2018 - end of year news and thanks

This news blog has been up for two and a half years and it just topped 20.000 visits. Thanks to all visitors!

As a compliment to the blog I started a twitter account to spread the news and i've made some wonderful friends there already. Be sure to tune in for even more shmup news there.

It's been a very good shmup year with more news than ever, the future looks bright for my beloved genre.

In a rare sighting, big gaming news site Eurogamer has published a lengthy, knowledgeable review of the recent Ketsui Deathtiny release for PS4. Well worth a read.

Team Grybanser Fox's line of shmups (Zenohell) are on sale on Steam until January 3rd.

The last remaining 150 copies of Super Rare Games physical release of Steredenn: Binary Stars (SRG #9) will go on sale on January 3rd. So last chance to get it if you want it or face being gouged by eBay scalpers...

Cycle 28 is 50% off on Steam right now.

The developers of Rival Megagun discusses the games development.

Fire Lancer is new shmup out now in demo form for, wait for it, the WonderSwan(!). Also available on PC.

Riddled Corpses EX is getting a physical release on PS4 and PSVita, 3000 copies each.

And with that I wish you a Happy New Year (I miss the blink tag sometimes ;) ) and all the best for 2019. Keep supporting the genre you love by buying releases!

Some twin-stick action perhaps?

AREA 4643 is a new twin-stick shooter out on Steam, it arrived December 21st for both Windows and macOS. It's also currently on sale!



BulletRage is another twin-sticker but is currently in beta. This one will hit Windows, macOS and Linux on Steam in (I guess) early 2019. Console releases (PS4, Xbox One and Switch) are planned.

Danmaku Unlimited 3 goes physical on Switch

Limited Run Games has just announced that they will have an open pre-order starting January 4th 2019 for a physical release of Danmaku Unlimited 3. I'm really hoping they stick a soundtrack CD in there.

A great start to the new year!

Switch'N'Shoot is out now on Steam

Switch'N'Shoot is a new shmup with a novel idea: you play it with just one button. The ship moves back and forth all the time but changes direction when you shoot.

It's a novel twist. Out now on Steam with 33% off.

Bullet Heaven reviews Game Tengoku CruisinMix Special

That 'ol Sega Saturn spirit is still alive. God bless it.

Horizon Shift '81 is coming to Switch

Out on the eShop on December 20th.

Hyper Sentinel goes physical on PS4

Strictly Limited Games has just announced that Hyper Sentinel for PlayStation 4 is getting a physical release on december 16th.

The presser:

Hyper Sentinel is coming THIS SUNDAY, 16th OF DECEMBER!
only on www.strictlylimitedgames.com

Huey Game's love letter to the golden era of computer shmups will make its physical appearance in December.

Hyper Sentinel (PlayStation 4): Blast through hordes of Alienoids in Arcade Mode, tackle endless waves of invaders in Survival Mode and battle epic level guardians in Boss Run mode. Inspired by the classic shoot ‘em ups such as Uridium, Defender, Tornado Low Level, Cybernoid and Armalyte, Hyper Sentinel is a 60 frames-per-second, pixel-pumping assault to your senses.

Hyper Sentinel is elegance defined in gameplay. Combining a contemporary gaming mentality with the purity of classic gaming concepts, Hyper Sentinel delivers a pure, pick-up-and-play, arcade fun.
 Here we compiled the most important information about our release:

• Hyper Sentinel will be available for 24.99€ (PS4)
• Limited to 1600 Copies
• Soundtrack CD, limited to 200 copies
• Book "Hints & Tips for Videogame Pioneers", signed by legendary industry pioneer Andrew Hewson, limited to 200 copies

Hyper Sentinel has been developed by Huey Games, an indie developer and pulisher from UK, led by its three founders Rob Hewson, John Ogden and industry pioneer Andrew Hewson. Please feel invited to visit them at Discord https://discord.gg/Hw2ySqM 
For their latest game announcements, we recommend subscribing to their Newsletter at http://www.hueygames.com/newsletter

In other remake news: Panzer Dragoon

Gematsu broke the news that Polish developer Forever Entertainment has teamed up with SEGA to port remake the on-rails shooters Panzer Dragoon and Panzer Dragoon II from yesteryear.

