BLUE REVOLVER

About

BLUE REVOLVER is a single player arcade shooter game with anime and science fiction themes. It was developed by woof and was released on October 11, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

BLUE REVOLVER is a fresh new shoot-em-up built for newcomers and psychos alike. An adaptive difficulty system tailors the game to your skill level as you fight and flourish to evade the maniac environmental force, "Blue Revolver"!

Skip User Reviews

98%Audience ScoreBased on 691 reviews

music193 positive mentions

grinding8 negative mentions

Engaging and intuitive scoring system that rewards skillful play and encourages strategic resource management.
Highly accessible with multiple difficulty modes, tutorials, and mission challenges that teach gameplay mechanics effectively.
Exceptional presentation including vibrant and clear pixel art, diverse music tracks with remixes, and polished controls with extensive customization.

Some players find the dynamic difficulty system (rank) frustrating due to rapid difficulty scaling and the need to balance scoring and survival.
Visual clarity issues occasionally arise from similar colors blending, and some audio feedback, especially for special attacks, can be understated.
Unlock system can feel grindy and some features like continuous mode are locked behind currency gating, which may discourage casual players.

music
305 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
36%
1%
The music in this game is widely praised for its energetic, high-tempo electronic and techno soundtrack that perfectly complements the fast-paced, intense gameplay. Players appreciate the dynamic syncing of music to in-game action, the variety from multiple unlockable remixes, and the impactful atmosphere it creates, often describing it as a standout and essential element enhancing their overall experience. Some note the option to customize and switch between tracks adds great replay value, though a few mention volume balance issues.
- “The music is amazing and I often find myself syncing my movements to the blood pumping beats; it actually helps me to lock in.”
- “Between the wonderfully vibrant visuals and choice of colors, its robust, energetic, and pulsing soundtrack establishes an ageless identity for itself.”
- “The soundtrack is excellent, stage 3's theme especially, with an electrifying and memorable score that perfectly complements the on-screen action.”
- “The music feels tacked on and doesn't add to the dynamic of the game (sounds like 90s techno dribble).”
- “Music overpowers so many sound effects.”
- “- music when selecting characters is a bit too loud imo -”
gameplay
176 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
51%
2%
The gameplay of Blue Revolver is praised for its tight, responsive, and challenging bullet-hell mechanics that balance survival and scoring through elegant, well-explained systems like the break and flourish mechanics. It offers a rewarding and dense experience with varied characters, weapons, and difficulty modes, enhanced by clear telegraphing and teaching elements that make it accessible for newcomers while providing deep skill refinement for veterans. The harmonious integration of fast-paced gameplay, a motivating scoring system, and a high-energy soundtrack creates an engaging, replayable shoot-'em-up that stands out both for its polish and distinct, vibrant presentation.
- “Extremely polished and challenging shoot 'em up that pushes you to your limits with plenty of fun mechanics to spice up your gameplay.”
- “The gameplay was everything you could expect from a bullet-hell STG: a large number of bullets, small player ship hitbox, evade and destroy them all to win the game.”
- “The break and perfect score systems are some of my favorite mechanics I've ever experienced in a game.”
- “On top of that, Blue Revolver, just like DDP, heavily leans into 'pure memorization' territory instead of reaction-based gameplay, making your first playthroughs quite miserable and not fun.”
- “There's also this asinine break mechanic for getting extra points on bosses that is poorly explained, and I guarantee you'll fail multiple times before pulling it off.”
- “That said, controls are pretty bland especially given all gameplay takes place in a small rectangle that involves you moving a little to one side versus moving a little to the other side.”
graphics
122 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
33%
2%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their vibrant, colorful pixel art style that is both visually appealing and highly legible, making intense gameplay moments clear and manageable. While some users note that the art style may be a matter of personal taste and occasionally simplistic, the overall presentation is polished, distinctive, and complemented by extensive customization options for visual settings. This unique and cohesive aesthetic is considered a standout element alongside an excellent soundtrack, contributing significantly to the game's charm and playability.
- “The legibility options in here are a gold standard as you can customize the visuals saturation, brightness and color very extensively making the bullet visibility as good as you need it.”
- “With its gorgeous art style being a fresh take on the indie scene, an awesome track with help from qygen and novaturtle with other music talent, Blue Revolver is all style and plenty of substance, with lots of little customization features, especially graphic-wise, like tweaking the colors of enemy projectiles (blue and purple were hard for me to focus on as opposed to the red and green ones so this was a huge plus for me), showing hitboxes, etc. The other nice little details I enjoyed were options of changing the narrator (Mae is still my favorite :]), background art, and the music player + remixes of stage tracks.”
- “The presentation is absolutely great, with an awesome soundtrack (composers never miss in this genre I swear), very pleasant visuals that, while pixel art, manage to break away from the overused NES-esque color palettes, instead going for a much more colorful and bright palette, and very good art for the main menu and the empty space on the sides.”
- “It's the case of artstyle over substance that, in my opinion, should not be present in year 2025.”
- “The soft, crappy visuals blending in too much with each other, plus trying to juggle micro-dodging bullets and keeping an eye on my ship's power bar for special attacks, which resulted in more deaths than I can count.”
- “Initially I thought the game graphically looked basic.”
story
87 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
76%
3%
The story in this shmup game is light and minimal, serving mainly as a backdrop with cute characters and a fun world rather than a deep narrative experience. Players and reviewers emphasize that the game's strength lies in its mission mode, which cleverly teaches gameplay mechanics and scoring strategies through bite-sized challenges, making it highly accessible and engaging for both newcomers and veterans. While some note the story is lacking, the abundant missions, unlockables, and varied content keep players motivated and provide substantial replayability beyond the narrative.
- “The characters are cute, the story is light but sets a fun little world to play in, the art is beautiful, the music rips, and all in all it's a very fun little time.”
