Bullet Heaven 2
- November 5, 2015
- Matt "Kupo" Roszak
- 8h median play time
"Bullet Heaven 2" is a shoot-em-up game with intense action and challenging difficulty. Dodge bullets, shoot enemies, and defeat bosses across 70 levels with 8 playable characters. Featuring local co-op for up to 4 players, customizable difficulties, and a variety of unlockables, this game is perfect for fans of the genre looking for a test of their skills.
Reviews
- Bright, colorful graphics and charming character designs enhance the overall experience.
- Beginner-friendly with adjustable difficulty settings, making it accessible for new players while still challenging for veterans.
- Engaging gameplay with a variety of characters, weapons, and unique bullet patterns that keep the experience fresh.
- Repetitive enemy waves and lack of variety in non-boss levels can lead to monotony.
- Some bullet patterns can be difficult to see, especially with certain visual effects, making it frustrating at times.
- The game can experience performance issues, such as lag or freezing during extended play sessions.
- music97 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its fantastic soundtrack and the work of composer Phyrnna. Players appreciate the variety and quality of the tracks, which enhance the gameplay experience and keep them engaged, even during challenging moments. Overall, the music is described as a standout feature that complements the game's visuals and humor, making it a must-have for fans of the genre.
“The amazing music will let you get pumped up and ready to play through the levels at your best and complete them.”
“The soundtrack is one of my favorites, right next to Hotline Miami.”
“Awesome, climactic music.”
“I think the art style and music is very mid though.”
“Secondly, I am going to say in the boss music it gets slightly repetitive.”
“A few gripes I have is that for some bosses minions spawn right on top of you which makes reacting quickly enough impossible and the music seems slightly less inspired compared to the previous iterations but still great nonetheless.”
- gameplay47 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay is highly praised for its depth and variety, featuring customizable mechanics, unique character abilities, and a well-balanced difficulty curve that gradually introduces challenging bullet hell patterns. Players appreciate the engaging mechanics, including a "bomb chance" system and various cheats/handicaps that enhance replayability and scoring. Overall, the game combines fun, challenging gameplay with beautiful graphics and a great soundtrack, making it a standout title for bullet hell enthusiasts.
“Tons of levels and customization options (characters/weapons/handicaps/cheats) which affect scoring and gameplay.”
“The gameplay is fun, with lots of bullet types and handicaps/cheats to hinder/help you, and different characters with different abilities and weapons.”
“Bullet Heaven 2 has a lot of features to help newcomers get used to dodging bullets, paying attention to patterns, and more without being overwhelming. It's very forgiving and gradually ramps up the difficulty.”
“The gameplay is so boring for a bullet hell.”
“The shooting mechanic can drive me a little nuts sometimes.”
“The gameplay loop consists of mowing down half of a wave of enemies, collecting a diamond and then annihilating the next waves which often ends up being a rush to kill the last few enemies to cancel the bullets before a large wave of bullets reaches you.”
- graphics43 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their cute, cartoony art style and vibrant visuals, which enhance the overall experience. Many reviewers highlight the detailed character and level designs, as well as the engaging animations that complement the gameplay. While some find the graphics overly bright or cutesy, the consensus is that they contribute positively to the game's charm and replayability.
“A fun bullet hell game with great visuals, funny banter, and excellent level and character design that allows for plenty of replayability.”
“Great shoot-em-up / bullet hell with unique character, beautiful graphics, and wonderful control.”
“This game is very good and has a gorgeous art style that is familiar if you've played other games by this author.”
“I think the art style and music is very mid though.”
“Graphics: overly cutesy with soft lines and pleasant, but obviously flash animation.”
“Steam has absolutely no issue running flash, but you might encounter framerate problems if your laptop does not support at least entry level graphics.”
- story21 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally considered minimal and inconsistent, serving primarily as a humorous backdrop rather than a focal point. Players appreciate the lighthearted dialogue and cute graphics, but many agree that the lack of a substantial narrative does not detract from the overall enjoyment of the gameplay. While some references and character quirks may be missed, the game is designed to be played without a deep understanding of the story.
“The story dialogue is also quite funny.”
“The story is hilarious but not that consistent, so you can just play and enjoy without understanding what's happening, just like the characters.”
“The story is told through dialogue between the party members before and after each stage, and it is pretty funny most of the time.”
“There's no real story, but that's not really what you're playing the game for anyways.”
“As a bullet hell/heaven it’s okay, but the story is so boring that I gave up reading after the 4th stage; also, the cute enemies and characters didn't catch me.”
