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Blast Em!

46%Game Brain Score
gameplay, music
graphics, story
46% User Score Based on 370 reviews

Platforms

PCPCWindowsWindowsMac OSMac OS
Buy Nowfrom $3.48
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About

"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.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Blast Em! screenshot
Blast Em! screenshot

46%
Audience ScoreBased on 370 reviews
gameplay18 positive mentions
story8 negative mentions
  • The game is simple and addictive, making it a good time killer for short play sessions.
  • The music and sound effects are enjoyable, adding to the overall experience.
  • It offers a nostalgic retro feel reminiscent of classic arcade shooters.
  • The game suffers from a lack of depth and variety, making it repetitive and boring quickly.
  • Mouse-only controls are clunky and imprecise, leading to frustration during gameplay.
  • Achievements are bugged and do not work properly, diminishing the sense of progression.
  • gameplay
    64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing its simplicity and reliance on mouse movement for control, leading to a repetitive and mundane experience. While some appreciate the addictive nature and retro feel of the mechanics, others find the scoring system and clunky interface detract from the overall enjoyment. Overall, the game is seen as easy to pick up but lacking depth, with significant issues such as bugs and a steep difficulty curve.

    • “As for the gameplay, it is simple enough to understand and get used to.”
    • “The addicting and challenging gameplay grows on you after you develop a strategy and come into your own play-style.”
    • “Is an easy to get into, hard to master kind of game - its simple mechanics make it super easy to pick up, but the more you play, the more you learn that there's some mad skill needed to get to the end zone... if there is one.”
    • “Mouse movement controls your ship and you cannot control firing at all; the screen becomes clustered very shortly into runs, gameplay itself is mundane, and the difficulty curve is considerably off.”
    • “Combined with a clunky interface and minimalist gameplay, there were no shining elements that really make this game stand out, or even meet the par of similar games in this genre.”
    • “Lame scoring system, repetitive gameplay, and that infamous bug that sometimes makes you game over even though nothing hits you at all... there are far better shooters out there on Steam, go for those instead.”
  • music
    62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its enjoyable and engaging soundtrack that enhances the gameplay experience, while others find it repetitive and annoying over time. Many agree that the music is a standout feature, contributing positively to the overall atmosphere, despite criticisms of the game's limited mechanics and graphics. Overall, while the soundtrack is appreciated by some, it may not appeal to everyone, leading to a polarized reception.

    • “The main key of the game lies in the music.”
    • “In fact, I often find myself starting the game just to be able to listen to its great soundtrack.”
    • “Love the music, the gameplay is rather addictive.”
    • “Music is unbearable, art assets are non-existent, and the core 'auto-shooting, mouse-moves-ship, dodge-forever' game loop is phenomenally awful.”
    • “The music in the game is terrible, the graphics 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.”
  • graphics
    32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game have received mixed to negative feedback, with many users describing them as generic pixel art and lacking in visual appeal, even at maximum settings. Some players noted that the backgrounds can be disorienting, and there is little variation in scenery throughout the game. While a few appreciated the graphics and sound for a simple shmup, the overall consensus leans towards disappointment in the visual quality and design.

    • “Great graphics and sound for a simple shmup, would love to see the developer release a DLC for the soundtrack on Steam.”
    • “Combined with the overall graphics style, especially in the background, makes me actually wonder from whom this originates.”
    • “The graphics aren't too bad but I can't stay alive to see much.”
    • “The graphics aren't exactly next gen and the background makes you seasick if you stare at it too long.”
    • “At first glance this game doesn't amount to much, the graphics are terrible even at the highest setting, you cannot adjust the controls in any way, which was particularly annoying to me due to my mouse being overly sensitive, and there's also no controller support.”
    • “The visuals are extremely generic pixel art, the audio is utterly forgettable, and the controls feel stiff and unrefined.”
  • story
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game lacks a meaningful story, with many reviewers noting that it is a generic shoot'em up with no narrative depth or progression. Despite a mention of defending against evil alien robots on the Steam store page, players find no actual storyline or engaging content once they start playing. Overall, the consensus is that the game offers little more than basic gameplay mechanics without any storytelling elements.

    • “There's no end game, no story, no other mode to play, no nothing.”
    • “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.”
    • “It's a generic shoot'em up game with no story.”
  • grinding
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the last 25% of achievements that require long, repetitive tasks and are plagued by a random death bug. Many feel that these grind-heavy achievements lack meaningful motivation, serving primarily as a torment for completionists.

    • “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.”
    • “There is no motivation whatsoever (except maybe getting achievements for grinding up score).”
  • optimization
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    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 by multiple users.

    • “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.”
  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is perceived as lacking, with users comparing it to a poorly executed game jam entry, suggesting a disconnect or absence of genuine emotional engagement.

  • humor
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviews indicate that the humor in the game is lacking, with some users suggesting that even simpler flash games offer more engaging and complex comedic elements. Overall, the humor does not meet expectations compared to other available options.

  • replayability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game has limited replayability, primarily due to its small number of power-ups and enemies, which are only three and four, respectively. This lack of variety contributes to a repetitive experience for players.

    • “Little replay value, 3 power-ups, 4 enemies.”
    • “Little replay value, 3 power-ups, 4 enemies.”

Buy Blast Em!

9h Median play time
9h Average play time
9-9h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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