Drainus

Though if you’ve any affection for the genre, or any love for the likes of Darius and Gradius, then there’s really no reason to wait until then. Drainus has a silly name and a few small frustrations, but that doesn’t stop it delivering the same heart-soaring spectacle and sharp, satisfying action that makes the greats soar. This might fall just short of being one of them, but it’s an exquisite shooter all the same.

Team Ladybug is really demonstrating its programming expertise with Drainus. It's both dangerous and brave to attempt a shooting game on the scale of Gradius V or Einhander, yet for the most part, the developer pulls it off in convincing fashion. It's not entirely perfect, arguably overly easy, and various aspects will sit better with some players than others. But, at the very least, it's a spectacular sci-fi action epic that constantly evolves, creates, and showboats. To that end, Drainus will land well with both hardcore and casual players alike.

If you could only play one modern shoot 'em up, I would recommend Drainus. It’s accessible to all types of gamers, plays great, looks stunning, and features a combination of elements that were beloved in older shooters. It also blends Japanese and Western approaches to the genre. And despite all that, it never loses its originality.

It's a polished, fun, and very interesting game from many perspectives. It's definitely impressive and demonstrates the team's full potential, giving me a lot of hope for their next game. Despite the harsh criticism in the last paragraph, I've played all of the company's games (even the promotional Fate/Stay Night) and I feel a tremendous affection for KROBON's career. My excessive criticism comes from a place of legitimate admiration and expectation, so I hope the reader still leaves with the following information: Drainus is a spectacular game, and worth your money.

DRAINUS is a very high quality shoot'em up that shows very well the level of experiences of the genre available on the market. With a mechanical proposal that values the player's strategic effort and good variety in the design of stages and bosses, the game is guaranteed fun.

The lack of unlockables is unfortunate, but the number of upgrades you can open up and attach to your ship does allow for some neat customization. Another slight issue is that because the power-ups you collect allow you to take extra hits, you become something of a sitting duck after losing a life during a boss fight, with no way to reactivate your power-ups and thus build up your arsenal and your "life meter." While it'd be great to see online leaderboards and more content added down the road, I'd still recommend DRAINUS to fans of the genre and–given the manageable challenge it offers–even newcomers looking to try one of these for the first time.

DRAINUS is a top-notch shoot 'em up thanks to its clever combo of bullet-absorbing fun and satisfying upgrade deployment. I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys some good old-fashioned arcade shooting action with a couple of modern twists.

Taking you on a somewhat unusual and highly political journey back to Wonderland mixing strategy and storytelling

The best 2D shooter for several years and a fantastic homage to the genre, with some of the best pixel art graphics of the year.

DRAINUS merges classic elements and unique ideas to create an impressive shoot 'em up. The mechanics of absorbing enemy shots bring dynamism to the stages, which have several creative and varied moments. In addition, the setting stands out with a stylish look and breathtaking imposing scenes. At times the challenge is low and there is not much content, but the general care of the title's production compensates for these problems. In the end, DRAINUS is an unmissable experience.