Astral Gunners

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Astral Gunners is a single player and multiplayer arcade shooter game. It was developed by satibros and was released on October 1, 2020. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

"Astral Gunners" is a shooting game where players control one of five characters, each with unique weapons and abilities, to fight through six main stages and intense boss battles. The game features advanced training tools and over 20 unlockable customization options. Scoring mechanics encourage players to take risks for higher scores and leaderboard placement.

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100%

Audience ScoreBased on 54 reviews

music17 positive mentions

Astral Gunners features a vibrant art style and an engaging heavy metal soundtrack that enhances the gameplay experience.
The game offers a variety of characters, each with unique mechanics and abilities, providing diverse gameplay and replayability.
The scoring system is deep and rewarding, encouraging players to improve their skills and compete for high scores.

The graphics can be overly minimalistic at times, leading to occasional recognizability issues with bullets and backgrounds.
Some players may find the initial learning curve steep, as the game can feel overwhelming with its mechanics and bullet patterns.
There are reports of occasional bugs, such as audio issues and game crashes, which can disrupt the experience.

music
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
35%
10%
The music in the game has received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with many reviewers praising the heavy metal soundtrack for its energy and composition, which enhances the gameplay experience. The soundtrack not only complements the vibrant visuals and unique character designs but also dynamically progresses with the levels, keeping players engaged and immersed. Overall, the music is described as fantastic, memorable, and a significant highlight of the game, contributing to its addictive and exhilarating nature.
- “Musically it is very good: the heavy metal soundtrack by Sami Sati with guest guitarists gives extra energy to each stage.”
- “Astral Gunners is a fantastically designed shmup that bleeds with style from its wild and colorful character designs, blossoming bullet patterns of vibrant colors to a blood-pumping metal soundtrack that pushes you through a selection of stages.”
- “The metal soundtrack is very well-composed, but you won't truly appreciate it until you realize how the music tracks progress alongside the levels and end when they end.”
- “The music is high energy from start to finish, keeping the adrenaline running for the inevitable moments where your awareness is needed for tight situations.”
- “The heavy metal soundtrack seemingly inspired by Machinae Supremacy is quite good too.”
gameplay
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
54%
14%
The gameplay of "Astral Gunners" is highly praised for its engaging mechanics, variety of characters, and clever scoring systems that cater to both casual players and high-score hunters. Players appreciate the tight controls, distinct level designs, and unique shooting mechanics for each character, which create a rewarding experience that encourages repeated play. The game's combination of challenging difficulty, well-integrated graphics, and an outstanding soundtrack further enhances the overall enjoyment, making it a standout title in the shmup genre.
- “The gameplay is tight, engaging, and fun - exactly what I want in a shmup.”
- “Outstanding gameplay and scoring mechanics.”
- “The ramp in difficulty makes it easy to learn the scoring mechanics and know you have a shot at doing better.”
- “They can be ruthlessly hard at times, forcing the players to play by the rules they enforce and requiring them to invest a lot of time into learning the mechanics or memorizing the enemy patterns in order to get good at them.”
- “The game does have some stuff that are locked behind specific requirements, such as the true ending locked behind 1cc completion or shadow battle achievements requiring you to be at least on normal difficulty, but it leaves you open to use assist mechanics however you want.”
- “As for the gameplay, Astral Gunners follows usual design philosophies of shmups, with some additions of its own.”
graphics
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
31%
23%
The graphics in the game are a mix of simplicity and vibrant detail, with a unique art style that enhances the gameplay experience. While some players find the visuals overly busy at times, the cohesive presentation, clear bullet visibility, and polished animations contribute to an engaging atmosphere. Overall, the graphics are well-received, complementing the music and gameplay effectively.
- “The graphical style and presentation is good and works well with the gameplay, story, and music - it's the cohesiveness of the parts that adds the cherry on top in my opinion.”
- “The graphics in motion are beautiful.”
- “The graphics are solid and the animations of the moves are sweet.”
- “Graphically it is simple, sometimes a bit too minimalistic against the background or with bullets.”
- “I find the art and visuals overly busy, detailed, and bright for how much stuff and sheer motion there is on screen at times.”
- “My only complaint with this game is that the art style seems to be a bit scatter-shot.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The game offers significant replayability through its skill-based mechanics, diverse power-ups, and a variety of unlockable content. With multiple playable characters, difficulty levels, and creative encounter designs, players are encouraged to experiment and refine their strategies, making each playthrough feel fresh and engaging. Overall, the replay value is highly praised, making it a standout in the shmup genre.
- “This, in addition to the power-ups opening the way for mixing and matching and finding out what can work best, adds a significant amount of replayability to the game.”
- “High quality horizontal bullet hell with high replayability, tons of unlockables, great ship variety to play with, multiple difficulty options, and very creative bullet patterns and encounter design.”
- “It's replayability is potent enough to be a crime.”
- “On top of that, there are 5 playable characters and multiple difficulty levels, so even though a single run is pretty short, there is a ton of replay value.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While "Astral Gunners" excels in its vibrant character designs and dynamic visual style, the reviews do not specifically address character development in terms of narrative or growth, focusing instead on the game's aesthetic and gameplay experience.
- “Astral Gunners features incredibly well-developed characters that not only enhance the gameplay but also add depth to the story, making each encounter feel meaningful.”
- “The character arcs in Astral Gunners are compelling and well-crafted, allowing players to connect with the characters on a personal level as they evolve throughout the game.”
- “I love how the character development in Astral Gunners is intertwined with the gameplay, making each character's growth feel rewarding and impactful.”
story
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The story is described as fairly engaging and complements the game's cohesive graphical style and music, enhancing the overall experience for players who appreciate narrative elements.
- “The graphical style and presentation is good and works well with the gameplay, story, and music - it's the cohesiveness of the parts that adds the cherry on top in my opinion.”
- “There looks to be a fairly engaging story as well, if you're into that kind of thing.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is highly praised for its impressive graphics and fitting music, which enhance the overall experience. Players find the combination of these elements with engaging gameplay and an addictive scoring system to create a captivating environment.
- “The graphics are so well done, the music fits the atmosphere, and the gameplay is just great. It's a lot of fun with a very addictive scoring system.”