Hell Blasters

This is the Bluesmobile of shmups. It may not look like much on the outside, but it's got the cop motor, cop tires, and probably even the cig lighter. Great level design & bullet patterns, a ton of modes, leader board & replays, great shmup tunes, it's all there. Great work, devs!

I'm fairly new to playing shoot em ups (shmups) to actually be good at them rather than just credit feed my way through an arcade game. I wanted to get into 'bullet hell' shmups but the games are really intimidating. This game was recommended because the designer is an accomplished bullet hell player who made the gameplay the top priority - and made it so you can use the story mode to actually learn to play a bullet hell. It's been an absolute blast and the story mode really delivers bite sized chunks of training and the arcade so you can practice them and learn how to deal with the enemies. I'm also participating in an online score attack competition for the game that is incredibly fun and I don't normally play for score, only survival. While the graphics are rudimentary, the bosses have a nice charm to them, the 8bit soundtrack is actually quite good, but most importantly the gameplay is REALLY on point and I'm absolutely loving it as someone just learning to play a bullet hell.

Don't be fooled by the NES-like aesthetics. This is a modern bullet hell shmup with an emphasis on chaining kills (and cancelling bullets), in order to get higher scores (and also there's no screen flickering involved). There's also a good amount of fun game modes including Arcade mode, two characters, a Caravan mode (Score Attack) and even a pretty innovative Story mode. The latter can be seen as huge a tutorial not only for the game, but in some ways the entire shmup genre itself. Here you get to play through small sections of the game, are given instructions and are being taught the basic principles of the game as well advanced scoring mechanics. And the story also has many nods to famous shmup classics. Although I'm not a fan of the entire 8-bit design, the game's look can be quite charming and some tunes are pretty decent. Moreover it features an awesome 9:16 tate mode for fullscreen vertical shmupping. Also the visibility of the bullets is good and it plays very vell. And by t...

Very tightly made indie shmup, you can tell the developer is an avid shmup player. The controls and mechanics are spot on, although the balancing between the selectable characters is a bit off. On top of the usual arcade mode there is practice mode, a very addictive score attack mode, and a content rich story mode which also functions as a training mode. The art style is basic but charming and very functional. Same as the music which is retro style but very good.

Feels like the greatest master system game ever made. And that soundtrack is just amazing. The Boss Theme in particular is such a banger. If you like bullet hell, or shmups or even if you have never played a shmup before, this is an easy buy. Support your indie shmup devs

Hell Blasters is a more of a classic shmup borders bullet hells to match its gimmick of managing the players bullet canceling shots and bombs. Which may be polarizing for an otherwise mediocre shooter. Hell Blasters is a vertical scrolling shoot 'em up that offers the player a wider 'Rapid' shot as well as a slower moving, narrower focused 'Shot' for its basic attacks. A nitpick of mine would have called 'Shot' Focus instead, as I am too conditioned from Psikyo Games to think of Shot as anything but tap to fire or hold down for charged shot. In addition to these attacks, the player has limited resource bullet canceling large damage bomb attacks common to STGs. What really sets Hell Blasters apart from most shmups is the 'SPC' or what I assume is special attack. This is limited attack based on a recharge meter. It seems to deliver additional damage, but more importantly, it cancels enemy shots regardless of color. As orange bullets are basically popcorn enemies, that become ra...

I have owned and played a ridiculous amount of shmups over the years. This one keeps calling me back. Not sure why but it scratches some primordial itch. New arrange mode is the tits as well!

Fantastic vertical shmup with great scoring mechanics and challenging gameplay. The story mode is a great way of framing a training mode. The music is also excellent. The score attack mode is tons of fun too.

I'd recommend anyone to play this cool shooter, especially if they have any type of mental issue.