Blast Em!
- January 22, 2014
- Xiotex Studios Ltd
Get on Steam"Blast Em!" is a fast-paced, action-packed shooting game where players navigate through levels while battling against hordes of enemies. Players can choose from a variety of weapons and power-ups as they try to survive and progress through each stage. With its retro-style graphics and challenging gameplay, "Blast Em!" offers a nostalgic and engaging experience for fans of classic shoot 'em ups.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Blast Em! is a simple and fun game that serves as a great time-killer, perfect for short gaming sessions.
- The game features a nostalgic retro feel and an enjoyable soundtrack that many players appreciate.
- Despite its simplicity, the game can be addictive and offers a challenge that keeps players coming back for more.
- The game lacks depth and variety, making it repetitive and boring after a short period of play.
- Many players report frustrating bugs, including random deaths and poor performance, which detract from the overall experience.
- The game is considered overpriced for the limited content it offers, with some players suggesting it should be free or cost significantly less.
- music13 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising the techno/rock soundtrack as a highlight that enhances the gameplay experience. However, some players find the music annoying or terrible at times, suggesting it may not appeal to everyone. Overall, while the soundtrack is often described as enjoyable, it is accompanied by criticisms of the game's other aspects.
“What you have is an awesome soundtrack and a visually striking background set against a simple schmup (shoot 'em up).”
“Gameplay is fluid and the music is great.”
“Love the music, the gameplay is rather addictive.”
“The music in the game is terrible; the graphics are simple, and there is only mouse control - but what the hell, I paid less than a quid for it.”
“For the most part, the music is bloody awful.”
“Down: annoying music sometimes, and background.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by fluid mechanics and an engaging audiovisual presentation, though it can become cluttered and mundane over time. While the controls are simple and the game offers an addictive experience, some players find the difficulty curve unbalanced and the mechanics basic. Overall, it provides a decent retro feel, making it enjoyable for its price.
“Gameplay is fluid and the music is great.”
“Love the music, the gameplay is rather addictive.”
“Addicting gameplay, both simple and hard at the same time.”
“Mouse movement controls your ship and you cannot control firing at all; the screen becomes cluttered very shortly into runs. Gameplay itself is mundane, and the difficulty curve is considerably off.”
“This shoot 'em up type game is very basic in the mechanics and gameplay.”
“This shoot 'em up type game is very basic in the mechanics and gameplay.”
- graphics5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The graphics are widely criticized as generic and basic pixel art, with many reviewers noting that they do not improve even at maximum settings. Overall, the visuals are considered unremarkable and fail to enhance the gaming experience, leading some to question the game's value.
“The visuals are extremely generic pixel art, the audio is utterly forgettable, and the controls feel stiff and unrefined.”
“It's not worth the money; the graphics are bad even on max settings. You're dead after getting hit one time. The music is not bad at all. I do say this game should be free; I have no clue how this game made it onto Steam.”
“The graphics are simple and the music in the game is terrible, and there is only mouse control - but what the hell, I paid less than a quid for it.”
- story4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game lacks a meaningful story, with players noting that it primarily focuses on gameplay rather than narrative depth. While the Steam store page hints at a premise involving defending the universe from alien robots, in practice, there is little to no storytelling or character development present in the game.
“There is no story (not that this genre is known for its storytelling), no upgrade path, and extremely little variation in design from one minute to the next.”
“This is a great little bullet hell game, but don't expect to play it for hours as there is no depth or story here, just the need to kill and not be killed.”
“The Steam store page mentions something about defending the universe from evil alien robots, but there is nothing resembling a story once you start the game.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unnecessary, particularly noting that the final 25% of achievements require excessive effort and are prone to frustrating bugs. Many feel that these grind-heavy tasks detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
“Unnecessary tedious grind achievements are included for those who wish to torment themselves.”
“The last 25% of achievements are extremely long and grindy, and will repeatedly pit you against the random death bug if you try to aim for them.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is notably poor, with frequent stuttering and subpar performance on medium or higher settings at 1920x1080, even on hardware that exceeds the listed system requirements. This issue is attributed to potentially inadequate coding practices, as highlighted in multiple user reviews.
“Performance on medium or higher settings at 1920x1080 is very poor, and stuttering is frequent even on respectable hardware that exceeds the system requirements listed on the store page. This is likely due to bad or lazy coding, as mentioned in other reviews and observed in the game's source code.”
