In Extremis

I NEED A WAY OUT, gonna get my spaceship and shoot at abstract genitalia. 10/10 This is art in the form of danmaku, I shoot you not.

[i]In Extremis[/i], at a glance, plays more or less like your generic shoot-em-up/bullet hell game, but there are three major aspects make it stand out amongst the crowd: the visual/musical aesthetics, the customisation, and the variety of challenges present. I will provide my criticism in the form of two lists, for things that I enjoyed and for things that I would suggest to improve the experience, respectively. Things that I enjoyed in particular: [list] [*]The level design. Would you rather shoot up an orchestra of sentient instruments, or a swarm of abstract female genitalia? It's all here. [*]The available aspects. From bullets to bombs and from swords to salamanders. There're 12 of them in all and they each offer a unique play style. [*]The music. Although a good chunk of the soundtrack is derived from external sources, it all somehow suits each scenario as it comes. In particular, the themes of stage 3A and its boss sent shivers down my spine as I played. [*]The lore. I can't ...

This game is an absolute work of art. Never have I so consistently had no idea what to expect level after level, or have been so excited to see what comes next. Highly recommended for any shooter fan.

Probably the most bizarre game I've played in quite some time, but it's solid all around. Even if you don't particularly like bullet hell shmups like me, this game offers three difficulties that make it suited for more traditional players, to the hard difficulty which is a bullet hell players dream, (or would it be nightmare?). It's laid out like this- the starting stage is always the same. After that, you can choose a level from either the left, middle, or right branch. Beating a level without continuing gives you a unique special weapon, (each stage has its own). Speaking of weapons, you only get two, but the cool thing is you equip them once you start your run, and they're with you until you either run out of continues or quit. Start a new run with the same loadout or try something different if you like. After you lose all your lives the first go around, the points you earned translate into an xp meter- each level up grants you an extra continue. There's also a score multiplie...

This game revolutionizes nothing. Don't be fooled by what some directionless idiots are peddling. This is unfortunately not much more than a series of copied gimmicks and mechanics done far better elsewhere, wrapped in an undercooked presentation that, while it has some cool potential, it's left completely unrealized. To make things worse, the whole thing is dripping with a pretentious veneer of unearned transcendence that clashes loudly with the incompetent craftsmanship. And I don't say this gratuitously. It could be somewhat redeemed if the game was actually fun to play but the experience is marred by an atrocious progression system, combined with a gamefeel that can only be described as utter shit. Now that the game is free, I guess it [i]only[/i] feels as if you've been spit in the face. Instead of that plus punched in the gut. If you unfortunately paid for this crime against the shoot 'em up genre, like I did, you have my condolences. The best I can say is that I hope that who...

What an awesome surprise! One trippy solid shooter. You gotta keep playing to see what it throws at you next.

Great game, really well done shmup gameplay while also having very interesting and varied enemy/level/boss designs. Not quite like any other shmup I've played, and I've played quite a lot. Well worth the price.