- “Also, the game has an interesting level of lore to it, which I enjoy the amalgamation of magic and technology in its storytelling, which tends to be a big thumbs up for me when utilized in background lore in media.”
- “My favorite part is the new ending where Val sarcastically asks Dee 'What are we, some kind of Blue Revolver?' when Dee is creating the team during a backstory flashback and Dee turns around with a grin and asks, 'Say that again.'”
- “There are missions and an XP mode that needs to be unlocked, but from what I can tell, it is just replaying the same 5 stages.”
- “Based on these style of games that I have played... this one lacks a lot in every department that motivated me to play (story, unlocks, level progression ideology).”
- “The story is lacking, but that's a fairly common thread between a lot of bullet hells, the "game-play over lore" aspect, and the game-play certainly keeps you going.”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
29%
21%
The game offers excellent replayability through multiple playable characters with unique weapons, diverse game modes, and extensive customization options. Its challenging yet fluid gameplay, combined with a deep scoring system and numerous unlocks, provides lasting engagement and variety. Overall, the rich content and rewarding mechanics make it highly addictive and enjoyable to revisit.
- “Amazing replayability with 3 playable characters all with different special weapons.”
- “The game offers two characters with each character having four super weapons to choose from which gives the game a great deal of customization for different play styles and plenty of replayability.”
- “-» replayability: the missions mode provide 25 single-stage challenges that can be replayed for mastery.”
- “The missions mode provides 25 single-stage challenges that can be replayed for mastery.”
- “It gives the game some extra replayability and is a feature that I miss from modern games, as these sorts of things have a way of becoming paid DLC in the AAA space.”
- “Gameplay is very fluid, even though I am one off of the processing power, replay value is very high in this game, and the help and tips of different modes help any player get addicted.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game can feel tedious and repetitive, especially when perfecting stages and facing increasingly challenging patterns, leading to occasional frustration. However, the game balances this with casual-friendly design, allowing players to either invest hours into grinding for mastery or enjoy short, relaxed play sessions without penalty.
- “The first time I really reckoned with this I was grinding stage 1 on hyper until I had perfected the score route for it, and then at difficulty 4 on the stage 1 boss' final pattern, the bullets were faster and there was a random shotgun bullet spray to dodge, which was overwhelming and led to death because I hadn't seen it before.”
- “The full 5-6 stages arcade run is fun and all, but man is it nice to have more stuff to do than just grinding that.”
- “They are quite grindy, as you receive small currency after a playing session to spend.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The game offers deep and flexible score optimization mechanics, rewarding players who master routing and performance with more lives and higher rankings. Its mission mode provides accessible goals to learn optimization basics, while the balanced difficulty encourages focusing on skill. Despite some prior genre struggles on PC, this title delivers a stable, well-optimized experience that appeals to both newcomers and seasoned shmup fans.
- “The game does a lot to hook you in, with the unlockables you can buy from the shop after every run and the mission mode teaching you basic ideas for score optimization, with lenient requirements to shoot for.”
- “Giving the player all the tools to engage with the game fully then allowing the player to experiment with those tools to figure out how to balance optimization and player expression.”
- “So there's a lot of flexibility and really deep routing optimization for many play styles.”
- “While I have a long history of grinding shmups going back to arcades, this is a genre which has always struggled a little bit on the PC with ports which failed to either directly cater to or take full advantage of the platform; not to mention those with obvious stability and performance challenges.”
- “I'd rather have a more consistent experience than having the difficulty change based on my performance.”
- “However - just my opinion - maybe making it "cheap" and easy to see the ending will better encourage those who actually care about the process to focus more on performance during playthrough, and also potentially grasp the genre and the game more holistically.”
character development
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
43%
The character development is praised for its unique, adorable, and distinctly anime-inspired designs that stand out without feeling derivative. The visuals contribute significantly to the game's charming atmosphere, appealing strongly to fans of kawaii aesthetics and waifu-style characters. Overall, character design is a key highlight that enhances the game's appeal.
- “The art is clear and colorful, the character design is unique, and it's very anime without feeling in your face about it or copying something else.”
- “Couple this with an astounding, pulse-pounding soundtrack, cute character designs, beautiful graphics, and a mission system which actually serves as a tutorial to teach you how to play STGs, and you pretty much have yourself a winner!”
- “The character designs (not just the poster girls, the others inside the bosses too) are also very nice.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game demonstrates excellent stability, running smoothly with minimal input lag across different devices, including MacBooks. Its performance remains consistent regardless of the selected difficulty mode, ensuring a reliable gameplay experience.
- “Runs great with very little input lag, great art style, and addicting gameplay!”
- “Runs great on my MacBook too.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the game "izeroranger" emotionally impactful, highlighting its unique blend of intellectual and mechanical aesthetics that create a meaningful experience. The combination of fast-paced music and intense gameplay evokes a wholesome and engaging emotional response, making it an excellent entry point for newcomers to the shmup genre.
- “iZeroranger is the game that taught me why I should care about shmups, and I still think its emotional, intellectual, and mechanical aesthetics make it a uniquely good entry point for people coming from other game genres.”
- “Man, I picked up this game mostly for the OST, and when you hit stage 3, the combination of the fast-paced music and the intensity of the level is just wholesome.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is engaging and enjoyable, with elegantly interconnected mechanics that create a compelling and satisfying gameplay experience.
- “Really fun atmosphere, all the mechanics are interwoven really elegantly and it's a great game to try to clear.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is subtle and mainly comes from clever nods or references, such as Mae's ship resembling one from Dodonpachi and the option to equip a laser, which players find amusing.

