Godstrike

Godstrike in many ways feels like an early access game. There are glimpses of a better game in here somewhere, but the overall unpolished feel of its design and presentation really drag down the otherwise solid controls. Revising (or removing) the time mechanic and honing in on a more distinctive art style could've made this one a tentative recommendation but, as it stands, that's impossible. If you want a good boss rush game with similar gameplay, we'd recommend you pick up Furi; if you're looking for a good shmup, there's no shortage of those to be found on Switch. Either way, we wouldn't bother with this one unless you've exhausted all other options.

While the short run-time of around two to three hours isn't inherently the root of the problem, one can't help but note Godstrike is in dire need of a better, fleshed out experience than the one provided.

Godstrike combines bullet hell and boss rush in an unusual way, without adding any other elements to make everything more complex. Its lack of structural variety, combined with very discreet sound effects and almost no music, actually overshadows the creativity of the creatures to be defeated and the full range of abilities that can be combined. It is straight to the point, but the level of challenge proposed is quite specific, pleasing only a portion of players that borders on masochism.

Godstrike will test your patience and your abilities with a controller. When at its best, this game is fully creative, fun, and all around a good time, but not one game is perfect, and this game will show its cracks from time to time.

It's a brutally challenging game for sure so if you want to test your gaming mettle then you should definitely check out Godstrike.

The difficulty level sometimes get so insane that it takes every fiber of your being to pass some parts but the exhilaration that you feel after is well worth all the tears and frustration.

Godstrike is a punishingly difficult shooter game.

It controls fine and offers some replay value, but the steep initial difficulty curve, lackluster story, and middling presentation position this title well below others of its ilk. I do like how after the timer runs out you enter a "sudden death" situation, where the next hit will end your run, but that's another small positive lost among the negatives. I'm eager to see further iteration on the boss rush-style action game, but I don't need three strikes to call this one out.

Overall, I have to say I had a lot of fun with Godstrike. It scratched that itch I didn't really know I had. While some of the hitboxes are wonky at best and table-flipping awful at worst, that's only for a select few bosses really. The gameplay was smooth, and it was fun to make different skill compositions. Godstrike definitely isn't for everyone, and it still has a few kinks to work out, but still promises to be a lot of fun.

Godstrike is, at its crunchy centre, a boss rush game built around a somewhat interesting mechanic that, no matter how flawed, certainly gets the adrenaline pumping. Each of the encounters feels well designed but immovable to the average player. There are only so many times the player can try at an encounter before they feel disheartened at the difficulty. Not feeling like one can sacrifice time for abilities is disappointing too. The game also refuses to acknowledge that not allowing the player any way to recoup lost health disadvantages players unfairly. It’s a game that means well with a new challenge for high-skilled players of twin-stick shooters, but casual players won’t need much time to realise just how tedious learning these controls can be.