Sisyphus Paradox

Expectation: Barebones roguelike shmup Reality: Large variety of weapons and other equippables, lots of decisions on the map, cool stuff to do at shops, big variety in enemy design, challenging but not impossible levels I thought I'd check it out for a bit, I ended up playing for hours until my fingers hurt. I really appreciate it's not one of the 'punishing' bullet hells, but you can get hit a lot of times before you are in danger. A bullet maybe does 1% dmg, a collision does maybe 10%. So dying is more of a war of attrition (like Slay the Spire) rather than something that can happen at any minute (like in arcade shooters). Worth noting, there's a surprising amount of narrative (I personally skip but I appreciate it's there for players who like narrative. Highly recommended, even to players who aren't usually playing this genre. Can't wait to see what else is added while in EA.

Really fun and addictive arcade-ish space shooter with a rogue-like twist! The core gameplay has that nostalgic feel of some arcade space shooters I played when I was younger. Between the encounters, there is a "slay the spire"-esque tree navigation where you choose your fights, events, quests, merchants, etc. The rogue-like element is what makes me want to play again and again, to try out different weapon/ability combinations and manage to beat the end boss. Each time it feels like a new challenge, depending on what you get and choose to level up. I find the shooter part itself to be in a good balance between challenging but doable. The longer you play, you are able to understand the patterns and abilities of the 3 enemy factions and how to react to them, making it a satisfying play and learn cycle. One detail I personally love is that as you level up your weapons, they also gain visual/funtional changes as well at key levels (e.g +1 missile, explosion area, etc). I really li...

Very enjoyable space shooter with a variety of enemies, bosses, equippable items, random encounters & interesting storyline. The Chrono Crystals are a great idea: a kind of prestige system, which lets you choose permanent bonuses each time you start a new run. A definitely positive experience. Can't wait to unlock the second ship! Meanwhile, I will be doing my best to imagine him happy. :D

Do you remember back in the day, where you would boot up MAME and play your favorite side scrolling games where you would pilot a airplane or spaceship with hordes of enemies coming at you? This game recreates that nostagic feeling for me. Borrowing mechanics from roguelike games like FTL and Slay the spire, it offers a modern variation to the classic side scroller/bullet hell recipe. The music is catchy and the visuals are vibrant with very nice details on the big boss enemy ships. Gameplay-wise, as the game is in early access, I would like to see 2 improvements: - It is relatively difficult to identify that your ship has been hit, while also trying to focus on dodging the next wave of enemy fire. A visual or sound effect that "pops" out a bit more would help with this. - Auto-targetting weapons seem strictly better than forward firing. While on paper forward firing weapons have more DPS, the accuracy or "uptime" on auto-targetting weapons feels like it makes up for this and then s...

I've really liked the game so far. Hope the devs keep working on this. But there is enough game there already to keep me entertained for a while. It really feels retro, like old arcade games, but it is a roguelike. You don't die easily, but because you made many mistakes in a row.

Great Fast paced arcade style space combat with permanent progression elements, ship customization and Phasers. i hope i get photon torpedoes next. Also great synth-wave soundtrack I do need to get better at evading.

Excellent side-scrolling shooter with classic roguelite replay value. An infectious mix of nostalgic shoot 'em up gameplay and classic graphical style, as well as more modern, updated elements in procedural map generation, unique encounters that modify your run in significant ways, and nuanced, compelling narrative. I really look forward to seeing the developers continue to support this delightful game.

Remember those old-school sidescrollers, shooters, with aliens and pewpew and stuff? This is it, but on drugs 😎. You got weapons, upgrades, snazzy storyline and procedurally generated maps, and from a startup indie developer too. Highly recommended 👾

Very nice game, arcade fun, spiced with RPG elements and true to it's title challenge!

Fast-paced and addictive gameplay, the loop gets better the more familiar you become with the game. The music is epic and grows on you and the hand-drawn graphics are a nice touch. If you are into roguelikes, this one should be in your collection.