COTTOn Rock'n'Roll -SUPERLATIVE NIGHT DREAMS-
- January 5, 2023
- Studio Saizensen
Get on Steam"COTTON Rock'n'Roll -SUPERLATIVE NIGHT DREAMS-" is a vertical scrolling shoot 'em up game featuring the fan-favorite character, Cotton. This game offers remastered graphics, rearranged music, and new game modes that shake up the classic gameplay. Players can engage in intense battles with a variety of enemies and powerful bosses while enjoying the fast-paced, high-energy action of this charming shoot 'em up game.
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a diverse cast of characters, each with unique playstyles, adding depth and replayability.
- The production values, including graphics and soundtrack, are top-notch, creating an engaging and visually appealing experience.
- It runs well on the Steam Deck and is generally well-supported, making it accessible for players on that platform.
- The game suffers from performance issues on Linux and AMD GPUs, with reports of stuttering and graphical glitches.
- There is a lack of challenge due to infinite continues and a single repetitive story, which may disappoint hardcore shmup fans.
- The game is locked to 1080p resolution with no anti-aliasing options, limiting visual quality on higher-end systems.
- story11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The story in this edition of the Cotton series centers around Cotton, featuring a single narrative that is entertaining but somewhat repetitive, particularly with recurring scenes. While players can enjoy the storyline through different characters and unlock secret levels referencing past games, the lack of varied storylines across characters has left some users disappointed. Overall, the story provides a lighthearted experience with humorous moments, though it may not offer substantial depth or variety.
“This is a great addition to the Cotton series, featuring a variety of characters, a fitting Cotton storyline, and numerous secret levels that reference other games, including classic Cotton titles.”
“The one story is Cotton's story, and it is entertaining, albeit it does repeat the same 'screaming for candy' scene 6-7 times.”
“There are three difficulty levels: easy, normal, and hard available in story mode where you can enjoy fully voiced event scenes before and after each stage that will liven up your experience.”
“There is only one story.”
“I was under the impression everyone had a story, which is why I bought the game.”
“What's the point in replaying the game if the story never changes?”
- gameplay10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay in "Cotton Rock'n'Roll - Superlative Night Dreams" is praised for its engaging mechanics, offering a mix of classic and innovative shoot 'em up elements. Each character features unique abilities and playstyles, allowing players to experiment and find their preferred approach. The controls are straightforward, enhancing the frantic and fun gameplay loop that fans of the genre will appreciate.
“Each character has their own mechanics and attacks, allowing you to choose from different playstyles and find the right match.”
“The game offers several new shoot 'em up mechanics like Psyvariar's buzz system or Sanvein's time mode while staying true to the iconic Cotton style.”
“Overall, Cotton Rock'n'Roll - Superlative Night Dreams - is an exciting game with a perfect blend of old-school mechanics and new shoot 'em up gameplay.”
“The gameplay is simple with just one lever and two buttons: shoot and special shot.”
“The playable characters each have a very unique play style; for example, there's the traditional Cotton, another that plays a lot like Sine Mora with a time mechanic, and the final boss you can unlock who plays like R-Type with her staff that can be detached and placed in different directions to shoot.”
“I personally like playing as Appli due to the similar gameplay style of 2 and Boomerang, but the other characters are no slouches either.”
- music6 mentions
- 83 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised, with reviewers highlighting the fantastic original soundtrack (OST) that complements the gameplay well, particularly in the cute 'em up genre. The soundtrack is noted for its chaotic energy, enhancing the overall experience and contributing to significant replay value.
“The music is fantastic.”
“The soundtrack is also very good for this kind of cute 'em up.”
“Thumbs up for the excellent OST too and the very distinctive ship variety that adds a significant amount of replay value.”
“The music is definitely way more chaotic than in the first game.”
“I played the PC Engine CD port with the CD soundtrack, and it just doesn't compare to the original arcade version.”
“The soundtrack feels disjointed and lacks the charm of previous entries.”
- optimization5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization appears to be a mixed bag. While it runs smoothly on Proton and can achieve high frame rates on powerful hardware, users report issues with stuttering and frame pacing, particularly when vsync is enabled. There are suggestions for improvements, such as better handling of internal frame rates and resolution scaling, to enhance performance in fast-paced scenarios.
“The Steam Deck, when docked, is capable of getting close to a reported 120fps (can't go higher because of VSync being engaged). When using Special K to force disable VSync, my secondary ITX rig (with an i5-13600K and RX 6700XT) gets close to 700fps being reported, so game optimization clearly isn't an issue.”
“From what I see (even when testing other resolutions), it's entirely plausible (my hypothesis) that the in-game internal resolution is 1920x1080 regardless of the final output resolution. I noticed no difference in performance with anything lower, although this could be moot if it's simply a CPU-bound scenario.”
“Ran flawlessly in Proton, though the performance dipped below 60fps at times.”
“It would be nice if an update released that made the game run internally at the framerate that the overlay shows (even if it's simply interpolating animations and positioning of objects from 60fps), especially as fast-paced games would benefit from clearer motion and less frame pacing issues. Due to how the limiter behaves, you still have visible stuttering with VSync enabled because of the frame skipping phenomenon, especially if your screen refresh rate does not evenly divide by 60.”
“From what I see (even when testing other resolutions), it's entirely plausible (my hypothesis) that the in-game internal resolution is 1920x1080 regardless of the final output resolution, as I noticed no difference in performance with anything lower. Although this could be moot if it's simply a CPU-bound scenario.”
“At least I think it's stuttering; it's nasty whatever it is.”
- graphics5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their high production values and appealing art style, though some users report issues with graphical glitches in the port. While the visuals are considered nice, the overall experience is somewhat marred by these technical problems. Despite this, the game's design and challenge are highlighted as strong points.
“The production values (both audio and graphics) are top notch and professional.”
“You may ignore or embrace the cutesy art style, but one thing that can't be denied about this game is how well designed, fun, and challenging it is; this game is tight!”
“This game runs on my ancient ThinkPad X220 with integrated graphics (I lowered the resolution just in case but still) using Proton, which is a bit mind-boggling.”
“The game itself is fine, but the port has several graphical glitches, like glitchy background sprites in some stages.”
“This game runs on my ancient ThinkPad X220 with integrated graphics (I lowered the resolution just in case but still) using Proton (haven't tried running it on regular Windows yet), which is a bit mind-boggling.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by charming and amusing cutscenes that add to its appeal, though some users criticize the developers for appearing out of touch and prioritizing a quick cash grab with the PC release.
“Tremendously cute and funny cutscenes, with many unlocks that keep the humor fresh.”
“The game hilariously pokes fun at itself, especially with its out-of-touch decisions like only doing a PC release for a quick cash grab.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the high replayability of the game, citing the variety of selectable characters and different modes as key factors. Additionally, the distinctive ship variety and excellent soundtrack contribute to an engaging experience that encourages multiple playthroughs.
“The various selectable characters add more depth to the game, while the different modes provide great replay value.”
“Thumbs up for the excellent OST too, and the very distinctive ship variety that adds a significant amount of replay value.”
“The game lacks meaningful choices, making it hard to find reasons to replay it.”
“Once you've completed the main story, there's little incentive to dive back in.”
“The gameplay feels repetitive after the first playthrough, diminishing its replayability.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is generally stable, but the port suffers from notable graphical glitches, including issues with background sprites in certain stages.
“The game itself is fine, but the port has several graphical glitches, like glitchy background sprites in some stages.”
