2 and a half hours (on normal) that's WAY TOO little, even for indie standards.
The "story" is hilariously bad, it's like an elementary school stage play.
Also, this can be recommended as "my very first shmup" cause the game is super permissive with hits and has pretty much infinite lives, great for someone that have never play this type of games.
The "story" is hilariously bad, it's like an elementary school stage play.
Also, this can be recommended as "my very first shmup" cause the game is super permissive with hits and has pretty much infinite lives, great for someone that have never play this type of games.
Drainus is Team Ladybug’s stab at a classic home console-style shmup - it’s bombastic, visually gorgeous and also somewhat fascinating mechanically in ways that would be difficult to pull off in an arcade. First off is its central absorption mechanic - your ship has a “guard” meter allowing it to absorb a certain number of bullets. This makes the game somewhat more forgiving for newcomers, and also becomes a central traversal mechanic - there are several points where unavoidable lasers require quick use of your guard meter. On top of that, it takes inspiration from Gradius’ customizable power-up system with full-on RPG mechanics - as you destroy enemies you earn “energy tanks” which can be spent on new weapons and various other ship upgrades. Said weapons can be mixed-and-matched to suit your playstyle and develop a custom power-up curve until you’re running with a ship that’s an absolute powerhouse with max power-ups, which can be immensely satisfying.
Unfortunately the difficulty is rather off-balance - it suffers from the classic shmup problem of becoming much more difficult if you lose your power-ups, which here is exacerbated by how long some of the boss fights take and how weak your base pea shooter is. It can be deeply frustrating to make a few mistakes through a stage, lose all your power ups and hit a checkpoint, forcing you to start over or enter into the longest boss fight of your life.
Despite those frustrations I still had a great time. It’s a fun experience all the way through!
Unfortunately the difficulty is rather off-balance - it suffers from the classic shmup problem of becoming much more difficult if you lose your power-ups, which here is exacerbated by how long some of the boss fights take and how weak your base pea shooter is. It can be deeply frustrating to make a few mistakes through a stage, lose all your power ups and hit a checkpoint, forcing you to start over or enter into the longest boss fight of your life.
Despite those frustrations I still had a great time. It’s a fun experience all the way through!