Ginga Force
- September 24, 2020
- Qute Corporation
Get on Steam"Ginga Force" is a vertical shoot 'em up game set on the planet Seventia, where pilots battle for scarce resources. Follow the story of Alex and Margaret in a 10-stage Story Mode, or compete in the Score Attack Mode with online leaderboards. Customize your ship's weapons with thousands of possible combinations and face off against unique enemy characters and their Mechas.
Reviews
- Ginga Force offers a rich variety of gameplay mechanics, including ship customization and a forgiving life system that allows players to gradually improve and tackle challenging stages.
- The game features a fantastic soundtrack by Yousuke Yasui, enhancing the overall experience with climactic and engaging music.
- The chapter-based structure and unique stage designs provide a fresh take on the shmup genre, making it accessible for newcomers while still challenging for veterans.
- Visual clarity is often compromised, with bullets blending into the background and explosions obscuring important gameplay elements, leading to frustrating deaths.
- The constant character dialogue during gameplay can be distracting, especially since it is in Japanese and can be difficult to read while dodging bullets.
- The game's difficulty spikes, particularly in later stages, can feel unfair and may require excessive grinding to progress, which can detract from the enjoyment.
- story74 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 84 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story mode features ten missions with a basic and predictable narrative, enhanced by vibrant anime-style characters and voice acting that adds personality. While the story attempts to engage players, it often feels like filler, with some players finding it hard to follow amidst the action. Overall, the story is seen as a decent backdrop for the gameplay, but it may not be the primary draw for those seeking a more substantial narrative experience.
“Each mission has a very unique flavor and associated gimmick to it, which kept me coming back to see what would happen next.”
“I personally adore the anime-style story and Japanese voiceovers strewn throughout the game - they give it so much personality.”
“Honestly one of the, if not the best modern-style shoot 'em up out there, the game brings a lot of innovation in terms of structure to entice the casual audience to get into the genre with its mission-based structure with 10 levels + 2 challenge stages that encourages the player to take the game at their own pace, forgiving life system and an actual story mode that, while pretty basic and predictable, is still good enough so that you will want to see what happens until the end.”
“The story was a little hard to follow as I was trying to read and dodge.”
“Even in the game's arcade mode, the same story is present, so that won't even spare you from it.”
“The story is predictable, mediocre standard fare, just about as nondisagreeable as possible; it feels like it could've been refined better.”
- music39 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 49 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising the contributions of renowned composer Yousuke Yasui for delivering a catchy and climactic soundtrack that enhances the gameplay experience. However, some players find the overall music to be generic or forgettable, particularly when compared to Yasui's previous works. While the soundtrack is generally considered solid and fitting for a shmup, opinions vary on its memorability and impact, with some players opting to mute the in-game music in favor of their own playlists.
“The soundtrack by Yousuke Yasui had me already sold, but as expected from a cute shooter, it is pretty climactic, especially at the end.”
“Combined with the music, which has a few true bangers, the game always feels refreshing to play despite the difficulty.”
“The music by Yousuke Yasui, Shinji Hosoe, and many others is just perfect.”
“The music is absolutely generic and forgettable.”
“My only negative is the music - definitely turn off in-game music and fire up something aggressive on Pandora or Spotify.”
“It is just 8 minutes of torture with an absurd difficulty spike no matter what you're playing on and the music is just... not really music?”
- gameplay35 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay is praised for its mechanical variety, engaging bullet hell mechanics, and extensive ship customization options, making it a standout in the shoot 'em up genre. However, many players find the frequent dialogue and cutscenes distracting, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite its challenging nature, the game offers a rewarding experience with beautiful graphics and well-designed levels, appealing to both casual and hardcore shmup fans.
“A really good bullet hell with a lot of mechanical variety, be it on the player's side (ship parts) or the bosses.”
“Awesome game, if you like shoot 'em ups, this is a good modern adaptation of old school gameplay with modern graphics and gameplay refinements.”
“Gameplay-wise, you equip your ship with various weapons and parts that you can buy and you don't lose anything when you die, and in story mode at least, whenever you get a certain amount of score in the stage you permanently get extra life for that stage, so even if you're bad at shmups you can keep trying until you get enough extra lives to win.”
“The gameplay is unfair.”
“There are way too many conversations during gameplay; not only is it mentally distracting to hear a language I don't know, but not having any time whatsoever to read it is infuriating.”
