I've played enough to shmups to understand what they're going for, but they certainly could have adjusted some things for a better experience.
underrated game that peters out HARD by the end as most playdate games tend to. i really don't think screen crunch is an issue given that all of the patterns and encounters are designed around it. however the dev clearly blew his load early and made a great first stage with the next 2 stages being way worse and way easier. feels great to play and master there just needs to be more of it and more thought put into the bosses past stage 1.
edit: replaying this for no-miss really improved my opinion of this game. once you figure out how scoring works, the game opens up a TON and many things that i thought were issues actually work really well. only big complaint that still remains is the ease of bosses past stage 1, especially for the true final boss.
edit: replaying this for no-miss really improved my opinion of this game. once you figure out how scoring works, the game opens up a TON and many things that i thought were issues actually work really well. only big complaint that still remains is the ease of bosses past stage 1, especially for the true final boss.
I really wanted to like this, but it ended up being a pretty big disappointment.
The art and music are great - it feels like aesthetics were their major focus. Playability suffers a lot though. The focus on detailed sprites means your ship and enemies are enormous despite the small screen, which gives you very little space to maneuver. It's even worse because your ship's speed is so fast; you want the ability to move slowly to dodge large waves of bullets, but you don't get that here. Since the screen is so crowded with large sprites enemies have a tendency to spawn out of nowhere, which makes it even more dangerous to move. It seems to be influenced by Cave games but doesn't really take into account that they make ship positioning a big part of gameplay - Gun Trails actively discourages you from moving around the screen or trying to stake out a position.
The super weapon feels like an attempt to do a take on Dodonpachi's hyper - a strong laser that does high damage, and that charges up as you maintain enemy combos. Unfortunately, the game intentionally takes away any stored charge when you encounter minibosses, which denies you the ability to use a stored up super weapon in exactly the time you'd want to use it. It's also the only way to slow down your ship's movement, which feels awkward and limited.
After playing I booted up GG Aleste again and it reminded me how other portable shmups on small screens have intentionally gone for smaller sprites to maintain maneuverability and the sense of a larger playfield. I found myself wishing Gun Trails had made the same choice.
The art and music are great - it feels like aesthetics were their major focus. Playability suffers a lot though. The focus on detailed sprites means your ship and enemies are enormous despite the small screen, which gives you very little space to maneuver. It's even worse because your ship's speed is so fast; you want the ability to move slowly to dodge large waves of bullets, but you don't get that here. Since the screen is so crowded with large sprites enemies have a tendency to spawn out of nowhere, which makes it even more dangerous to move. It seems to be influenced by Cave games but doesn't really take into account that they make ship positioning a big part of gameplay - Gun Trails actively discourages you from moving around the screen or trying to stake out a position.
The super weapon feels like an attempt to do a take on Dodonpachi's hyper - a strong laser that does high damage, and that charges up as you maintain enemy combos. Unfortunately, the game intentionally takes away any stored charge when you encounter minibosses, which denies you the ability to use a stored up super weapon in exactly the time you'd want to use it. It's also the only way to slow down your ship's movement, which feels awkward and limited.
After playing I booted up GG Aleste again and it reminded me how other portable shmups on small screens have intentionally gone for smaller sprites to maintain maneuverability and the sense of a larger playfield. I found myself wishing Gun Trails had made the same choice.
Looks and sounds incredible for the Playdate. Even outside the limits of the hardware the aesthetic is so stylish and cool. Unfortunately not the best shmup I've played though. The lack of screen space and dpad only controls make it a little rough to actually play. I did notice an option to make your ship move slower in the options which was a huge help. It's pretty good all around though.
The fact that this thing looks as good as it does (let alone sounds) is a triumph honestly.
I’m not sure that there is enough screen real estate on the playdate for a proper shmup (or control scheme really) and the game suffers a bit from that.
All things considered though I think it’s actually quite fun and it’s def aiming for that cave level of difficulty/replayability which I say fucking go for it. Cool as hell.
I’m not sure that there is enough screen real estate on the playdate for a proper shmup (or control scheme really) and the game suffers a bit from that.
All things considered though I think it’s actually quite fun and it’s def aiming for that cave level of difficulty/replayability which I say fucking go for it. Cool as hell.