Graceful Explosion Machine

About

Graceful Explosion Machine is a single player arcade shooter game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Vertex Pop and was released on August 8, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

Graceful Explosion Machine is a challenging side-scrolling arcade shooter, where you pilot the advanced GEM fighter with a powerful quad-weapon array. Fight through hordes of aliens across vividly colored planets, and perfect your combo system to climb the leaderboards in Score Attack mode. The game offers stunning visuals, a synthesizer-driven soundtrack, and encourages replayability with extensive statistics and rankings.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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81%

Audience ScoreBased on 27 reviews

gameplay9 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

Graceful Explosion Machine features a satisfying and innovative weapon system that encourages strategic gameplay and combo juggling.
The game boasts vibrant, colorful graphics and smooth controls, making it visually appealing and easy to pick up for players of all skill levels.
It offers a high replay value with its score-based mechanics and leaderboards, appealing to both casual players and score-chasers alike.

The gameplay can become repetitive, with levels feeling similar and lacking significant variety in enemies and challenges.
Some players have reported awkward controls and camera movement that can lead to frustration during gameplay.
The game is relatively short, with some feeling that it doesn't provide enough content to justify its price, especially for those not interested in high scores.

gameplay
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
45%
14%
The gameplay of "Graceful Explosion Machine" is characterized by its addictive, fast-paced mechanics and tight controls, making it accessible for both casual and hardcore players. While the simplistic design and scoring system may lack depth, the innovative weapon mechanics and evolving challenges provide a compelling experience reminiscent of classic arcade shooters. The game's eye-catching visuals and fluid gameplay enhance its replay value, making it a standout title in the shmup genre.
- “That said, I'm not usually one to try and get all the top scores, and I still found the campaign's fast-paced gameplay to be addictive and satisfying.”
- “Its fantastic gameplay mechanics, interesting enemies and situations, great music, and tight controls make this one a real gem of a shmup.”
- “Eye-catching visuals and extremely fine-tuned gameplay combine to make this a memorable and compelling experience for anybody looking to get into a faster-paced, action-focused game.”
- “Designy looking shmup with tedious gameplay.”
- “Checking out some gameplay videos, nothing major seems to happen as the levels progress.”
- “A strong visual style is alluring but the simplistic gameplay and somewhat finicky controls makes for a more mediocre than graceful time.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
42%
25%
The game's graphics are widely praised for their aesthetic appeal, featuring playful, angular designs and bright, minimalist visuals that enhance the fast-paced gameplay. While the artwork is clean and eye-catching, some users experienced technical issues, such as frame rate caps and graphics tearing, particularly when the game defaults to integrated graphics. Overall, the combination of fluid visuals and engaging mechanics contributes to a memorable gaming experience.
- “The playful, angular graphics are a treat.”
- “Its fluid, addictive gameplay and flashy yet minimal visuals pair well with a variety of challenging enemies, and it’s great for sessions lasting for a few minutes or a couple of hours.”
- “Eye-catching visuals and extremely fine-tuned gameplay combine to make this a memorable and compelling experience for anybody looking to get into a faster-paced, action-focused game.”
- “According to the developer, the game always runs with VSync on, yet the frame rate caps at 120 instead of 60 on my 60Hz laptop, and occasionally the graphics tear up a little while the game loses the ability to recognize my controls for like half a second.”
- “The game defaults to integrated graphics, which made my laptop 10°C hotter than it should be. Forcing discrete graphics with the NVIDIA control panel solves the problem, but I think this issue deserves to be mentioned and should be avoided by the developers in the first place.”
- “The game defaults to integrated graphics, which made my laptop 10°C hotter than it should be. Forcing discrete graphics with the NVIDIA control panel solves the problem, but I think this issue deserves to be mentioned and should be avoided by the developers in the first place.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
83%
17%
The music in the game is consistently praised for its quality, enhancing the overall experience with vibrant and engaging compositions that complement the gameplay. Reviewers highlight it as a standout feature alongside the game's mechanics and visuals, contributing to a fun and immersive atmosphere.
- “Its fantastic gameplay mechanics, interesting enemies and situations, great music, and tight controls make this one a real gem of a shmup.”
- “The vibrant colors and the background music, along with the simplistic yet deep controls, make for a fun experience on and off the road.”
- “Great music and HD rumble implementation, intense 2D shooting action.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game offers substantial replayability through its focus on perfecting levels, achieving high scores, and competing on leaderboards. Innovative mechanics, fluid gameplay, and engaging bonus levels enhance the experience, making it a fun arcade shooter that encourages players to return for more challenges even after completing the initial playthrough.
- “All in all, Graceful Explosion Machine does what it advertises, offering a fun arcade shooter experience with a significant amount of replay value after you finish your first go-round with the game.”
- “There's the replayability factor as well if you're interested in perfecting the levels and getting high scores.”
- “That being said, the real draw of the game is the replayable rankings and leaderboards, and attempting to get those perfect runs on each stage.”
- “All in all, Graceful Explosion Machine does what it advertises, offers a fun arcade shooter experience, with a significant amount of replay value after you finish your first go-round with the game.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is criticized for its tedious grinding gameplay, featuring only four weapons and repetitive mechanics throughout. While there is some minor variety in enemies as players progress, the overall experience is described as boring and overly grindy, akin to a low-budget student project.
- “You will use the same 4 weapons the entire time, using the same techniques to clear those waves. As you progress, some small variety in enemy types or quantities can be noticed. This is the most grindy and boring shmup I have ever played, and I would be okay with that if it was a student project sold for a few bucks on Steam.”
- “Designy looking shmup with tedious gameplay?”
story
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
The story in "Graceful Explosion Machine" is minimal and not the focus of the game, featuring only ten missions with repetitive objectives and a simple premise. Players seeking a deep narrative or character development will be disappointed, as the game prioritizes gameplay over storytelling, delivering a tight and addictive arcade experience instead.
- “Those looking for a deep storyline and rich characterization will have to look elsewhere, but to expect that from Graceful Explosion Machine would be missing the point; this is a respectful modern take on the twitch arcade gaming of yesteryear, and in concentrating purely on its gameplay, it offers a tight and addictive experience.”
- “The story is repetitive, with 10 missions that all have the same objective, and the only change is a new 'map' that is just a different color.”
- “The narrative lacks depth and creativity, making it feel like a chore to progress through the missions.”
- “I found the storyline to be uninspired and predictable, failing to engage me throughout the gameplay.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Overall, users report that the game runs smoothly, with impressive visuals and responsive controls, indicating a high level of stability.
- “Runs great, looks great, controls great.”
- “The game maintains a smooth performance even during intense action sequences.”
- “I haven't experienced any crashes or bugs, which makes for a very stable gaming experience.”

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79%Critics’ scoreBased on 17 critic reviews

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3h Median play time

3h Average play time

3-3h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Graceful Explosion Machine is a arcade shooter game with science fiction theme.

Graceful Explosion Machine is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and others.

On average players spend around 3 hours playing Graceful Explosion Machine.

Graceful Explosion Machine was released on August 8, 2017.

Graceful Explosion Machine was developed by Vertex Pop.

Graceful Explosion Machine has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its replayability.

Graceful Explosion Machine is a single player game.

Similar games include Nex Machina, Hell is Other Demons, Assault Android Cactus, XenoRaptor, Monolith and others.

Graceful Explosion Machine

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A shooting star to break the mold: Graceful Explosion Machine review

"Without a solid hook, it's likely to leave your mind as quickly as it arrived"