STEAMPUNK - LUFTRAUSERS

sometimes a game i rec merits one of those long-winded sort of forewords like i did with my Conker rec; how it stands out to me, a few general opening thoughts on it and games like it, and why i like it amongst other wordy things.

however, i won't be doing that today. namely since this is more in-depth than a standard rec of mine, so most of the wordiness will come from further in. aaaand there's not much i can open on outside of "i friggin' LOVE bullet hell shmups" as far as this game's concerned. so with that out of the way, welcome to STEAMPUNK, a new segment dedicated to reviews of Steam games i particularly like despite being named after an aesthetic i'm not all that fond of.

yeah. anyhow, let's talk Luftrausers.

developed by Vlambeer, Luftrausers is a arcade-esque shoot-em-up (shmup) game featuring multi-directional movement (as opposed to just being top-scrolling or side-scrolling like in other shmups), and gameboy-like graphical aesthetic, and customizable fighter planes. by completing missions, you can unlock more weapons, plane bodies, and engines that change how your plane functions.

and in line with bullet hell games like DoDonPachi and Touhou, it is and will get very hard. though if that sort of thing is your cup of tea, keep reading.

Luftrausers is as simplistic in its basic gameplay as its graphical style. launch off into the skies and take down any enemy aircraft (and seacraft) you come across, all while dodging their fire. if you get hit, you won't blow up immediately; your plane has a health gauge (a circle around you that shrinks as you get hit), and if you stop firing your own weapons, you'll regain health. if you get shot down, then... well, you can just launch off again.

simple, right? the control scheme is also pretty simple, if a bit tricky to get used to initially. control stick or directional keys to move your plane, and your fire button/key to fire. while the controls are simplistic, it's not a case of "press that key to go on that direction"; left and right on your keys/stick rotates your plane, and pressing up will propel you in that direction. the movement in this game is also based on momentum, so that should be taken note of as well.

that being said, the control scheme isn't bad, just a bit weird to get used to initially. personally, i'd recommend using keyboard controls, but analog control on a gamepad or joystick is doable once you settle into it.

as mentioned before, a primary feature of Luftrausers is the variety of unlockable parts you can use to customize your plane. missions range from sinking several boats in one game, killing enough planes without missing, scoring high enough, and quite a lot more. complete enough, and you'll get a spiffy new engine. or body. or weapon. kinda depends, really.

weapons focus on offensive ability, with things like spread fire, high-power cannons, and lasers. different plane bodies offer defensive abilities such as higher armor, dropping bombs while firing, and even blowing up upon death. engines mostly focus on speed and some other benefits, such as a waterproofing propellor, a high-power superbooster, and an antigravity hover engine.

oh, and there's also a engine that fires bullets as you accelerate.

swapping your plane's parts will change what missions you're able to do for your next run, so you might need to swap out certain parts with others to make completing them more easier (or harder, if you're really masochistic). changing parts also alters the chiptune-y music that plays during gameplay, and each combination of parts has a unique name. reason i mention that last bit is because there's a plane called "Batman". i'll leave you to figure out what combination gives that name.

each standard run starts out relatively easy, but as you shoot down more foes, things will start getting more frantic. more enemy types will show themselves as you rank up kills: jets zoom by, huge battleships focus fire on you, and hard-to-kill aces will try to send you out of the sky. oh yeah, and good luck trying to take down a blimp. different combinations of parts will require you to use different strategies for navigation, attacking, and how to approach certain foes.

despite the difficulty, it's easy to pick it up and play again if you get killed. as said before, if one combination of parts doesn't work out for you after a few runs, try swapping pieces and giving it another try. some missions might also take a few tries to complete, so you don't have to complete everything in one go.

'course, just because it's easy to go back doesn't mean the game itself is easy, but it does help.

arguably the game's greatest strength is it's replay value. outside of the plane parts, there's also bonus color schemes, ranks, and achievements you can unlock by finishing mission lines for certain parts or scoring high enough. there's also leaderboards if you want to try to push yourself hard enough to be like the best pilots. and if you thought the standard mode was hectic enough, there's also a really hard SFMT mode in case you're really feeling masochistic.

so yeah, there's quite a bit to do, and the addictive nature of the game does help keep you reeled in for a while. getting all the plane parts might take an hour or two depending on how quickly you beat missions and learn the tricks behind getting them done easier, but getting all the missions completed will take quite some while longer. especially if you're wanting to tackle the SFMT missions.

that being said, while i wouldn't say Luftrausers is worth the 10-dollar price tag on steam, i'd very much recommend picking it up on sale if it seems like it'd catch your fancy. give it a shot if you like bullet hell shmups but wouldn't mind trying out something different than the usual top/side-scrolling formula. it's pretty easy to get into and a ton of fun to play if you're into the genre, but super hard and super satisfying to master.

good luck and have fun, fellow pilot. and i probably missed out on an opportunity to shoehorn some sort of pun on being "a-raused" or something. dang it.

ah well. there'll be more installments of STEAMPUNK in the near future. we have a steam group if you're interested in joining or want to follow our curator section for any future reviews. anyhow, hope you enjoyed the review, and hats off to you if you decide to give the game a shot. best of luck and stay rad, folks. <3