Astral Gunners

About

"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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Local Multi-Player Play with friends in the same physical space using split-screen or multiple screens
2-Players Play with one other player, either online or locally, in a cooperative or competitive game mode
Multi-Player Compete or cooperate with other players online
Co-Op Team up with friends to complete levels or missions together
Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo
Split Screen Play with multiple players on the same screen, often with divided or shared screen real estate

100%

Audience ScoreBased on 51 reviews

music15 positive mentions

Astral Gunners features outstanding gameplay with tight controls, engaging mechanics, and a compelling scoring system that encourages replayability.
The game boasts a vibrant art style, unique character designs, and an amazing soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
With a variety of characters, each offering distinct playstyles and abilities, players can enjoy a diverse and customizable gameplay experience.

Some players found the visual presentation overly busy and distracting, which could lead to difficulty in tracking projectiles during intense gameplay.
There are occasional bugs reported, such as audio issues and game crashes, which can disrupt the experience.
While the game is accessible, some players felt that the tutorial could be improved to better explain the mechanics and character abilities.

music
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
36%
11%
The music in the game is universally praised for its high energy and well-composed heavy metal tracks that enhance the gameplay experience, keeping players engaged and adrenaline-fueled throughout. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack's ability to progress alongside the levels, creating a cohesive and immersive atmosphere that complements the vibrant visuals and chaotic action. Overall, the music is described as not only fantastic but also memorable, making it a standout feature of the game.
- “The stages and boss fights are fun, each character's playstyle is enjoyably unique and the soundtrack is amazing.”
- “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
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
50%
17%
The gameplay is highly praised for its tight mechanics, engaging scoring systems, and unique features that enhance the shmup experience. Players appreciate the variety in level design, bullet patterns, and the balance between challenge and accessibility, making it enjoyable for both newcomers and veterans. The cohesive integration of graphics, music, and gameplay elements contributes to an overall satisfying and replayable experience.
- “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
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
18%
27%
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their beauty and cohesiveness with gameplay, story, and music, creating an engaging experience. While some players find the art style overly busy and bright during intense action, the visuals remain clear and readable, particularly with the neon bullets. Overall, the polished artwork and unique design contribute positively to the game's appeal.
- “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.”
- “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.”
- “At first, I wasn't sure I was going to like Astral Gunners, the art style being something I usually don't seek and sometimes even end up avoiding.”
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.”
story
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The story is described as fairly engaging and well-integrated with the game's graphical style and music, contributing to a cohesive overall experience.
- “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.”
character development
1 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 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.”