Reviews for DN8

[IndigoFenix]

Unappreciated effort, it appears...

While good as a bullet hell game, it seems as though some of the unique aspects of the game don't really get a chance to shine - there's too much going on to notice the enemy sprites or the variable soundtrack. The backgrounds were interesting and looked difficult to make, but wind up being either distracting or ignored. On the plus side, it is interesting to create a game that, by allowing you to take different evolutionary pathways, forces you to adopt different playstyles depending on the path you choose. One complaint I have is that the HUD display can easily get in the way, especially on later levels where you need all the dodge room you can get, but it's easy to get trapped behind the display and not be able to see what you're doing. Altogether a well-made game, but it seems like some of its features might be better used elsewhere.

[pinballwizard420]

Good but short

Game was challenging, fun, and replayable, but a bit short and some levels were recycled.

[LesuneFrost]

Change the Backgrounds.

Overall, this is great. not overly hard, fun to play. Until you get the the backgrounds.
Those to be honest, are annoying. It's hard to see any of the enemy lines, and the 15th level espcially was really bad, as i felt ill just looking at it moving.
Fix the backgrounds! Then i can finish the game.

[ThunderBird89]

A Challenger Appears!

Very good game, especially the mutations. The soundtrack fits, getting you into the mood quickly, and the spoken notifications are another nice touch. The graze mechanics is a refreshing addition as well.
However, I did not like that there are two distinct paths to choose from, offense and defense. A free-form approach, where the player can mix and match mutations, would probably suit the theme better. Keyboard controls would also be nice, as an alternative schema. Also, the graze detection is very punishing, requiring the player to stray dangerously close to the bullets. A little wider margin would make this much easier, but would also detract from the risk of the maneuver.

The difficulty of the game is right up there, but nowhere near the king of the genre, the Touhou series, but the sheer number of bullets on screen is considerably less, making this somewhat easier.

Squize responds:

Thanks for the review.
So many people have mentioned Touhou that I've really got to play some of them ( I looked it up on youTube after the first couple of comparisons, it does look mental ).
With grazing there are certain ways to "cheat" the system, some bosses you can take advantage of and really build up your lives.

[Bmage2290]

Open up the screen.

Overall it wasn't bad. First few levels were a bit odd, but it helped to explain the game. Would have loved a story to go along with what was happening and the ability to use keys instead of a mouse and more variety of music.

One thing I would like to see changed is that you can use the full screen to move. That was perhaps the most annoying aspect for me in this game, is whenever I'd have to dodge near the top of the screen I'd slam into an invisible wall by the scores. The bottom allows you to move beyond the combo/redrum, so it felt a bit odd having the top blocked off.

Overall it was fun and different style of bullet hell, granted a bit on the tamer side. The upgrade system is a good idea and has potential to keep people playing to find the best combination of upgrades for them.