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LUFTRAUSERS

“Vlambeer delivers bullet-hell shmup action with a twist in its sepia-toned Steampunk wargame, Luftrausers.”
85%Game Brain Score
music, gameplay
story, grinding
91% User Score Based on 3,336 reviews
Critic Score 79%Based on 19 reviews

Platforms

MOMac OSPCPCPhoPhoneWinWindowsAndAndroidLinLinuxMPMobile PlatformPlaPlayStationP3Playstation 3PVPlaystation VitaTabTablet
Buy Nowfrom $1.79
Buy NowGet on Steam€1.95

About

"LUFTRAUSERS" is a single-player arcade game with awesome gameplay, ingenious graphics, and a perfect soundtrack. Customize your Rauser with over 125 deadly combinations, and take to the skies for epic battles against enemy planes and ships. With hilarious moments, lots of grinding, and high replayability, this game will keep you entertained for hours. Be aware of some bugs, but they don't detract from the overall experience.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot

91%
Audience ScoreBased on 3,355 reviews
music390 positive mentions
story29 negative mentions
  • music
    759 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in "Luftrausers" is widely praised for its dynamic and adaptive nature, changing based on the player's aircraft customization, which enhances the gameplay experience. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack's ability to evoke excitement and intensity, with each combination of parts creating a unique musical composition that complements the fast-paced action. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal and replayability.

    • “The music is a relentless, driving soundtrack that matches the intensity of the gameplay, and keeps you pushing for higher scores and bigger explosions.”
    • “The way the game soundtrack changes with your rauser is such an amazing and creative idea - on top of sounding really good!”
    • “Each combination has its own name and its own music, making the gameplay feel fresh and exciting every time.”
    • “The soundtrack is barebones; there's one song which is 'remixed' depending on which plane parts you're using, which is a lazy, albeit creative way of getting around making an actual soundtrack.”
    • “The music is made up of a universal part and three parts that are assigned to each part of your ship-- in other words the music has a very large chance of being disjointed and offputting, not around long enough to stick in your head, and, worst of all, gimmicky.”
    • “The music that blares through the speakers every time you die is ridiculously repetitive, almost unbearable.”
  • gameplay
    634 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Luftrausers is characterized by its fast-paced, addictive arcade style, featuring smooth controls and a unique customization system that allows players to mix and match various plane parts, significantly altering their playstyle. While the core mechanics are simple and easy to grasp, the game offers a challenging experience that encourages skill mastery and replayability, though some players note that the gameplay can become repetitive over time. The dynamic soundtrack enhances the experience, adapting to the player's chosen configurations, making each run feel fresh and engaging.

    • “The gameplay is incredibly fun and addicting, the gameplay is smooth and top notch, and once you pick it up, you can never put it back down until you've sunk hundreds of ships and jets; it's insane just how refined this game is compared to its flash-based predecessor.”
    • “The gameplay is simple yet clever and addictive. The upgrades create different kinds of gameplay, allowing for tons of different encounters and situations.”
    • “The gameplay is fast-paced and intense, as you rack up points and gracefully weave in and out of gunfire.”
    • “The gameplay is really simple: boost around & shoot anything that moves.”
    • “The gameplay gets stale after about 20 minutes though.”
    • “The gameplay is the same from the start to the time you stop playing.”
  • story
    370 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features a minimalistic story, primarily revolving around completing various missions to unlock new aircraft parts, with little to no narrative depth or progression. Players engage in a series of missions that range from simple to frustratingly difficult, often relying on random chance for success, which can lead to a repetitive and grindy experience. Overall, the lack of a substantial storyline is noted as a downside, but the gameplay remains engaging for those who enjoy arcade-style action and customization.