Skip Critic Reviews

80%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

Review: Blue Revolver
Hardcoregamer.com
80%

Skip Game Offers

Buy BLUE REVOLVER

16h Median play time

36h Average play time

14-100h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like BLUE REVOLVER

94%1.4kreviews

Crimzon Clover WORLD IGNITION

2014

Arcade Shooter

81%456reviews

Super Galaxy Squadron EX Turbo

2015

Survival Shooter

93%342reviews

Danmaku Unlimited 2

2014

Arcade Shooter

96%1.7kreviews

ZeroRanger

2018

Arcade Shooter

99%496reviews

DEVIL BLADE REBOOT

2024

Arcade Platformer

97%261reviews

Gunvein

2022

Arcade Shooter

92%1.5kreviews

Assault Android Cactus

2015

Arcade Shooter

+13

93%524reviews

DRAINUS

2022

Arcade Shooter

94%1.9kreviews

Jamestown

2011

Action

93%225reviews

ESCHATOS

2015

Arcade Shooter

More games like BLUE REVOLVER

Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

BLUE REVOLVER is a arcade shooter game with anime and science fiction themes.

BLUE REVOLVER is available on PC, Mac OS, Steam Deck, Windows and others.

The main story can be completed in around 2 hours. On average players spend around 36 hours playing BLUE REVOLVER.

BLUE REVOLVER was released on October 11, 2016.

BLUE REVOLVER was developed by woof.

BLUE REVOLVER has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked BLUE REVOLVER for its music but disliked it for its grinding.

BLUE REVOLVER is a single player game.

Similar games include Crimzon Clover WORLD IGNITION, Super Galaxy Squadron EX Turbo, Danmaku Unlimited 2, ZeroRanger, DEVIL BLADE REBOOT and others.

BLUE REVOLVER

Platforms

About

music

gameplay

graphics

story

replayability

grinding

optimization

character development

stability

emotional

atmosphere

humor

Buy BLUE REVOLVER

BLUE REVOLVER

BLUE REVOLVER

Videos

Games Like BLUE REVOLVER

Crimzon Clover WORLD IGNITION

Super Galaxy Squadron EX Turbo

Danmaku Unlimited 2

ZeroRanger

DEVIL BLADE REBOOT

Gunvein

Assault Android Cactus

DRAINUS

Jamestown

ESCHATOS

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the genre of BLUE REVOLVER?

What platforms is BLUE REVOLVER available on?

How long does BLUE REVOLVER take to finish?

When was BLUE REVOLVER released?

Who developed BLUE REVOLVER?

Is BLUE REVOLVER well received?

Is BLUE REVOLVER single player or multiplayer?

What games are similar to BLUE REVOLVER?