No platforms announced yet.

Forever Entertainment recaps it thusly:

Panzer Dragoon: Remake is a refreshed version of Panzer Dragoon. The original version of the game had its premiere on the Sega Saturn console in 1995 and was well received by both players and critics. The entire Panzer Dragoon series has been repeatedly remade and released on many platforms. The last re-launch took place in April 2018 on Xbox One, where players can play Panzer Dragoon Orta with a backward compatibility.

The new version of the game will be characterized by completely new graphics compatible with today’s standards and several modifications of the game, making it more attractive to modern players, while remaining faithful to the original in terms of story. The first materials from the game will be presented in the upcoming months!

Radiant Silvergun might get Switch release

Treasure has tweeted that a port of Radiant Silvergun was in the works when they released Ikaruga for Switch and may still see the light of day.

Radiant Silvergun is available on Saturn and Xbox 360/One already of course but it would be nice to see it on Switch.

Steredenn: Binary Stars physical release for Switch

Super Rare Games will launch the pre-order for the physical release of Steredenn: Binary Stars for Nintendo Switch tomorrow.

Each purchase includes the following items:

- Fully assembled Nintendo Switch game with cartridge
- Interior art
- Full-colour 4 page manual
- Exclusive sticker
- 3 card trading card pack

Languages Supported: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian 

3000 copies, 30 quid. Get your credit cards ready!

Scramble for Atari 2600(!) gets reviewed

It's a homebrew, modern-day port and very impressive:



I know i'm on the wrong side of history here but since I first played Scramble on Vectrex that's the only version that looks just right to me.

The Bullet Heaven Black Bird review

Black Bird (Switch, Steam) gets the Bullet Heaven treatment:

Ketsui, Fast Striker and Rival Megagun, oh my!

M2 released Ketsui Deathtiny for PlayStation 4 yesterday in Japan. It's available on japanese PSN and as a physical release from the usual suspects (in my case Play-Asia).

Bullet Heaven has a review of Fast Striker (PS4/PS Vita version).


The player vs Player shmup Rival Megagun is out now on Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One,and Nintendo Switch (EU/JP, US/Canada gets it on Dec 6th).

Zero Ranger gets the Bullet Heaven treatment

Zero Ranger is available on Steam.

NGDEV Soundtrack Collection I 5-CD set up for sale

The NGDEV store currently has a 5-soundtrack CD collection up for sale at €50.

Razion, Gunlord, Neo XYX, Fast Striker and Last Hope are the 5 game soundtracks on the CDs. The collection is limited to 100 pieces so get your credit card out pronto if you want this collection. NGDEV has nasty habit of selling out!

The Game Paradise is set to arrive in the EU

Game Tengoku CrusuinMix Special Edition is (finally) heading for an official release in EU, coming November 30th.

By way of the press release:

About:

Game Tengoku - The Game Paradise! is Jaleco's self-parody-filled shooting game, full of tongue-in-cheek references to video game tropes, off-beat humour and sociopathic pigs.

Released to arcades in 1995, upgraded for its console debut in 1997, now the original developers have got back together to bring the ultimate revival to PlayStation4 and Steam.

• 6 stupendous ships (robots, schoolgirls, ace pilots, pigs?!)
• 8 parody-fueled stages (JRPGs, driving games, karaoke and more)
• Multiple soundtracks, display modes and other extras
• Online leaderboards, time attack modes and eggplants galore
• A nostalgia-packed data library of Jaleco history
• Did we mention bomb-wielding pigs?

The international version features subtitled story skits, songs and fully-voiced ‘commentary’ in the data library, where the characters argue amongst themselves while explaining the various featured titles.

The Special edition adds exclusive remixed tracks for all characters, a new Clarice bomb, and more and will come as a free update to all current owners of the game!