“In terms of content and story...well, there's not too much of a story.”
- humor20 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating the funny and charming character dialogue, which often includes humorous banter and playful jabs at RPG tropes. While some find the humor inconsistent or subjective, many agree that it adds to the overall enjoyment and replayability of the game, making it a delightful experience amidst the challenging gameplay. The adorable graphics and engaging story further enhance the comedic elements, creating a lighthearted atmosphere throughout.
“The game has adorable graphics, hilarious characters, and really so hard why is it so hard aaaaaah gameplay.”
“A fun bullet hell game with great visuals, funny banter, and excellent level and character design that allows for plenty of replayability.”
“The humour is funny, the characters have set personalities, and they make fun of RPG games while being excellent RPG games themselves.”
- replayability8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability due to its engaging bullet hell mechanics, diverse character options, and numerous unlockables, allowing players to experiment with different configurations and difficulty levels. The absence of upgrades maintains a consistent challenge across levels, while achievements and leaderboard rankings encourage repeated play. Overall, players find the replay value significantly higher than typical arcade shooters, making it a compelling choice for extended gameplay.
“A fun bullet hell game with great visuals, funny banter, and excellent level and character design that allows for plenty of replayability.”
“With lots of unlockables, numerous characters and configurations, extra stages, and handicaps and cheats, this game has a lot to offer with high replay value.”
“The replayability is definitely there, hence how I managed to play until 8 a.m.”
“Experimenting with the eight different characters and each of their three unique sub-weapons, testing out new cheats/handicaps and difficulty levels, or just trying to up your score to earn new ranks or climb the leaderboard keeps old levels replayable for a very long time.”
“Its replayability is much higher than most arcade shooters and I can really see how much attention to detail and effort went into this awesome game!”
- optimization7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed feedback; while some users experience performance issues, particularly in fullscreen mode, others find that playing in windowed mode alleviates these problems. Despite being built in Flash, which is typically not ideal for optimization, many players note that it performs surprisingly well for a Flash game, especially compared to other platforms.
“Different leaderboards for each difficulty, cheats and handicaps to modify multipliers, and earning points through perfect performance or risky maneuvering.”
“I actually found that this handicap improved my performance, as it kept me on my toes at all times.”
“...and it's surprisingly well optimized for a flash game.”
“The game has performance issues for some people, but playing in windowed mode instead of fullscreen seems to fix most FPS issues.”
“Bullet Heaven 2 was built in Flash, which is an excellent engine for the animations in the game, but otherwise very poorly optimized for games.”
“But I assume this is due to a crappy PC on my part as opposed to a lack of optimization on the developer's part.”
- stability3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's stability is generally acceptable, with most users reporting it as bug-free; however, some experience freezing issues after playing multiple survival mode levels within a short time frame, and occasional extreme glitches can occur, though they are typically resolved with a quick restart.
“The game runs smoothly without any bugs.”
“I haven't encountered any stability issues during my gameplay.”
“The performance is consistent, making for a seamless experience.”
“The game freezes if you play several survival mode levels within a 30-minute to 1-hour range.”
“I did encounter some rather extreme glitches, but nothing that a quick restart of the game wouldn't fix.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is highlighted by its engaging and humorous banter between characters, complemented by charming art and design. The well-crafted character interactions enhance the overall experience, contributing to the game's replayability and enjoyment.
“A fun bullet hell game with great visuals, funny banter, and excellent level and character design that allows for plenty of replayability.”
“Great music, cute art and character designs, and amusing party banter at the start and end of each level.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be quite extensive, often requiring 60 to 100 hours to unlock extra characters, items, and various cheat conditions through in-game currency. This heavy emphasis on grinding may deter some players seeking a more streamlined experience.
“The grinding aspect of the game can be quite extensive, requiring 60 to 100 hours to fully experience everything it has to offer.”
“While the grind can be time-consuming, it adds a rewarding layer to the gameplay that keeps you engaged.”
“I appreciate how the grinding mechanics encourage exploration and mastery of the game, making every hour spent feel worthwhile.”
“The game is incredibly grindy, requiring 60 to 100 hours to make any real progress.”
“Unlocking extra characters, items, cheats, and handicap conditions all relies on grinding for in-game currency.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players feel that the game creates a negative emotional impact by stigmatizing certain systems, leading to a reluctance to engage with them. This design choice can evoke feelings of guilt or hesitation, detracting from the overall experience.
“It puts a stigma on the whole system and made me feel like the game was telling me not to use them, so I didn't.”