Red Death
- March 23, 2017
- Panda Indie Studio
Get on Steam"Red Death" is a top-down, multiplayer shooter game where players battle it out in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Choose from various classes, each with unique abilities, and fight to be the last one standing in fast-paced, intense matches. With a focus on strategy and skill, "Red Death" offers a challenging and engaging experience for fans of the battle royale genre.
Reviews
- The game offers a decent challenge for bullet hell enthusiasts, making it engaging for players looking to improve their skills.
- For its low price, the game provides a simple yet enjoyable experience with responsive controls and a retro aesthetic.
- Some players found the game to be surprisingly polished and appreciated its charm despite its simplicity.
- The game suffers from technical issues, including crashes and poor graphics quality, which detracts from the overall experience.
- Unskippable dialogue and slow pacing at certain points can lead to frustrating gameplay moments.
- Many players felt the game lacked originality and depth, making it feel generic compared to other titles in the genre.
- graphics15 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a retro pixel art style that some players appreciate for its charm, while others criticize it for being outdated and lacking customization options. The visuals feature a limited color palette and a simple aesthetic that, despite being appealing and clear, may feel empty or lack depth to some players. Overall, the graphics are functional and distinct, but opinions vary on their overall impact and quality.
“Red Death ticks a lot of boxes for this shmup fan; it has a four-tone color palette, retro-style pixel graphics, and a punishing difficulty that will keep you coming back for more :-)”
“The trailer looks promising, with a unique color palette aesthetic and interesting enemy sprites.”
“The graphics are simple, yet crisp and appealing, and I never once lost track of my ship in the swarm of enemy bullets, despite the fact that there was a lot of red on the screen at one time.”
“A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel art as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
“There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
“While as far as graphics and a few pattern designs go, Red Death does a decent job, it overall feels lackluster, like it's empty.”
- gameplay10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay combines elements of old-school arcade shooters and modern bullet hell mechanics, offering a mix of normal enemies, special foes, and bosses. While it features engaging and polished mechanics, some players find it shallow and marred by distracting text elements and weapon balance issues. Overall, the gameplay is described as tight and enjoyable, though some aspects, like the use of profanity, detract from its overall presentation.
“The gameplay seemed to mix old-school arcade shooters with modern bullet hell titles.”
“Through the gameplay, there are normal enemies, special enemies, mini-bosses, and bosses.”
“The gameplay, apart from the aforementioned weapon balance complaint, is tight and fun.”
“While Red Death does offer gameplay like that, it's incredibly shallow.”
“The text that exists during the gameplay is impossible to disappear without pressing escape or enter, leaving the player in a state of looking randomly for the right keys to make the action.”
“I hope the dev takes out the cursing because it detracts from an otherwise fine game by making it appear more amateurish than it otherwise might, based on the otherwise fine presentation, polish, and gameplay.”
- story7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's story is criticized for its slow pacing, with non-skippable text and lengthy periods of inactivity detracting from the experience. While some players appreciate the moral themes and unexpected plot twists revealed by bosses, others find the narrative poorly executed, plagued by spelling and grammatical errors, and lacking clarity in its mission. Overall, the story is seen as minimal and not essential to the gameplay.
“Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“The little plot twists, as revealed by the bosses, were a fun and welcome surprise.”
“Non-skippable text and a point in the story where you're literally sitting still for like 5 minutes straight with nothing happening really slows down the experience.”
“But as the game attempts to present a narrative throughout the levels, there's nothing you can do to skip the spelling errors, grammatical errors, egregiously unnecessary profanity, and a stupid story.”
“In this game, you are commanding the ship Red-001, with no mission explained or any aspect of how the game works.”
- music6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as a charming chiptune soundtrack that complements the gameplay without becoming repetitive, drawing inspiration from notable titles like Portal 2 and Mega Man. While some reviews note that the soundtrack is decent, others find it dull and lacking in variety, suggesting a mixed reception overall.
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“A simple bullet hell with a charming art style and a decent soundtrack.”
“The game features a 'galactic-like' chiptune soundtrack.”
“Enemy design is limited, bullet patterns are predictable, the framerate drops to a chug every few seconds, the music is dull and listless, and there are only three levels.”
“The game is a 'galactic-like' chiptune soundtrack.”
“A simple bullet hell with a charming art style and decent soundtrack.”
- monetization3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is criticized for lacking in-game purchases and being perceived as unfinished, with users suggesting that more content and advertising are needed to enhance player engagement and enjoyment.
“The game offers a fair monetization model with no in-game purchases, allowing players to enjoy the full experience without spending extra money.”
“I appreciate that there are no hidden costs or paywalls; everything is accessible through gameplay.”
“The absence of in-game purchases makes it refreshing to play without the pressure to spend money.”
“Gamemaker Studio is most commonly used to make retro pixel shovelware and cash grabs.”
“I don't believe this game is 'finished' and does need more advertising and content to provide more enjoyment and encourage players to keep playing.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers low replayability, despite being a retro-inspired vertical shmup with a lot of character and an affordable price.
“A retro-inspired vertical shmup with a ton of character and replayability that is very light on the wallet.”
“Replayability: low”
“A retro-inspired vertical shmup with a ton of character but very low replayability.”