Paradise Box Edition:

On top of that, we are proud to announce the long-awaited physical release with a special, Paradise Box edition, in collaboration with Limited Run Games!

It features an exclusive DLC ship: from the legendary Truxton/Tatsujin, replete with weapons, skull bombs and music from the maestros of Toaplan!

The Paradise Box will include:

• Game Paradise CruisinMix Special (PS4)
• 128 page Art book
• 2 soundtrack CDs
• An original anime DVD (English subtitles)
• Game Tengoku CruisinMix Special (PS4)
• 4x DLC (Clarice, Homura Banto, Voice pack + Tatsujin)
• And a few special, exclusive surprises that are bound to see fans in heaven (or paradise?)!

Information:

Title:  Game Tengoku CruisinMix Special

Genre:  Shooting

Platform: PlayStation®4 / STEAM®

Price:  $29.99 (Digital), $TBA (PS4 standard), $TBA (PS4 Limited Edition)

Release Date:  November 30th, 2018

Planning & Production: Chara-Ani corporation, CITY CONNECTION

Publishing:  Degica Co., Ltd.

Homepage:  https://gameparadise2017.com/en/

And to top it off, a trailer!

ESPrade trailer

An RXN unboxing

You know, if you want to watch people unbox things.

More Switch catch-up

Sky Force Anniversary is in the eShop, a welcome addition to this series. You need to grind, grind, grind your way through it but it's fun all the way.

M.A.C.E. Space Shooter is also in the eShop, looks to be your basic 2 player co-op vertcially scrolling shooter.

SNK 40th Anniversary Collection is out in the eShop as is Atomic Robo-kid, a new entry in the awesome Arcade Archives series.

RocketsRocketsRockets is a player vs player shmup out now.

Blazing Chrome is a run'n'gun coming to Switch next year:

Playing catch-up

M2STG has just announced a bunch of great things: ESPrade is coming (probably to PS4, I haven't seen platform mentioned), Battle Garegga is coming to Nintendo Switch and there's also an announcement surrounding Aleste 30th Anniversary coming next summer. ESPrade is the pre-cursor to Espgaluda and has to my knowledge never had a console release before. It's CAVE at it's best so this is very welcome.

As previously mentioned, Super Hydorah was coming to Nintendo Switch and it is out now (released Nov. 15th).

Trailers!

Mars: Chaos Menace is coming to Switch, PS4 and Steam on Nov. 16th:




Rival Megagun is coming to (everything!) Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch and Steam on Nov. 29th:




Darius Cozmic Collection debut trailer (Nintendo Switch):

A Battle Crust review

Back in early 2018 we got word that a new shmup, Battle Crust (also available on Steam), would be ported to the SEGA Dreamcast. It's been shipping for a while and Dreamcast super-fanboy (I say that in a nice way) Adam Koralik has a review:

Astebreed arrives on Switch, on time!

As expected, Astebreed is now available on the Switch eShop. I would not be surårised if this got one of those limited physical runs we all know and love so much.

Bullet Heaven review of Battle City (Famicom)

Most of the 8-bit output is too primitive for me to enjoy (PC Engine mostly exempted) so I'll pass but you may enjoy it?

The Atari ST gets a new shooter

The Atari ST line of computers were made in the mid 80s up until the mid 90s and are still remembered fondly. I was a Commodore man myself back in the day but I did own an Atari ST 1040 briefly.

But more significantly (and on-topic!), a new shooter has been released for it: r0x zero.
It may be time to get another ST then...

Well, at least I didn't miss this!

Bullet Heaven reviews Shikhondo: Soul Eater, available for all three major platforms (what are the minor platforms again?).

How did I miss this?

Bullet Heaven put up the review for Debris Infinity (for Switch) about a week ago. I even watched it and then, apparently, forgot all about it. Until now!

Xbox One exclusive Final Star launches in December!

Out of nowhere comes the launch trailer for Xbox One exclusive shooter Final Star:


Let's face it, it's not every day we see an Xbox One exclusive shooter!

Gun-Zaul is coming...

