Archvale

Archvale is a triumphant bullet-hell/RPG genre mashup. Although you could argue its similarity to one or two recent releases, it trumps the competition with incredibly slick combat, simple and satisfying progression, and varied environments and enemies. The difficulty ramps up heavily as you progress to the later levels, so the inability to change difficulty on-the-fly may prove a bit of an issue for some players. Push through, however, and you'll find Archvale to be one of the most satisfying twin-stick games available right now.

Probably only best for those seeking a cooperative experience or competent bullet hell.

Archvale is a fantastic genre hybrid, easily merging the shooter and RPG elements together to create a ridiculously playable adventure.

Archvale does succeed in its unique genre mashup, but not overwhelmingly so.

The tight controls and frantic gameplay were what continued to draw me back time and time again.

In the list of games that marked my 2021, Archvale has certainly secured its place by delivering a breathtaking bullet hell experience. Even with some problems, the title is a delight to venture, especially considering its intense combat, extensive explorations, tactical variety and wide freedom. Given all this, there is no way not to be enchanted by the glories of this experience, which may seem small at first, but which in a few moments already proves to be beyond epic.

This is just one of those titles that’s hard to describe in a way that gives it justice, a sort of retro-looking twin-stick slasher/shooter adventure that has some RPG elements, and will involve you needing to periodically do some intense dodging...

Archvale is an enjoyable, taxing little adventure with as much mirth in its heart as malice.

There’s some merit in spending an hour or so dodging projectiles and dinging away at a half-dozen moving health bars, but Archvale would be immeasurably improved with more depth of content and character customization. A pure shoot ‘em up may not necessarily require those ingredients to flourish, but an action-heavy RPG definitely does, even one with such a pint-sized cute presentation. As it stands, Archvale poses some entertaining distractions for compulsive bullet-dodgers, but it could have been so much more.

Archvale is a fun, charming bullet hell with some incredibly enjoyable combat. It's also a satisfying role-playing game on its own, with tons of satisfying progression.