Chenso Club

This cute game is, despite how it looks, a homage to the Super Smash Bros single player experience, specifically the Subspace Emissary from Super Smash Bros Brawl. This game is essentially a beat 'em up with boundaries. So there are segments where if you fall off a cliff or go too far left or right, you get a penalty, just like in Smash. There are segments where you are stuck in place, and in order to proceed, you have to clear out all enemies currently on your screen. I do like the boundaries because most enemies almost play by the same rules. So if a flying enemy flies off screen on their own, they essentially self TKO. This also means that most enemies have to be on screen in order to be your enemy, so you do not have to worry about getting attacked from offscreen enemies (for the most part). There are even a couple of levels where you have to traverse up or to the right with the game taking control of the camera, so if you are not fast enough, you will get offscreened. Like in Smash, you can also choose an assortment of different fighters, though the roster here is a lot smaller than the modern Smash games of today. The main difference, aside from the aesthetics, is that Chens…

Chenso Club is an energetic blend of roguelite progression and side-scrolling action that thrives on its colorful personality and arcade-inspired design. Developed by Pixadome and published by Aurora Punks, the game introduces players to a world under attack by bizarre extraterrestrial invaders. Rather than focusing on an elaborate plot, it embraces a lighthearted premise in which a group of stylish heroines discovers that defeated aliens leave behind bio-energy capable of enhancing their abilities. The result is a game that immediately establishes its playful identity and never strays from its mission of delivering fast, accessible entertainment. At its core, Chenso Club revolves around rapid combat and constant movement. Every playable character brings distinct weapons, attack patterns, and special abilities to the battlefield, giving players a reason to experiment with multiple runs. The combat system rewards aggression and precision equally, encouraging players to stay mobile while taking advantage of enemy weaknesses. Stages are procedurally arranged, ensuring that encounters remain unpredictable and forcing players to adapt rather than rely solely on memorization. This struc…

As a fan of 2D indie titles this game is pretty fun to just pick up and play with solid replayability. It's worth picking up, especially if you pick it up on a Steam Sale. I haven't tried the multiplayer mode, but next time I have a buddy over I'm grabbing another controller and trying it out. Only con's I can think of is while the music is good it's pretty short/looping, it can feel too random at times to where it throws you off in terms of progression, and the controls can be a little clunky at times. It's a hidden gem for sure, and I'm shocked there's not much of a community with how well the art design is. It'll run on anything too, I threw it on a Core2 Duo laptop w/ 4 GB of RAM and Windows 7 just to see what would happen, and sure enough not only did it work but I had a solid framerate with no slowdown, so I promise whatever potato you're rocking will run it if you're reading this on the machine.

I didn't enjoy this game much, even if it's got a lot going for itself, starting from the playable cast: each heroine is very distinct both in design and in gameplay. My personal favourites are Alice, with her speed and ability to use a grappling hook to easily reach any flying enemy, and Molly, with her water cannon that allows her to shoot distant enemies and fly upwards, and the animation for pumping new water into the tank is so cute. The idea that good scores bring followers on social networks, with milestones giving tokens to spend for permanent upgrades, is silly but works, and is further used with the bonus stage where players have to let a photographer take good shots of them while fending off rabid fanboys. It's pretty nice to look at, especially the sprite art, while the style of the backgrounds is a bit all over the place. Many enemies have a cutesy look, only to become crazed and ugly. Very good, upbeat music. Unfortunately the controls feel janky and floaty. The game asks many times to contend with flying enemies, even fight them over chasms or traps, when it's really not equipped for that; several moves can be chained but it's stiff to execute and oftentimes the w…

Honestly? Not a fan. Combat is way too clunky, the power-ups are mostly meaningless, 50% of the enemies are flying stuff, and the roguelite structure is... confusing... To say the least. You have to replay levels to get stronger to fight the final boss, but the currency is your life points (???) and you depend on randomly selected rooms for the "shop" to spawn to get stronger. In the meantime, there is basically no meta-progression, and if you die, you lose all that "skill up" progress. Either make a full roguelike where you die and start from 0 every time, or add meta-progression for a decent roguelite. The in-between sucks, this structure sucks. The story is a nothingburger, it tries to add existential depth to "some" stuff, but it just doesn't belong to a game with this style and these characters (my hair is a chainsaw bruh, I don't care about your broke ass). Could have gone for something more lighthearted and silly. Graphics are cool, well-made pixel art, having 5 characters is great, and the music is really great, but this was a mess and I ain't planning on returning.

Banger soundtrack, awesome artwork, getting dryhumped by loving fans. This is the dream 10/10.