A new shooting game, Gun-Zaul, has been announced by Huga, coming in 2020 (if all goes well).



Looks deliciously retro to me.

Rigid Force Alpha hits version 1.1.0

Vertical shooter Rigid Force Alpha was released in Version 1.1.0 today.

New in this version:

• 3 additional UI languages (Spanish, French and Italian)
• Several difficulty adjustments and stage selection for Easy
• One additional credit for each hour played
• Improved controller support via Steam Input
• Some bugfixes and improvements

Pill Bug Interactive puts on a brave face

Pill Bug Interactive, makers of intriguing shooter Cycle 28, sent an e-mail telling us:
Cycle 28 didn't sell as well as we have hoped. We continue to be blown away by the positive feedback and I am personally really touched to see how much people are enjoying the game. One of the main reasons I make games is to make people happy.

They go on to tell us they're learning from the mistakes of the launch and are talking to a marketing consultant going forward.

If we want to see new shmups being developed I think we as a community need to step up and buy the releases coming out. Why not take a moment and get it on Steam or Switch?

Earth Atlantis and Rym 9000 pre-orders open on November 1st

Play-Asia is telling everyone that their limited releases of Earth Atlantis and Rym 9000, with the former being available in 1700 copies and the latter in 1600 copies, will be available to pre-order on November 1st with shipments going out in January of next year.

Earth Atlantis comes in a Collector´s Box (it's a big cardboard box just like their earlier releases), a Game Disc (surprise!) is included, a Manual, The Fadin World - The Art of Earth Atlantis and the ever-so-exciting numbered certificate is included. Limited to 2 per person.

Rym 9000, the slightly more limited release, includes much the same thing but manages to include an Original Soundtrack in the box which is always a welcome bonus. The same 2 copies limit applies.

ASO / Alpha Mission has hit PS4 / Switch

Hamster on-going Arcade Archives series launched ASO or Alpha Mission for both PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch yesterday.

Alpha Mission is one of the titles expected in physical forms on the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection due out on November 13th for Nintendo Switch so Switch owners might just want to hold off until then.

Gundemoniums arrives on PS4 / PS Vita this sunday

Strictly Limited Games has announced physical releases of Gundemoniums on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. These will be limited to 1800 copies per platform and be ready for pre-order on sunday October 28th. Get those credit cards ready!

A whole lotta news!

Black Bird has already launched (back on October 18th), worldwide, on Nintendo Switch and is expected to arrive on Steam on October 31st. Here's a review.

Astebreed for Nintendo Switch (i sense a theme here) is arriving on November 7th.

Anger Force: Reloaded is a new shmup announced for Switch and tells us it's coming this year. eShop only as of now, but who knows if a physical release is in the cards at the rate they are appearing?


Yuge-san, holder of the Toaplan license, say they have a shmup in development for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch for release 2019.

If you want Hunter's Moon: Remastered for the Commodore 64, Thalamus Digital has orders open until midnight tomorrow. Hurry!

Steel Vampire's Steam page is up. This seems to be a big deal although I haven't heard about this one before.

Nintendo Everything brings us a closer look at the upcoming SNK 40th Anniversary Collection Limited Edition for Nintendo Switch.

Solid Aether is a minimalistic bullet-hell shmup available on Steam since September 28th that I haven't heard of before either (another theme?).

Trial version of new shmup available

Makkigan is a new shmup being developed.

Here's the link to the download.

Or as the developer puts it:
The trial version of our second work was released! 抹機銃 -MAKKIGAN- is featured for FUSION of SHMUP and FPS elements. Please spread this and original tweet for all shooters!

Sometimes Indiegogo pays off

I never hesitated to throw a few bucks on the Indiegogo campaign to help Ser Flash with his quest to chronicle all Dreamcast shmups.

And now seeing the first video, all I can say is I'm very pleased with the result.



In fact, after watching it, I think Bullet Heaven should do this kind of introduction to every goddamn console out there. It looks and sounds like a million bucks and not the measly ~$400 it took in on Indiegogo.

