Say what you will of current-day Konami – and whatever shell of former prestige that name still musters – but even cynical folk like myself will admit to hoping that someone, anyone, at their offices still acknowledges the humble shmup. A genre, lest we forget, Konami have more than a fair claim at helping to cultivate during the late-80s and early-90s. The beloved Gradius franchise the obvious name, but which heralds a history stretching further than their own horizontally-scrolling IP. Gradius might not be the only name that developer KeelWorks' own entrant to the genre takes inspiration from, but it’s in a way fitting thatCYGNI: All Guns Blazingwould come by the grace of one of shmup’s most notable contributors.
Even if there’s an argument to be made that, if one were to be selective,CYGNIhas more of a Treasure-esque touch to its design and its execution. Treasure being the equally-famed creators of hits likeRadiant SilvergunandIkarugaalike. In reality. CYGNI feels just as much a love letter to shmup’s long and documented past, just as much as it feels like a modern-day, high-production attempt to appease die-hard veterans and newcomers of varying mindsets alike. No one can fault the Scottish developer’s ambitions at putting a maximalist spin on a genre as niche as this. Even ifCYGNIstill very much carries that lovable underdog premise over its run-time of around four to five hours. You, the player-ship, outnumbered and outgunned by an armada of frantic, frenzied hostiles of varying shapes and abilities, across its seven-chapter tale.
A seven-chapter tale that, rather unlike most shmups, is defined just as much by its cavalcade of mixed emotions, let alone the gameplay governing. The highest of highs almost-but-not-quite canceled out by the equally-prominent lowest of lows. But to simply proclaimCYGNI: All Guns Blazingas some mixed bag – “some good, some bad” – would prove a disservice to what might be one of the best and smartly-designed shmups for some time. A game combining the best of Konami and Treasure philosophy alike, with a hint of Hudson Soft and Irem thrown in for good measure. And if you’re in the least bit sufficiently well-versed in the genre, you’ll know how high a praise those name-drops may grant.
My-Type of Shooter
A satisfying melting pot of the genre’s greatest feats in a game of equal visual, audible and mechanical promise. But a game whose intent to throw players straight into the deep end from the word go, occasional over-indulgence on spectacle, technical hitches and a narrative backdrop that feels hollowly non-existent at best, stop KeelWorks from making good on that potential. Achieving little more than the status of a flawed gem.CYGNI: All Guns Blazingvery much proves the shmup genre is still willing and capable at holding its own, amid an onslaught of Metroidvanias, roguelikes and survival games that flood the online space. And it’s thanks to the key pillar of gameplay mechanics whereCYGNI’s main strengths shine, even if the remainder of the package is less resonant.
That key strength being a core energy-switching/energy-management mechanic governing not just one’s survival, but also one’s strength at battling back against the onslaught of enemy ships hurtling toward you. In what feels like joint-inspiration from Gradius as much Irem’s Star Soldier series of releases, acquiring one of the many falling energy icons allows players to power up either their shield level or their offensive level – noted by contrasting blue and red meters alike. Feeding energy into the former allows you to take more hits to enemy fire, whereas powering up the latter naturally increases the strength of your own firepower. An additional catch to this mechanic is that you can even alter the balance to which energy is distributed. A fully-leveled shield can subsequently be expended in favor of maximum offense, but doing so knowingly places you one meager enemy bullet away from death.
Review: Ikaruga (Switch)
Ikaruga remains, seventeen years on, a truly inventive shoot-em-up and addictive experience to master wholesale.
Go all-out on damage, but play extremely conservative and mitigate potential damage. It’s an interesting risk-reward system that will have you constantly questioning how much one is willing to gamble and put yourself at risk, in the pursuit of dealing with enemies quicker and/or more efficiently. That the ability to switch bullet spread presets later on – acquired through ship upgrades further into the campaign – thus allowing you to change the angle at which your bullets fire outward (you might prefer firing at 30-degree angles, as opposed to directly in front of you) is also governed by firepower level means there’s only further temptation.
Initially, it might seem thatCYGNIis already, unwittingly, making that call for the player already, with its extremely abundant enemy count at any one time, but as you quickly realize, the best strategy is often to push through the hurt, rather than necessarily dodging every stray bullet to the finest. Yes, the game isn’t shy of throwing up bullet-hell inspired ducking and weaving in-between an enemy’s attack patterns. As it is on getting your humble little ship to squeeze into the tiny room of pixels in-between lasers to keep fire at an enemy’s weak point. But while it may feel overbearing and unnecessarily brutal on its onslaught,CYGNIfortunately offers just enough wiggle room for players to plot their own course.