“What this ultimately amounts to is very annoyingly loud anime characters, distractingly talking over your gameplay with subtitles in the corner, and a handful of really, really overly long cutscenes in between some stages because they had to cram all the exposition somewhere.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the modern 3D visuals and clean design that supports high resolutions and smooth performance, while others criticize the anime aesthetic as lacking in quality and detail. Overall, the visuals are described as flashy and engaging, enhancing the gameplay experience, though some players find the art style and graphical fidelity to be mediocre.
“The 3D graphics look great, fill most of a 16×9 screen while the gameplay remains vertical, and can be run on something as lowly as a 3400g APU while still reaching 4K at 60 fps.”
“It has great, flashy but clear visuals, entertaining voice acting, and tons of replayability.”
“Lame gimmicks, mediocre dialogue that never, ever shuts up, extremely low contrast graphics and what are essentially 'know not to have been anywhere near that side of the screen' QTEs make this very hard to recommend.”
“The graphics are clean but detailed, and the bullet sprites don't blend into the background unlike some other shmups I've played.”
“In this particular game, I think the 'texture' of the soundtrack is kind of at odds with the 3D graphics and anime aesthetic, since it's not particularly a retro game, but that somehow only makes it better.”
- grinding9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players have mixed feelings about the grinding aspect of the game; while some find it necessary for unlocking items and achieving high scores, others feel it becomes tedious, especially in later chapters. The balance of difficulty allows for grinding to be a viable strategy, but it can lead to frustration, particularly when aiming for achievements or extra lives. Overall, grinding is seen as a double-edged sword—providing a path to skill improvement for some, while causing burnout for others.
“I was fine with grinding for extra lives until chapter 9, then I just rage quit.”
“I've spent an extra few hours just grinding for the final Steam achievements for a perfect game, and thus having run through a gamut of weapon and special combos. Several weapons of similar caliber can make for quicker work than others on level 9.”
“This game is actually pretty hard, at least in normal mode, but thanks to the 1-up feature mentioned above, you can eventually get through anything regardless of your skill by sheer grinding alone.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers significant replayability through its multiple weapon and difficulty options, catering to players of various skill levels. However, some users feel the absence of an arcade mode limits its replay value, despite the game's design encouraging repeated play. The combination of smooth performance and abundant content contributes positively to the replay experience.
“It runs butter smooth even at the maximum settings, has a metric ton of replay value due to the multiple weapon options you have available, and the multiple difficulty options means anyone of any skill level can pick it up and have a good time.”
“It has a ton of content and replayability.”
“It has great, flashy but clear visuals, entertaining voice acting, and tons of replayability.”
“Even through all this, I still enjoyed my time with the game, though I don't think it's all that replayable due to the lack of an arcade mode.”
“That's not the kind of 'replay value' that I want in my shmup.”
“It's not that much of an issue because the game is designed for replayability, but it can be frustrating at the moment.”
- stability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game demonstrates excellent stability, performing well on the Steam Deck without any reported issues.
“Runs great on the Steam Deck too!”
“The game maintains a steady frame rate, even during intense action sequences.”
“I haven't experienced any crashes or bugs, which makes for a smooth gaming experience.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky premise, featuring a comedic space cop navigating absurd situations involving a humorous space corporation and a lethal energy source. The storyline blends lightheartedness with unexpected twists, such as teaming up with former villains to thwart an evil boss, creating a playful and entertaining narrative. Overall, the game's humor is a key element that enhances its charm and engagement.
“You're a funny space cop for a hilarious space corporation running a quirky space planet. The planet thrives on mining a glowing rock that's used as an energy source, and you stop evildoers because you're a space cop. Then you find out your boss is actually evil and the glowing rock is lethal to humans. He wants to destroy the world, so you team up with some of the prior 'evildoers' who just wanted to stop him. You beat up the bad guy boss and save the planet.”
“The humor in this game is top-notch! The dialogue is filled with witty one-liners and absurd situations that keep you laughing throughout the adventure.”
“I love how the game blends humor with action! The ridiculous scenarios and over-the-top characters make every mission a joy to play.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers highlight the game's vibrant color palette and overall positive atmospheres, contributing to an engaging and visually appealing experience.
“The game features nice bright colors and creates a captivating atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere is immersive and draws you into the game's world.”
“The vibrant visuals and sound design contribute to an enchanting atmosphere.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is well-optimized, supporting 4K resolution without any performance issues, and features modern, clean 3D graphics.
“The port is great; it supports 4K, has no performance issues for me, and the 3D graphics still look modern and clean.”
