Sometimes, pleasant surprises can come from unlikely places. That was my experience in stumbling across Astebreed at PAX East. Tucked next to a display for La-Mulana 2 (which also looks good,) this shmup was not getting any attention. That’s a travesty that must be resolved. If you are at PAX, make sure you check it out.
Astebreed comes to us from Edelweiss, the soon-to-be-masters of the doujin old school shooters. It is a shmup in the purest sense of the term. However, it features seamlessly changing vantage points, going from side scrolling, top-down, and behind the shoulder madness. Control of your mech is fresh-Brazilian-wax smooth. The graphics themselves are high-resolution and the effects are eye-watering, in a good way. I really didn’t want to blink.
The game play is fast paced and strategic. You have the option of rapid fire and lock-on homing attacks for ranged damage and crowd control. An interesting twist is a melee option. This is a tool to help boost your score combo while allowing you to knock down incoming missiles. The risk/reward this presents is intriguing.
The only downfall is to Steam fans. This is set to launch at Playism first this spring. The good news is that when the Steam release comes, and it is coming, those who purchased it on Playism will get a Steam key for their account.
Ether Vapor, Edelweiss’ previous game,was competent and fun. It was also obviously a stepping stone and part of a learning process. Astebreed show us that they have grown as a studio and are ready to join Cave and Treasure as top-tier craftsmen of the mighty shmup. As it is, this is currently my game of the show.