Bullet-Hell on Earth
But as noted, this is not without going through a baptism of fire that isCYGNI’s throwing everything at the player from the word go and leaving them to figure it out for themselves. Upgrade options aside, everything from dual-stick aiming, auto-targeting and switching from aerial to ground assault is laid and implemented from the very first chapter onward. And while it can feel clumsy and convoluted with the way the game hurriedly explains these many systems, it doesn’t take long for that eventual zen moment to kick in and all at onceCYGNI’s controls and means to command one’s fate become second nature.
As someone who started things somewhat confused and lost with the controls – a muddled feeling that is no way helped by that alluded-to introduction, with its lackluster tutorial that doesn’t even let you keep practicing one specific control infinitely – it’s surprising at how quickly and easily you get over that initial hump. Come the second or third chapter – where the world around us seems to become both irrelevant and all at once, nonexistant –CYGNIeventually gets its full hooks in you. An experience that’s only enhanced when the soundtrack finds the time and place to deliver a fittingly-timed, fittingly-paced piece of orchestral bombast or subtle electronics alike.
It’s not all the time though and here is where CYGNI’s offerings can fall short of expectations. It’s not wholly damaging, but the lack of any real definable or memorable melodies or hooks to help convince you to keep pushing is unfortunate. Nothing as uplifting asIkaruga’s “Reality”, as catchy asSoldier Blade’sOperation 04 themeor as energizing as thaticonic openertoR-Type III. If I want a recent[ish] shmup whose melodies and tracks make their mark, something likeZeroRangerwould bemore apta pick. Instead, we’re left with generic orchestral sweeps that aim for some “cinematic” flair, but ultimately come off all too disconnected with what’s on show.
Go With The Flow
Again, those priorities are not without moments of splendor. Albeit splendor in the wayCYGNI’sseldom shy about tripping you up if you’re not careful. A highlight being the introductory sprint through Chapter 3 that has you dodging incoming trams; your only visual cue being the snaking tram-lines, eventually zig-zagging in such a way you know the game is painstakingly trying to one-up you. But it works; arguably one of the game’s best and purest moments of elation when it all works out. As are its end-of-chapter boss battles: impressively-illustrated and menacingly scaled. Health bars detailed as little more than percentage meters that seem to whittle away at the annoyingly-slowest pace imaginable. Again, a tense and hyper-focused moment that, upon having that meter hit 0%, feels more monumental than it actually is.
It’s just a shame that despite these bright, shining spots of constructive, resonating brilliance,CYGNIstill falls short of overall feeling like a journey well-worth treading. It especially doesn’t help that the first chapter starts with what might be one of the most tonally-conflicting picks for music choice. And while the genre has been known for sticking to the usual forte of some grand, sci-fi push-back against an invasive alien force,CYGNIfalls even more short with its environment and stage design. Rarely venturing into anything more surreal, other-worldly or deserving of a spectacle. Further disappointing that come the latter half of the campaign, KeelWorks appear to retreat back into one of science fiction’s oldest and tired of cliches: that being an enemy force of relative insectoid-like design. Varied as enemies are, the reliance again on such a trope doesn’t feel fleshed out enough to feel justified.
Closing Comments:
Mechanically-engaging and technically impressive when it wants to be,CYGNI: All Guns Blazinggoes all in on spectacle with mixed results. Where its core energy-management system is an anxious-but-delightful thing to manage, it’s most of what surrounds the gameplay that KeelWorks sadly don’t fair as well on. Putting its immediate and dense introduction to one side, its lack of a stand-out musical or artistic identity, while not the end of the world, does mitigate a hefty chunk of how much enjoyment one can find. Particularly in such a visually-busy take on shmups asCYGNIis. Even so, a sufficient level of joy remains via those classically shmup-like moments of holding on to take down a boss or battling through an endless wave of hostiles and still coming out the other side unscathed. Its supposed unique standing doesn’t always feel adequate, butCYGNI: All Guns Blazingstill presides over an interesting-enough, modern-day take on the genre.
CYGNI: All Guns Blazing
Version Reviewed: PC
A brand new shoot ‘em up/shmup for the modern age, taking on the style of a 90’s vertical-scroller. CYGNI combines high-production visuals with a unique energy-shifting mechanic, in a last-ditch fight against an invading alien force.