    • “Luftrausers is a surprisingly addictive game; for how simple it is, fly superpowered airplanes, kill lots of enemies, hope to complete mission objectives, die, unlock new parts, repeat.”
    • “The missions keep things fresh as you advance through the game, but overall the concept is simple - shoot everything in sight and achieve the high score.”
    • “There is use of a mission system which gives a little more meaning behind the carnage, and completing these allows you to unlock new features for your plane, and each of these features does a good job of changing the feel, without causing you to relearn the game.”
    • “The story doesn't progress, so we can only imagine the details and personalities of the charming pixel art portraits wishing us luck on our next suicide mission.”
    • “There is no exact defined goal, except to do missions, level up, and upgrade your hangar (which unlocks more things you can equip).”
    • “If you're looking for 'story', 'levels' or 'dialogue', you won't be getting it here.”
  • graphics
    335 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of "Luftrausers" are characterized by a minimalist, retro aesthetic that effectively complements its fast-paced gameplay. The sepia-toned visuals and pixel art style are praised for their clarity and distinctiveness, enhancing the overall arcade experience while evoking nostalgia for classic games. While some players find the graphics simplistic, many appreciate their charm and how they contribute to the game's unique atmosphere and engaging mechanics.

    • “The sepia-toned graphics give it a unique, vintage look that stands out in the sea of modern, overly-polished games.”
    • “Luftrausers nails the retro arcade style's visuals, sound, and controls.”
    • “The graphics are simple, yet suit the game perfectly, displaying all the information you need to know without cluttering the onscreen spectacle.”
    • “The graphics are very poor.”
    • “The monotone graphics while supposedly a feature just make it harder to see what's going on and do little to disguise the poor graphics hiding under the excuse of 'retro'.”
    • “It's like they made this at some code day in about 24 hours, then slapped a very basic UI and some hired-gun graphics on it and then called it done, frankly, with no further follow-through to improve the core balance of the design.”
  • replayability
    95 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers high replayability through its extensive customization options, allowing players to mix and match different plane parts, which significantly alters gameplay styles. While many players find the initial hours engaging, some note that the excitement can diminish over time, with a few suggesting that the game may not sustain long-term interest beyond a few sessions. Overall, it combines addictive mechanics, varied challenges, and a simple yet effective arcade style, making it a solid choice for quick, replayable fun.

    • “The replayability of the game is also high, with various achievements and challenges to complete, and different planes to unlock and customize, and a multiplayer mode to compete against others.”
    • “The interchanging possible segments of your ship (the weapon, the body, and the propulsion) along with the unique names, themes, and benchmark goals for each combination, gives the game a sort of infinite replayability.”
    • “Luftrausers is an amazing game with constant replayability, simply from the sheer difficulty of it.”
    • “While I have a lot of praise for this game, it does lack in long-term replayability due to the nature of some of the harder enemies being a bit of a chore to deal with, like the blimp.”
    • “The gameplay is tight and quite fun, but it unfortunately gets old pretty quickly, and 'challenges' such as destroying a set number of planes or ships do little to add to replayability.”
    • “Despite its simple graphics and gameplay, this little game has a lot of character and replay value.”
  • grinding
    32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, particularly as missions become increasingly difficult and require extensive grinding for upgrades and achievements. While some enjoy the initial fun and addictive nature of the gameplay, they often feel that the experience devolves into a monotonous loop, making it less enjoyable over time. Overall, the progression system is criticized for being overly grindy, leading to frustration, especially for completionists.

    • “To kill a blimp, for example, you need to do the same tedious fly-by maneuver like 50 times to destroy it since it has an extreme amount of health.”
    • “You have to kill certain enemies for some missions, so it's unavoidable and pipes you into an unfun gameplay loop where the way forward gets increasingly restrictive in a very tedious and grindy way.”
    • “The missions start out simple, but quickly get tedious, annoying, and often luck-based; as such, I would not recommend this game for hardcore completionists.”
  • humor
    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is widely appreciated, with players finding it both funny and engaging, particularly through clever weapon names and absurd gameplay mechanics. While some users feel the humor may not resonate with everyone, the overall consensus is that the game delivers a hilarious and enjoyable experience, enhanced by its quirky design and fast-paced action. Despite some critiques regarding its simplicity and price, many recommend it for its entertaining and comedic elements.

