Paper Nebula

A neat and simple shmup, Paper Nebula has some lovely visuals and a nice challenge curve for folk who are rubbish at shmups (like me), but diehard genre fans may not find it hitting the notes of tension and difficulty they want. We are Vela, who opens the game by overriding an AI equipped to manufacture drones, which are sent on missions to break through enemy lines and clear a path for us to escape. The framing gets us into the game as quickly as possible, which suits me just fine; in-between this our two main characters have a bit of gently sarcastic banter back and forth. There's not tons of depth to the writing, but that's not a bother. The game is tagged as a roguelike, but it doesn't really feel like that genre. Although your ships can't be recovered on death, there aren't any elements of randomness to it, so instead you're just invited to learn the fixed levels and enemy placements. You can pick upgrades between each run though which is neat, and certain ones are unlocked only by fulfilling in-game thresholds, so there's a reason to keep trying different things. Mainly what you get here is a classic shmup, and a very accessible one at that.

Initially, Paper Nebula does not give a good impression. Don’t be fooled, however. Beyond those initial impressions is a smartly designed shooter which compelled me to play far more than I expected to – and kept me going far longer than other titles of its ilk would. Ok, so it won’t win any game of the year awards. But that doesn’t matter. I found the game fun, engaging and ultimately, rewarding. It has a simple premise and it runs with it – and the designers have cleverly stuck to old-school design – which means it is tough. This is not a bad thing! Enemy boss design is fun, and finding out how to best them feels very rewarding. Add the fact that very often you are rewarded – with new capabilities for your paper nebula and the game has some staying power. Graphically, the game has a “drawn on paper” feel – bold outlines and bolder colours help make the enemies distinctive and memorable, but it’s really the enemy designs that make it a winner. The 2D art is well-executed, the animations are simple and effective, and the posing of the characters in the rather humorous cutscenes works well. It all feels efficient. The music is a little repetitive, but there isn’t anything wrong about…

A fast paced light-hearted game with rapid progression and a good sense of humour. Great game to get some fun gaming in amongst the big titles. It takes me back to the arcade games of old, but with some fun modern twists. I've always loved paper planes!

A great game, can be challenging but also funny and rewarding! Good fun, thanks Pixel Bakery.

Very charming game. From the start there is mystery and intrigue while you jump right into game play. I think the difficulty is perfect, not too easy but not too hard either; the right amount of challenge where you keep coming back to perfect what you initially messed up. The first level took me a handful of tries which works perfectly into understanding game play and upgrades. I would definitely recommend this game if you are wanting a different spin on the "bullet hell" genre.

This is a cute little game developed with love... and it shows. This game achieves a very specific objective; provides a reasonable rouge-like experience in short bursts of time. It offers enough variety between boss fights, drone upgrades and challenges to keep you returning. Whilst luck is a factor in some situations, it is mitigated by patterns that you can learn to beat on the next try. The drone's movement is noticeably sluggish for a arcade style shooter but you eventually compensate. It almost feels like the game designer intended it that way to make you play smart, rather than depend on quick reflexes. I look forward to seeing if there's still any further content and improvements. The creator clearly has some interesting ideas and I would like to see it flesh out a bit more. A suggestion would be to make the enemy bullets more prominent or at least change the colour. Trying to dodge enemy bullets that are white on a colourful background can get a bit frustrating. It is simple but to the point. It does what it sets out to do; if I find myself with a few minutes to scratch a rouge-like itch while waiting for my team to log in for an Overwatch session... this game will fill…