Deathsmiles is one of the games that convinced me to get an import 360, as the shoot ‘em up or SHMUP gaming scene (even more so than vs. fighting) has become niche over the years, not to mention that 2D gaming in general has largely been shunted off to the portable market. Seeing gameplay videos on YouTube seemed to seal the deal for me. With a rogue gallery of demon dogs, giant ogres and flying eyeballs and a boss battle featuring a gigantic cow, I was sold.
After procuring the game and the system, I was not disappointed. It’s a gonzo take on the horizontal shooter with great visuals and a garish charm all its own. Besides being the kind of challenging and inventive “bullet hell” shooter that developer Cave seems to specialize in, Deathsmiles is also remarkably accessible to more casual fans. Not only can you pick the order of the games first six stages, you can also pick the difficulty level for each stage. Playing at level 1 (without dying early and often) is doable after some practice, but moving up to level 3 will truly challenge even SHMUP veterans (yet offers the reward of more involved boss fights).
I’ve since played other Cave games on the 360, and I can see that purists might be put off by Deathsmiles’ fevered approach and may prefer a more traditional Cave offering like Ketsui or Mushihime-sama Futari. For me, Deathsmiles hits that sweet spot between offering entertaining spectacle and a hard but fair challenge, bringing back fond memories of the first Metal Slug.
While not for everyone, it’s my current favorite modern SHMUP. As a bonus, the recent U.S. release has made it far easier (and cheaper) for you to check out.
2011 ben langberg, all rights reserved.