StarLightRiders:HyperJump – A Bullethell Game Review
Explosive arcade shooter packed with bullets, alien chaos, combo carnage, retro bullethell action and intense boss battles.
Sorry for spamming the site with Eastasiasoft releases lately, but to be fair, they’ve got some seriously wicked games out there. Because of that, I decided to cover quite a few of them before moving on to more Amiga and VR reviews.
The Game Is Retro Bullethell…
StarlightRiders: HyperJump is, for the most part, a fairly typical bullet-hell game—and to be honest, the chaos in this one just isn’t really for me. Dodging bullets is one thing, but some of the mechanics are simply too demanding to properly focus on while playing.
The core mechanics are based around four weapons. You start with all of them at maximum level, and they never degrade. While they look powerful, they really aren’t.
One of the main weapons is a very strong beam, but using it slows the ship down significantly, which often makes it more of a risk than a reward.
The third option is a bomb feature, which in my opinion is rather useless—the spread is far too small to be effective in most situations.
The final weapon is easily the best one, but activating it requires collecting a crazy amount of small boxes to charge it. Even then, there are no visual or audio cues to let you know when it’s ready, so you’re left repeatedly pressing the button just to see if it’s fully charged.
The Presentation…
The retro-style graphics work tremendously well; it’s easy to see the bullets, and the game is, by all means, very well designed visually.
There are five bosses across five levels, and the variation between them is solid, giving each stage its own identity.
A very welcome addition is the level select option, making it much easier to practice or continue on the exact level you want.
The audio is another strong point, and if you read my blog regularly, you already know just how much sound design matters to me.
The game also features a two-player mode, which works great.
The Verdict…
The game looks and sounds excellent, is very affordably priced at $4.99, and features a relatively easy Platinum trophy.
The game can be completed in less than a half hour.
Fans of danmaku-style shooters will feel right at home, while newcomers should expect a challenging experience. That said, at this price point, it’s an easy recommendation to try.
Key supplied by Eastasiasoft.
Trailer of the game below:
I totally agree about the beam weapon slowing the ship down! It’s such a tough balancing act between dealing damage and keeping your speed up. I also noticed the bomb feature felt a bit underwhelming—could have used a bigger area of effect to really help clear the screen during those crazy moments!