DRAINUS

Short fun Shmup. We'll I guess Shmups aren't too long in the first place. I'm a pretty big fan of Ladybug's other games, so I expected a solid experience. I like the music and graphics. Everything else feels quite standard. The RPG elements make things quite easy. I played on normal as gamer who games well but doesn't play Shmups much at all and it was very doable. The game allows you to grind for stuff, has some pretty broken abilities, and isn't too punishing with retries/ continues. I assume Hard is harder, but I'm satisfied and moving on.

it was ok i guess i liked team ladybug previous games and was exited for this one, however it did not meet my expectation for it. still worth getting the game.

Short (~3 hours for a Normal clear) but quite fun! I enjoyed the variety of weapon options, though a refund button wouldn't have gone awry, and the reflector mechanic is fun to get good with. The art really shines to me, with some very striking boss and enemy designs done with really excellent pixel art. The music won't win any awards, but complements the experience well. Similarly, the story serves the gameplay well enough, and I enjoy the twist halfway through, especially with a couple background details you can take note of. I haven't played too many schmups aside from Jamestown, but this was a very enjoyable experience nontheless!

To my knowledge having played Team Ladybug's Record of Lodoss War Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth and Touhou Luna Nights, it would seem that Team Lady Bug doesn't miss with their games. Drainus hits just as hard as those other games, and despite it not being a Metroidvania (rather being a space themed shoot-em-up), the gameplay still feels so similar in terms of tight satisfying fast-paced combat. This game retains the same simple story-telling charm of some of those other titles, and the upgrade and energy absorption systems are very satisfying. My only gripe is perhaps that the end-game super bomb upgrade is way too OP and trivializes any boss fight. Going into spoiler territory, [spoiler] though a second pass through the levels to get the true ending works for a game this short (to maximize your upgrades to the best builds), I would have liked to see more variety there beyond upping enemy stats and changing dialogue to further emphasize the impact of changing the course of time; and as I mentioned, the final super bomb upgrade trivialized the true final boss [/spoiler]. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this one!

Great presentation, nice story, and a fantastic upgrade-system make this a very enjoying experience. On normal difficulty it should be manageable for most players to finish it. This is way more approachable than all those frustrating bullet hell shooters.

Great looking and playing shmup by Ladybug that is quite challenging for those who demand it. I missed out on this for the Nintendo Switch, but its on Steam, and I'm happy!