STEAMPUNK - Undertale

well, this took me a while to do. half because i needed to complete the game before writing this, half because it's kind of hard to really describe this game to newfolk without spoiling a great deal.

hoo boy

hoooooooo boy

back in 2013, word about a demo for an RPG by the name of Undertale came about. a bloke i knew recommended it to me, saying it seemed like something i'd like since i liked cute monsters and such. i'm not one to turn down anything with cute monsters, so i took a look at the demo. and hoo boy, in that hour-long span, i didn't think i'd end up feeling so much over a demo.

i wasn't able to help fund the kickstarter for Undertale when it came out the same year (i had no idea how to use a credit card until 2014 ok), but i kept watch on the game via twitter and Steam Greenlight and such so i could buy the game when it came out. two years later, just last month, Undertale finally saw release on Steam. and what did i do when i saw it available for purchase?

well okay i actually held off on buying it since i already spent a lot on a copy of Soul Nomad that month, but a pal of mine was kind enough to buy me a copy as their half of an art trade. kudos and shout-out to you, Muno. you're a rad pal. <3

so i guess now i should actually talk about what Undertale actually is, right? developed almost entirely by indie musician Toby "Radiation" Fox, Undertale is a charming role-playing game about a young human kid who falls down a hole while exploring a mysterious mountain. this hole leads to the Underground, where monsters have been trapped following the aftermath of a terrible war between the humans and monsters. what follows is a tale of... well, many feelings. happiness, sadness, fear, love, friendship... and maybe a bit of "what the hell just happened" at points.

i think it goes without saying that i seriously recommend that you grab it off Steam right now if you have the ten bucks to spare or try out the demo for a taste of what to expect. though, it wouldn't be that much of a rec if i didn't explain why i love this game so much, right?

well, if the 98% positive reviews or 97/100 metascore don't convince you, read on. or read on anyway if they do convince you, i dunno. don't worry, this review is spoiler free, and all screencaps used for the review are from the game site page and steam page.

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.