I'd say for a first episode it pretty much nailed it, I'm eager to watch further installments.

And yeah, that's my name in the end credits! I'm famous now!

Reminder: Fast Striker pre-order for PS4 and Vita opens tomorrow!

PSA so you don't forget; pre-orders open tomorrow!

Keep hitting that F5!
For the record, Fast Strikers soundtrack is pure awesome.

Debris Infinity reviewed

Debris Infinity, the twin-stick shooter that appeared on Nintendo Switch recently gets reviewed by NintenFan.

Rarity Co. tries to crowdfund new shmup for Switch

Rarity Co. tries to crowdfund a new shmup for Nintendo Switch GoNintendo tells us.

It's making a go for it on the japanese Campfire crowdfunding site.

The next Psikyo for Switch: Sengoku Cannon

Gematsu reports that Zerodiv has announced that next up in their impressive lineup of shooting games from Psikyo is Sengoku Cannon / Sengoku Ace episode III.

As per usual Nintendo Switch is the target platform and the arrival date on the eShop is a very close October 18th.

Sengoku Cannon was released for the Sony PSP back in 2005 so its nice to see it released on a modern platform.

Buzz Kill Zero announcement trailer

As the creator behind it says:
Buzz Kill Zero™ is an upcoming arcade shooter for PC, heavily based on early 80's retro shooters, but with a bullet hell edge! One of Earth's satellites has gained consciousness and has created an army to destroy all humanity. Select your skill level, then blast your way through five challenging stages. Use five different abilities to decimate the opposition until you reach the heinous creature herself, the Mother Buzz. Rush enemy kills together quickly to increase your points per kill and get super a super high score. Compete against the world on leaderboards and prove your abilities with achievements. Four different skill levels suit your gameplay needs. Do you have what it takes??

The new Black Bird trailer has arrived

Still coming for Switch, PC and Mac I presume?

ZeroRanger released on Steam

As I mentioned way back in april, Zero Ranger was coming to Steam - and it has arrived and is currently 10% off!

Psikyo Collection Vol. 2 available for pre-order at Play-Asia

The physical release of Psikyo Collection Volume 2 for Nintendo Switch can now be pre-ordered from Play-Asia.

Games included in this release:

• Gunbird 2
• Strikers 1945 II
• Dragon Blaze
• Tengai (Sengoku Blade)

Fast Striker moves to PlayStation4 / Vita

Both beautiful and great sounding, MVS and later Dreamcast shmup Fast Striker from NG:DEV.TEAM has been announced by Eastasiasoft for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in October.

It will be available digitally at $6.99 / €6.99 and as physical limited edition for $34.99 including shipping. Limited edition pre-orders will open on October 11 at Play-Asia.

Twin-stick shooter Debris Infinity out on Switch

With enough of a muted release to fly under my radar Debris Infinity, an abstract twin-stick shooter with vector graphics, launched on the Nintendo Switch on September 21st.


Debris Infinity is also available on Steam (since late last year), it looks spectacular.

Strikers 1945 Plus and 1999 headed to home consoles

Psikyo's revered Strikers series gets two new entries ported to home consoles.

Strikers 1945 Plus is coming to Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch from Hamster in their ACA series. It has been available for iOS and the Sony PSP in the past.

Strikers 1999 is coming from ZeroDiv and has only been confirmed as an upcoming title for Switch so far. This is the first appearance of this particular Strikers game on any home console, only being ported to Android before.

Metal Slug reboot seems to be in the cards

SNK, the epic company behind the Metal Slug series, is looking into rebooting (or reviving) Metal Slug and is curious to find out what fans want.

The biggest hiccup seem to be one-hit deaths. One-hit deaths is integral to so many older hardcore game experiences and to me this fits the game style.

It will be interesting to see which way Kraut Buster from NG:DEV goes regarding this mechanic since the game looks like a re-skinned Metal Slug (this is not a bad thing!).

With the other Metal Slug news being that a VR variant is coming, I think SNK is discussing the future of the franchise and not the VR game.

