graceful explosion machine is a bit of a weird relic in my eyes. back when the switch launched, this was one of like three or four games on the eshop that actually looked decently interesting - long before the storefront was dominated by Hentai Calculator Platinum Edition and other assorted slop. but the fact that it took seven fucking years for me to finally get through this one says a lot.

in its defense, GEM is probably one of the most inoffensive games i've ever played. a mobile-esque high-score focused shooter that dumps all its gimmicks on you in the first five minutes and tells you to go wild. gameplay and concept-wise, it's not terrible. having to constantly cycle through your weapons while keeping track of your energy/cooldowns is decently fun, and the frantic difficulty ends up being pretty satisfying without tipping over into frustrating territory. the looping environment is a fun gimmick, and in short bursts the game is fine. looks decent, sounds decent, and does exactly what it wants to do.

problem is that it ends up becoming boring and repetitive fairly quickly. outside of introducing new enemies once in a blue moon and slightly changing the environment with each level, your first half hour in this game is gonna look the exact same as the last one. outside of color palette and ups in difficulty, there's no sense of progression. no engaging hooks, no bosses, no big challenges, just shoot and dash. i'm not expecting an absurd level of quality from a game as simple (and inexpensive) as this, but past the first world there isn't anything that's gonna make you a fan if you weren't one already.

it's not terrible, just not engaging at all. if you're a fan of shooters like this, you'll probably like it - otherwise, it's probably one you're gonna need to force yourself to finish.

i really didn't vibe with this one at all - but i do think it's a solid game. the color changing gimmick is fun (even though it takes a lot of getting used to), i really dig the early 2000s graphics, the boss designs are funky... it's not bad at all. it's got balls to the wall arcade-style difficulty, because it IS a shmup (duh), but i didn't end up enjoying it. mostly for personal reasons - other than the slight invulnerability delay when you swap colors, hit detection that doesn't always work, and the fact that lasers shove you hella back (usually into a wall), the gameplay is fine.

but this one's so fuckin' difficult and frustrating that i don't really see a point to playing it outside of free play mode. this is definitely getting into scrubquotes territory, but i didn't really get a whole lot out of ikaruga (outside of frustration on later bosses), and i definitely don't want to put into the time to master it. it REALLY lost me in the last two levels - if i admitted how many deaths i had, there would be twitter callout posts about me. i'll quit the whining there, just know that this one isn't for me.

again, though - i think it's an okay game. if i was crazy enough i could see myself busting my ass and dedicating time to practicing individual levels. even so, there are plenty of shmups out there that i like more.

cuphead has always been one of those games where you've just gotta wonder how everything comes together so perfectly. the tight gameplay, immaculate aesthetic, unparalleled animation, and near-perfect soundtrack have made it a game i come back to often. and i'm kinda kicking myself for not getting the DLC sooner, cause this shit is without a doubt even better than the base game.

there's not an ounce of fat on this game - back to back near-perfect bosses. sure, there's no run and gun levels and it's much shorter than the base game, but i'm not gonna fault these guys for that - hand-drawn animation is absurdly difficult, and it's downright amazing that this game looks as polished as it does. not only are the animation and boss designs incredible (as always), now we've got even more bangers to go along with them - but that's practically a given. i wish i could just gush about the entire soundtrack and how incredible each boss theme is, but i don't think i'd be able to articulate it well at all. shout out to high-noon hoopla for having a fucking yodeling section though lmao

i'd say the difficulty is for the most part on par with the original, and that's a great thing - it captures that same frantic difficulty without the occasional total bullshit (its been like 7 years and i still hate that fucking bee). unfortunately i wasn't able to try out all the new weapons as I just stuck with my build from the base game for the most part, though i'm happy they're there. ms. chalice is a great addition too - i'm super glad she has so many moveset changes over cuphead/mugman. however, again i didn't feel too incentivized to use her over what i already had. i pulled her out for the final boss, but other than that stuff like dash parry and invincible roll felt a bit too difficult to get used to during the other bosses - that's on me, though.

my gripes begin and end there, though. this shit is downright incredible, and now i've got yet another excuse to play cuphead more often.

i've never really been super into boomer shooters but dusk is a rootin tootin good time. short, fairly simple by modern standards, but still feels great to play.

i LOVED the movement in this one. zipping around at a million miles and hour and firing off rivets is 10/10, as does quickly forcing your way through tighter levels with the shotgun. there's definitely a bit of variance in how much i liked each weapon (hunting rifle and super shotgun felt way better than the crossbow, for example, but the latter still saw plenty of use), but i guess that's to be expected. and while not every level is a winner (most of the early ones are REALLY slow), there's a ton that i loved. whether it's picking off enemies from afar or juggling 5 different wendigos, dusk has a ton of great moments.

i didn't really have many issues with this one, other than getting used to the weird save menu (which is mostly just me being stupid) and how secrets are mostly just tiny ammo stashes and usually not worth the effort of seeking them out. also i didn't realize there was a weapon wheel until the last level of the game, nor did i realize that morale was your armor until just a minute ago. whoops! big dummy moments lol

definitely not the best shooter i've played, but not bad by any means. the little frog dudes are very scary though :(

ufo is fucking DOGSHIT dude. easily the worst gimmick they've ever added to touhou - having to take massive risks to gather ufos just to get bombs/lives feels absolutely terrible, especially when you have to juggle the ones that switch colors while you're already trying to avoid everything. nothing about this one feels fun.

on top of that, idk if its just me being a wuss but what the hell is up with some of these bosses? shou and byakuren were so absurdly frustrating that i wanted to light myself on fire - i've never had this much trouble with this franchise before. sure, there were a few that were satisfying difficulty-wise (murasa was very funny) but damn!!! this one didn't feel good to play or satisfying to improve in. i think i'd recommend literally any PC entry over this pile of shit. i'm very glad to finally be done with this one.