    • “Game has a good sense of humor and excellent shoot'em up satisfaction.”
    • “The different weapon/engine/body options keep the gameplay more than fresh and each combination even gets its own funny little name.”
    • “Luftrauser is a very funny game that I would recommend to anyone.”
  • stability
    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, including issues with the spawn editor, controller support, and frequent mini freezes that disrupt gameplay. Many players experience frustrating glitches that hinder progress, such as challenges not registering correctly and performance issues on different platforms, particularly on Mac. While some users report no problems, the overall consensus highlights significant stability concerns that detract from the gaming experience.

    • “However on the store page it says 'full controller support' but it is buggy and the developer does not seem to either care or be aware of it, despite there being some community threads about this issue.”
    • “The last few missions in the game you'll be doing are akin to playing a really frustrating, untested, confusing and buggy slot machine.”
    • “However when I tried to install the game on my gaming rig later that day, the game would not even get past the opening screen without one of about a million different variations of glitches taking over, making it impossible for me to even start flying a plane.”
  • atmosphere
    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a unique blend of early-20th century dieselpunk aesthetics, sepia-toned graphics, and a nostalgic 8-bit soundtrack that evokes the feel of classic arcade games. Reviewers praise the coherent audiovisual design and engaging industrial music, which enhance the overall experience, although some express mixed feelings about the aesthetic choices. While the atmosphere is described as captivating and immersive, it can also be intense, making it a memorable yet potentially overwhelming experience.

    • “A high-octane, adrenaline-fueled arcade game with an early-20th century dieselpunk atmosphere in which you build insanely impractical planes and take to the sepia skies!”
    • “Between the old-timey, sepia-colored graphics and the grimy-sounding industrial music, Luftrausers boasts one very unique atmosphere that I've never seen elsewhere.”
    • “The graphics and setting are stellar, and really add to the insane atmosphere.”
    • “I wouldn't advise spending too much time in Luftrausers' spiteful atmosphere, but it's certainly worth a tour.”
    • “Soundtrack is almost entirely made of 8-bit style noises, which increases the nostalgic atmosphere from 80's arcade games.”
    • “My philosophy on this is that there are some instances in which a game may not necessarily have that much in the way of gameplay (take Amnesia for example), but the story/atmosphere/whatever it may be is reason enough to pick it up.”
  • optimization
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues such as stuttering and freeze-frame effects, which detract from the overall experience. While a few users report smooth gameplay without glitches, the intentional stuttering during damage events has been criticized for being frustrating and lacking an option to disable it. Despite these issues, the game offers depth through customizable parts that can enhance performance in combat.

    • “And major-minor props to the developers for adding performance statistics.”
    • “However, it has more depth than most games of that type thanks to a range of interchangeable parts that greatly affect your rauser's performance in combat.”
    • “- I have personally never experienced any glitches or performance issues.”
    • “The exaggerated freeze-frame effect occasionally leads to stuttering gameplay.”
    • “Fun enough game, but the intentionally stuttery performance (read: the game literally stops for a short moment when things damage you) is absolutely unjolly and there's no option to turn it off.”
    • “Just stick to the creamy tan of paper folders and stark red of dried blood-- your performance in this bullet hell will both be better in most cases and will give you a lot less eye strain.”
  • emotional
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional responses to the game are mixed; while some players experienced disappointment and a lack of narrative depth, others found moments of joy and heartbreak through gameplay mechanics. Notably, certain challenges elicited strong emotional reactions, ranging from laughter to tears, highlighting the game's ability to evoke feelings despite its simplistic design. Overall, the emotional engagement varies significantly among players, with some finding it deeply affecting and others feeling detached.

    • “Vlambeer made me cry with the 25,000 points mission.”
    • “The different loadouts make it hilariously fun, and the random mode can lead you to fun or heartbreaking surprises.”
    • “Sfmt mode made me cry in the corner out of sheer terror.”

79%Critics’ scoreBased on 19 critic reviews

Buy LUFTRAUSERS

5h Median play time
10h Average play time
3-18h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 14 analyzed playthroughs

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