Red Death

About

Red Death is a single player arcade shooter game. It was developed by Panda Indie Studio and was released on March 23, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Red Death is a vertical shooter, Prologue of the series Project Starship!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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76%

Audience ScoreBased on 68 reviews

graphics12 positive mentions

monetization4 negative mentions

The game offers a decent challenge for bullet hell fans, with responsive controls and intricate bullet patterns.
For its low price, the game provides a simple yet engaging experience that can be enjoyable for casual gamers.
The retro aesthetic and chiptune soundtrack contribute to a nostalgic arcade feel, making it appealing to fans of the genre.

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.
The weapon balance is problematic, as players lose their powerful weapons upon dying, making boss fights unnecessarily prolonged and difficult.

graphics
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
50%
10%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a retro pixel art style that some players find charming, though others view it as outdated and lacking depth. While the visuals are generally crisp and the color palette is unique, the absence of resolution options and graphics tweaks limits the overall experience. Despite the appealing aesthetics, many reviewers feel the graphics ultimately feel lackluster and simplistic, failing to elevate the gameplay significantly.
- “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 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.”
- “The trailer looks promising, with a unique color palette aesthetic and interesting enemy sprites.”
- “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.”
gameplay
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
70%
15%
The gameplay combines elements of old-school arcade shooters and modern bullet hell titles, featuring a variety of enemies, mini-bosses, and bosses. While it offers a fun and polished experience, some players find it shallow and criticize the distracting presence of inappropriate text during gameplay. Overall, the mechanics are engaging, but there are calls for improvements, particularly regarding weapon balance and the removal of offensive language.
- “The gameplay seemed to mix old-school arcade shooters with modern bullet hell titles.”
- “The gameplay, apart from the aforementioned weapon balance complaint, is tight and fun.”
- “Through the gameplay, there are normal enemies, special enemies, mini-bosses, and bosses.”
- “While Red Death does offer gameplay like that, it's incredibly shallow.”
- “The text that exists during the gameplay (contains not-so-friendly words) 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.”
story
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
The game's story is criticized for its slow pacing, with non-skippable text and lengthy periods of inactivity that detract from the experience. While some players appreciate the moral lessons and unexpected plot twists revealed by bosses, many find the narrative poorly executed, filled with grammatical errors and unnecessary profanity. Overall, the story is deemed 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.”
- “There isn't much story, but this style of game doesn't need one.”
- “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 poorly constructed story.”
- “In this game, you are commanding the ship Red-001, with no mission explained or any aspect of how the game works.”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
42%
25%
The music in the game is described as a "galactic-like" chiptune soundtrack that is generally enjoyable and non-repetitive, with inspirations from notable soundtracks like Portal 2 and Mega Man. However, some reviewers found it to be dull and listless, suggesting a mixed reception overall. While the soundtrack complements the charming art style, it does not significantly elevate the gameplay experience.
- “The game features a 'galactic-like' chiptune soundtrack.”
- “It doesn't become repetitive throughout the gameplay and has obvious references and inspiration from other masterpiece soundtracks like Portal 2 and Mega Man.”
- “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.”
monetization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The monetization aspect of the game is criticized for lacking in-game purchases, which some players feel reflects a lack of content and polish, leading to perceptions of it being a cash grab or unfinished product. Overall, there is a call for more advertising and content to enhance player engagement.
- “Gamemaker Studio is most commonly used to make retro pixel shovelware and cash grabs.”
- “I don't believe this game is 'finished' and it needs more advertising and content to provide more enjoyment and encourage players to keep playing.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
The reviews indicate that the game has low replayability, despite being a retro-inspired vertical shmup with appealing character and an affordable price.
- “A retro-inspired vertical shmup with a ton of character and replayability that is very light on the wallet.”
- “[*][b][u]Replayability[/u][/b]: low”
- “[*][b][u]Replayability[/u][/b]: low”