It's a busy day in shmup land

Devil Engine is coming for Nintendo Switch, Steam and PlayStation 4, looks terrific!

In other news, EastAsiaSoft (the people who do all those physical exclusives for Play-Asia) has struck deals with a bunch of new developers, among them Hucast Games - Ghost Blade HD is coming in physical form(!) to Nintendo Switch - and RYM 9000 gets a physical release for PlayStation 4.

New Ketsui: Deathtiny trailer

Astebreed announced for Nintendo Switch

Astebreed is already available for PC and PS4 but now it's time for Nintendo Switch to get some love.

Steel Empire launch sale and Metal Jesus lists his favorite Switch shooters

Steam punk shmup Steel Empire is out on Steam by now and 33% off for a limited time. Offer expires September 20th.

Youtube gamer celebrity (influencer?) Metal Jesus counts down his 10 favorite Nintendo Switch shooters with a little help from Ser Flash (of Bullet Heaven fame) and throws in a few honorable mentions. Great list!

Bullet Heaven reviews Galaxy Frontier

Turns out you get Galaxy Frontier for absolutely free when you buy Rolling Gunner.
So here's a review and here's a link to download it even if you for some (crazy) reason didn't get Rolling Gunner.

Psikyo Collection Volume 2 makes a not-so-surprising appearance

At the heals of the Korean physical Nintendo Switch release of Psikyo Collection Volume 1 comes the news that Volume 2 is coming.

(Also, let me remind you that Volume 1 starts shipping September 21st.)

The games included this time are:

• Gunbird 2
• Strikers 1945 II
• Dragon Blaze
• Tengai (Sengoku Blade)

Monkey King has launched on JP Nintendo eShop

As foretold by the ancients way back in June, Monkey King: Master of Clouds aka Chuka Taisen, an old arcade shmup from 1989 is now available for the Switch on the Nintendo eShop in Japan.

No word on a specific release date for PS4 and/or PC yet.

EDIT: Now available on eShop everywhere.

C64 shmup mono available now

The Commodore 64 has a living, active community that still release software for the old home computer.

mono is the latest shmup to get a cart release. It's a PAL release only, for C64 and C128.

R-Type Dimensions hurls itself onto Steam, Switch

R-Type Dimensions is a compilation of R-Type and R-Type II (arcade versions) with enhanced graphics (don't worry, it has original graphics too, instantly switchable when you play) already available for Xbox 360 (XBLA) and PlayStation 3 (PSN Store).



This winter it will hit Steam and Nintendo Switch!

Polymega launches pre-order (and crashes)

Polymega already piqued my interest as it will be able to play Neo Geo CD games without having brutal load times.

But as the launch trailer revealed, they had a trick up their sleeve: Saturn-support from day one. That's a killer feature right there for shmups fans.

Sadly, the site crashed almost immediately when they opened the flood gates.

Cycle 28 gets reviewed

Independent story-driven shooter Cycle 28 gets reviewed by No Filter, a Nintendo Podcast:

Bullet Heaven reviews Rolling Gunner

I'm still waiting for my shipment (of both game and OST) of Rolling Gunner to arrive and this just made me look forward to it even more.


EDIT: Here's a soundtrack sampler.

A quick update on Astro Tales

The Astro Tales team reached out to me after my blog post about the game last week.


It turns out the target platforms are iOS and Android and they are hoping to release at the end of 2018. Expect more announcements when they start spinning their PR machine in a few weeks.

Rejoice! Steel Empire is getting a Steam release

MegaDrive steampunk shmup Steel Empire got a port with 3D make-over on the Nintendo 3DS back in 2014 and will now make the jump to PC and launch on Steam on September 13th (EU).

If you would prefer to put a physical copy of this release on your shelf, it's still available on Amazon Japan.

I confess I already have the game for MegaDrive (or Genesis if you prefer) but I will still get this release, a great shmup.

RXN released today - get it now!

As scheduled, RXNs physical release is available from Play-Asia right now.

