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Graceful Explosion Machine

Graceful Explosion Machine

|Arcade, Indie

7.9 /10

Pretty good

Niche

59 ratings
Trailers & screenshots
Why play it

"Skillfully pilot the advanced Graceful Explosion Machine (GEM) fighter while blasting swarms of crystalline enemies with your ludicrously overpowered quad-weapon array! Lost in deep space, you'll shoot, dash and combo your way through jewel-hued alien worlds, fighting to find a way home."

Game highlights
Rating momentum

Pretty good: 7.9/10 across 59 ratings. Overall vibes are good; safe to add to your backlog.

Play style

Leans into Arcade, Indie, Shooter — a quick read on whether that fantasy matches what you usually enjoy.

Reviews

20 media reviews

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Media

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IGNJose Otero · 11 Apr, 2017
8/10

Graceful Explosion Machine builds an intense, addictive shoot-em-up around a satisfying weapon-juggling system and smart enemies. The Switch’s HD Rumble adds a unique feeling to every explosion in this colorful shooter, and earning a good spot on the leaderboard is an intense challenge thanks to dense swarms of enemies. But even when a pesky foe slapped down my scoring run, I always had the urge to jump back into these crowded corridors and try again.

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GamesRadar+David Roberts · 6 Apr, 2017
6/10

Graceful Explosion Machine is the gaming equivalent of empty calories. It's pretty to look at, super smooth, and has some interesting weapons, but there's no real hook to keep you sustained beyond the act of moving around and blowing up aliens.

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DestructoidJed Whitaker · 6 Apr, 2017
7/10

Graceful Explosion Machine is a fun little space shooter with nice visuals and audio that is worth your time and money if you're a high score hound. Even if you're not, there are far worse games on the Switch currently, and not many that only ask a few minutes of your time to complete a level, which makes this the perfect game to play on the go. It's pretty good.

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Push SquareKen Talbot · 7 Aug, 2017
8/10

Graceful Explosion Machine is a gorgeous and innovative take on a now ancient genre of arcade shooter. The weapon system brings an element of combo juggling to the combat and challenge runs are addictive and, crucially, not too punishing. Simply put, this is another top-notch PS4 shmup.

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Nintendo LifeMitch Vogel · 6 Apr, 2017
9/10

Overall, Graceful Explosion Machine is a masterful example of how to do an arcade shooter right. Eye-catching visuals and extremely fine-tuned gameplay combine to make this a memorable and compelling experience for anybody looking to get into a faster paced, action focused game. That being said, there is a minor element of repetitiveness which never goes away entirely; the selling point comes not from the amount of levels, but from how many times you'll be playing each one.We give Graceful Explosion Machine a very strong recommendation, all told; considering the amount of polish and replayability on offer, this is quite the bang for your buck.

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Hardcore GamerJames Cunningham · 6 Apr, 2017
8/10

Graceful Explosion Machine is fantastic arcade action where being able to plan while forced into close-quarter shooting is the only way to survive.

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Planet PlayStationCharles Kyle · 10 Dec, 2018
8.5/10

In short, this game is something I think people can really enjoy. It's not a graphical powerhouse but what it lacks in the graphics department it definitely makes up for in the mechanics and gameplay. The overall difficulty to the game does tend to lend itself to the gamers looking for a challenge as it starts out feeling quite on the easier side building up to sometimes the frustratingly hard side of things (but truly in a fun way). Too many games with difficulty like this get a stigma about them. I find that when you beat a level that you've been trying multiple times to get past, one of the most rewarding feelings in gaming. Without this difficulty type, that feeling of accomplishment really isn't possible.

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Goomba StompPaul Palumbo · 22 Oct, 2018
6/10

'Graceful Explosion' Machine is an enjoyable game to try, but not worth sticking around for.

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PS4Blog.netEdEN · 5 Oct, 2017
8.5/10

Graceful Explosion Machine is a fast-paced and action-packed release that is highly addictive. You'll end up returning over and over again to each level as you first aim to get A grades in all of them before you move up to getting an S rank on them from near-perfect start-to-finish runs in each level, building up massive combos as you avoid being hit by enemies. There's plenty of content here and a nice variety of enemies to make this one an easy game to recommend on PS4.

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Digitally DownloadedMatt C. · 30 Aug, 2017
9/10

Graceful Explosion Machine is simple, pure arcade fun, with a level of polish and attention to detail in the design that's rarely seen. It's the sort of game that you can pick up for a quick 5 minute session, and then find yourself still playing hours later.

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