CYGNI: All Guns Blazing review: First flight

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CYGNI: All Guns Blazing review: First flight

As a seasoned gamer with memories of countless hours spent on arcade shooters from the ’80s and ’90s, I can’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia when I dive into CYGNI: All Guns Blazing. It’s not often we see a fresh take on this classic genre, and while KeelWorks may have missed the mark in terms of storytelling depth and upgrades, they’ve certainly hit their target with gameplay.

In the past, Konami was a leader in various gaming categories, known for releasing popular titles like Castlevania, Contra, and the Gradius series, which were highly regarded space shooter games in arcades. However, younger gamers might not recognize these classics. Despite no longer developing such games internally, Konami has allowed a new independent studio named KeelWorks to publish one. With ambitious aspirations, KeelWorks released CYGNI: All Guns Blazing, aiming for an epic genre-defining adventure. Though the studio didn’t quite achieve the groundbreaking change they intended, they still delivered an enjoyable arcade experience.

Shooting for the stars

CYGNI: All Guns Blazing review: First flight

The tale “CYGNI: All Guns Blazing” centers around an extraterrestrial attack. In the future, humans have established a colony on the distant planet of Cygni Prime. Aggressive alien forces have invaded this planet, leaving humanity in a precarious situation. To protect the remaining human population, they must use the firepower and drones attached to the Orca starfighter.

As a die-hard fan, I was thrilled to dive into KeelWorks’ innovative take on the SHMUP genre, promising an immersive and captivating narrative untouched by any other game in its class. The opening scene perfectly established the atmosphere. A catchy pop melody greeted players, introducing us to the protagonist, Ava. The camera swept through her living quarters, subtly hinting that she’s a diligent second-generation pilot who’s worked tirelessly to follow in her father’s footsteps, aiming to honor his legacy.

As a long-time gamer with over three decades of experience under my belt, I must admit that I was initially quite intrigued by this new arcade shooter game that promised a more engaging narrative than your typical run-of-the-mill shooters. After all, who doesn’t love a good story in their games? However, upon playing the game, I found myself sorely disappointed with its shallow storytelling depth. The cutscenes at the beginning and end of each stage were merely there to break up the monotony of the gameplay, but they failed to deliver on any sort of meaningful narrative.

From all directions

CYGNI: All Guns Blazing review: First flight

KeelWorks aimed to revolutionize the arcade shooter genre in terms of gameplay, but perhaps they didn’t quite reach those lofty goals. Nevertheless, this doesn’t diminish the fact that I found CYGNI immensely enjoyable. The seven stages in the game were a delightful reminder of how thrilling and difficult a top-notch bullet hell SHMUP can be.

What makes CYGNI unique is its dual focus: engaging targets directly in front of the Orca and keeping an eye on ground threats. The gameplay involves a constant balancing act between responding to airborne dangers while dodging ground fire, and vice versa. Remarkably, the game’s design ensures smooth transitions between aerial and ground targets. Players are given the freedom to tackle targets using various strategies, such as rapid homing shots or precise manual aiming.

What stands out most in CYGNI is its challenging enemy AI, which can be quite persistent. At first, enemy formations may seem reminiscent of classic Gradius games. But upon closer inspection, you’ll find that many enemies don’t give up after just one pass. Some will return to attack again, while others will analyze your movements and come at you from unexpected angles. Advanced ships can be particularly tricky, attempting to outmaneuver or even push you into harm’s way by colluding with ground units.

As a dedicated gamer, I can attest that the boss battles in CYGNI’s games are meticulously crafted with a high level of sophistication. Unlike some games where bosses follow predictable patterns divided into distinct phases, these foes in CYGNI’s world are more fluid and unpredictable. They often mix up their attack methods to keep players on their toes, creating a challenging experience that feels fair yet engaging without resorting to cheap tactics.

In CYGNI, the upgrade system leaves room for improvement. The Orca, the primary playable ship, can be enhanced with drones, extra missiles, homing attacks, but not much else in terms of customization, which may feel somewhat limiting to players. To make matters worse, players can only enhance their ship between levels using points they’ve earned from the previous level. Unfortunately, if a player fails to complete a stage, they are sent back to the main menu without any upgrades, meaning they must replay a previous level to improve their ship for future encounters. This can be frustrating given the game’s difficulty, particularly on Normal and higher difficulties where only one life is provided, making this setup feel like a harsh penalty.

Flying high with high scores

In a major leap for SHMUP arcade games, CYGNI: All Guns Blazing falls short of being groundbreaking. Yet, as an enjoyable arcade adventure, it certainly delivers. Players can either dive into the story bit by bit or take on the challenge of completing everything in one go in Arcade Mode. Regardless of the approach, the game strikes all the right chords with its engaging mechanics, smooth gameplay, tough enemies that often swarm the screen, and demanding boss fights. CYGNI packs a punch with numerous enemies and features, at times overdoing it, which can cause occasional performance issues, even on the PlayStation 5.

In their first attempt, KeelWorks can take pride in CYGNI. It serves as a solid base to expand upon, as there’s definitely room for improvement and growth.

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2024-08-05 11:27