Upcoming shooters: Astro Tales and Flight of the Athena

Astro Tales, a vertically scrolling abstract shooter, claims to be "coming soon". Information is quite scarce but I believe it to be targeted at Windows - correction: its actually coming for iOS and Android.



Flight of the Athena is also a vertically scrolling shmup but with a release date TBC (and looking at the trailer, with one release window already missed) but targetting Steam, so again basically Windows.

FullBlast has a release date: September 5/7th

Way back on August 20th when I first reported on FullBlast it didn't have a release date yet, impressively it will launch on all supported platforms on September 5th and/or 7th. That's right. Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita will all get the game almost simultaneously in an impressive buckshot blast.

Rolling Gunner released

Rolling Gunner was released on August 10th and while being on my radar much of the news has been in Japanese (understandably, it's a Japanese shmup targeted at a very niche audience and until now no word of distribution outside its homeland).


But now, this horizontally scrolling shmup for PCs (Windows), has an actual physical release you can buy and have shipped anywhere in the world.

You can buy both the game and its soundtrack from Doujin Game Shop NANAPO's STORE.

If this is as good as it looks we're in for a good time!

Strictly Limited Games unwraps Stardust Galaxy Warriors: Stellar Climax

After unveiling Hardcore for a 2019 release, the next actual release from Strictly Limited Games is Stardust Galaxy Warriors: Stellar Climax or SGW:SC for short.

It's a PlayStation 4 physical release (of course, being from SLG) coming August 26th.

RXN ~ Raijin ~ gets physical

There's just a lot of digital releases jumping into the real world right now and the latest is a Play-Asia exclusive, the Nintendo Switch shooter RXN ~ Raijin ~.

There will be a Standard Edition, 1000 copies available, and a Limited Edition of 3000 copies. Yeah, that makes no sense but the "Limited" is the meatier package and will contain:

• physical game cart (region free)
• collector’s box
• printed game manual
• 48-page-full-colour artbook
• official steelbook with alternative art
• numbered certificate

Sales start on August 30th, don't miss out, and if you want to go ALL IN you can even get the soundtrack of the game (right now) from the same place.

For those who keep count, that's 3 for 3. Play-Asia has revealed 3 physical Switch games and they are all shmups: Dimension Drive, Shikhondo and RXN. Respect.

Gunlord X for Switch being displayed

Message in full:

Want to see some more TURRICAN inspired action?

Come to the FACTOR 5 booth @ Gamescom 2018 in Halle 10.2 Retro Area to get an exclusive glimpse of Gunlord X for the Nintendo Switch provided by NG:DEV TEAM.

I'm stoked, such a great game! A run'n'gun already available for the Neo Geo MVS/AES and Dreamcast, it's great to see it leap to a current-gen system for a wider audience.

EDIT: Now also on NG:DEV TEAMs Facebook page.

Shikhondo: Soul Eater digital launch dates

According to most places, Shikhondo: Soul Eater - the Korean bullet-hell shooter available in physical form for PS4 and Switch exclusively from Play-Asia has gotten digital release dates too.

August 28th for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and August 30th for the Nintendo Switch are the dates. If you prefer downloads to physical games, get your wallets out I guess. You can pre-order (and pre-download) on Xbox One right now.

So, FullBlast is a thing

FullBlast is a vertically scrolling shmup coming to, well, everything: PlayStation 4 & Vita, Xbox One and the Nintendo Switch.

Even more amazing, it's been out for the Wii U since 2015!



This just swooped under my radar this whole time!

The Bug Butcher comes to Switch

Although The Bug Butcher has been out on Steam and PS4 for a couple of years it's due to arrive on Switch soon ("summer"). A fast-paced, cartoony run'n'gun with a distinctive style, it looks like it could be fun.

Unboxing video: Dimension Drive Limited Edition

I don't do videos, thankfully Radical Reggie does. A fellow shmup lover to boot.

Upcoming shooter: Astral Gunners

Astral Gunners page is live on Steam and is slated for a 2019 release. A horizontally scrolling bullet-hell shooter with mechas, it looks like a cool upcoming release. Follow the development on the website.