Part of a list review series. Reccomended by PKmudkipz.
So, I don't like Hellsinker.
Honeslty, I could probably just the end the review there, because Radio Zonde is just a complete distillation of that game, being it's predecessor. Ridiculously awful User Interface and User experience brush up against a shooter with great bullet patterns but is really bland aesthetically, with weakish stage design, and is way too complicated for it's own good.
In fairness, the process of actually getting to play the game is the thing that really puts a bad taste in my mouth. Downloads of the game aren't easy to find despite it originally being freeware, and then they're missing some random .dll file you have to beg the hellsinker fans on your discord to impart knowledge of, and then it's one of these old doujin games which unless you've got a PC running with JP text will just through a scrambled options menu at you, then your screen resolution will get fucked up, and then you get introduced to a main menu that's so pointlessly obtuse and literally hiding things it feels like a joke. And then the game is some Diet hellsinker and i just sleep. I watched the STG weekly video on this game to try and get more to grips with it and just ended up more pissed off at it being so needlessly awkward at every step of the gaming process that's not just dodging.
I'm not going to give it too low a score because like Hellsinker, I do get this vibe that there's a nugget of gold deep down here somewhere. And the bullet patterns are generally quite good. There's part of me that thinks that the way I think about this game now is similar to when i didn't get Shmups at all.
And then the game literally refuses to close without me getting out the task manager and I start to doubt my leniency.
So, I don't like Hellsinker.
Honeslty, I could probably just the end the review there, because Radio Zonde is just a complete distillation of that game, being it's predecessor. Ridiculously awful User Interface and User experience brush up against a shooter with great bullet patterns but is really bland aesthetically, with weakish stage design, and is way too complicated for it's own good.
In fairness, the process of actually getting to play the game is the thing that really puts a bad taste in my mouth. Downloads of the game aren't easy to find despite it originally being freeware, and then they're missing some random .dll file you have to beg the hellsinker fans on your discord to impart knowledge of, and then it's one of these old doujin games which unless you've got a PC running with JP text will just through a scrambled options menu at you, then your screen resolution will get fucked up, and then you get introduced to a main menu that's so pointlessly obtuse and literally hiding things it feels like a joke. And then the game is some Diet hellsinker and i just sleep. I watched the STG weekly video on this game to try and get more to grips with it and just ended up more pissed off at it being so needlessly awkward at every step of the gaming process that's not just dodging.
I'm not going to give it too low a score because like Hellsinker, I do get this vibe that there's a nugget of gold deep down here somewhere. And the bullet patterns are generally quite good. There's part of me that thinks that the way I think about this game now is similar to when i didn't get Shmups at all.
And then the game literally refuses to close without me getting out the task manager and I start to doubt my leniency.