Star of Providence

indie developers spending 50000 hours creating the coolest boss you've ever seen (0.5% of the 800 people playing their game are good enough at the game to get to it) it's peak your honor

Star of Providence is a criminally overlooked gem in the twin-stick shooter genre, a game that blends tight, satisfying combat with roguelike structure and retro-inspired visuals to deliver an experience that feels both nostalgic and fresh. Developed by Team D-13, the game wears its inspirations on its sleeve—titles like Enter the Gungeon, The Binding of Isaac, and even classic arcade shooters clearly influence its design—but Star of Providence distinguishes itself through a distinctive balance of chaos and control. It offers rapid-fire, top-down action in a procedurally generated world, punctuated by intense boss fights, dynamic enemy patterns, and an evolving arsenal of weapons and upgrades that reward experimentation. At first glance, the game seems straightforward: you navigate rooms filled with enemies, dodge bullets, and shoot back with whatever weapon you’ve managed to scavenge. But what makes Star of Providence shine is the precision and responsiveness of its core gamepl...

An exceptionally [b]polished[/b] roguelike twin-stick shooter. The excellence of Star of Providence lies in its responsively slick controls, carefully designed challenge, and gradually revealed depth. The gameplay feels [b]fantastic[/b]. The music sounds [b]dynamic[/b]. It expertly introduces intimidating obstacles while encouraging and rewarding your persistence. Each room is a miniature puzzle, and there is a staggering amount of [b]variation[/b] between runs. Furthermore, the implementation of difficulty was not an afterthought, as enemy attack patterns, rooms, and bosses are added with each incrementation. And the visual clarity despite the overwhelming amount of information is praiseworthy. You will not want to stop playing even after the credits roll.

Not only is this one of the sharpest-designed games I've ever played with music and art and lore on par with--if not surpassing--the all-time indie greats, but it also pulls some truly spectacular late-game rulebreaks, all of which tie into the story and worldbuilding in such interesting ways. Also it's huge. It would be worth the price tag with a thirteenth of its content. This game has the most layers of true secret ultra final boss I've seen in a very long time.

An endlessly replayable game. There is so much content and action going on in Star of Providence that I doubt I will feel satisfied walking away from it any time soon. Great visuals, great tunes, an ever escalating difficulty curve, and so many different ways to play. Pick it up - it's worth it.

Absolutely nutty intensity with a high level of polish #epicsauce

if you went back in time trying to convince me that a keyboard and mouse SHMUPish roguelike would have been one of the most enjoyable experience I've had in the last decade I would have kicked you right in the groin.

it's a super plain 5/10 shmup that should have been ala 'sub-terrania' style or maybe more like 'bio-hazard battle'? enter the gungeon is waaaay better buy/play that instead

Oh boy, this one's a gem.

good retro times