Black Paradox

Dev won't remove / repair broken achievements.

No Language selection in options. Can only be changed if you change your OS language. Keybindings can't be changed. If you're from the countries in Europe that use a QWERTZ keyboard, playing this game is going to suck, because the two keys you use the most are X and Z, which are far apart in that layout. You'd have to change your keyboard layout in windows to virtually behave like a QWERTY keyboard. Apparently not just the visuals and audio throw you back to the 80s, but also the level of programming. Also, the game is WAY too hard from the start. Never heard of "easing in", apparently. The amount of bullets, asteroids and enemy ships you are expected to dodge at the same time in the first level alone is crazy, Also, if your co-op buddy dies during the level, they will not respawn for the boss, only for the next level. After a couple of attempts, I'm really sick of hearing "insane brasssah" (which is the announcement of the first boss). No fun playing the first level over and over.

My very first impressions were good thanks to the solid audio, nice background art, and the fact it actually worked with my DS5 controller without needing to change any Steam settings (that's rare!). The bullets also felt like they had some solid impact when hitting enemies (good use of rumble). Unfortunately though I quickly realized that this was not a traditional shmup where how far you got was up to your skill, but instead is one based endurance where you play a linear series of scrolling levels repeatedly until you have enough upgrades to power through all the developers bad design decisions. Ship controls are slippery and imprecise; After you let go of a direction the ship continues moving in said direction for about half a second, and no the mouse cannot be used to control your ship as a way to overcome this. On top of that your ships hit box is huge, with the 'glow' of bullets often seemingly hitting the ship before the bullet itself even touches it. Attacks and objects that can hit the ship often come from behind where you (normally) can't shoot, and if you're too far to the left they'll hit before you even see them coming. Of course being a rogue like you die once and yo…

Black Paradox, developed and published by Highwalls, is a roguelite shoot ’em up that merges the intensity of classic arcade shooters with modern progression systems and a strong retro-futuristic identity. It places players in control of a bounty hunter navigating deep space in a heavily armed vehicle, taking on waves of enemies tied to a criminal syndicate. While the premise itself is straightforward, the real appeal lies in how the game structures its action—fast, chaotic, and constantly demanding—while layering in systems that encourage repeated runs and gradual improvement. At its core, the gameplay follows a familiar structure: move through horizontally scrolling stages, defeat enemy formations, collect upgrades, and survive long enough to reach boss encounters. However, what elevates this formula is the integration of roguelite mechanics. Each run is shaped by random elements, from the weapons you acquire to the enhancements you unlock mid-run, which means that no two attempts play out exactly the same. This unpredictability gives the game a strong sense of replayability, but it also introduces a level of inconsistency that can sometimes work against the player. Combat is i…

-Weapon pickup RNG is the biggest factor in a good run, one weapon in particular out classes the rest -Starting movement speed is way too slow, raising base stats is too grindy -Visual Feeback is a mess

fun game but takes way too much grinding it feels like to level up to where you can really get anywhere in the game.