Devil Blade Reboot is the Blockbuster Shmup of the Summer
748Devil Blade Reboot is the Blockbuster Shmup of the Summer. A new high production value shmup is always an exciting occasion and Devil Blade Reboot absolutely delivers. This game is a true crowd pleaser for the genre because not only does it bring the awesome graphics to attract new players, but it has a very engaging style of level design that is forgiving for newer players while still managing to maintain pace and intensity. This game takes enemy and pattern telegraphing to the next level. Also the raw point-blanking scoring system is enticingly simple and straightforward and it's integration with the survival gameplay in the inferno mode of the game is the type of thing I have been wanting to see in a shmup for a long time. Inferno mode isn't perfect (far from it) but it proves the idea of having scoring requirements being tied to survival in a manner more direct than extra lives or rank does actually work.
I think Devil Blade Reboot is the type of shmup the genre needs to see released on a more regular basis. I especially love how much it integrates the 3D backgrounds into the 2D gameplay in a meaningful way beyond just cool effects (enemy telegraphing). And while I don't think Devil Blade Reboot will endure as a high point of the genre (maybe graphically, but not game design wise), I do think it is extremely solid and has the potential to be very popular. It can best be described as a good summer blockbuster (like Point Break or something), that will hopefully attract new players while still being entertaining and fun for the more hardcore fans.
I won't spoil my entire review in the video description, but in today's review I discuss what I think are the strong points of making such an attractive and accessible game (that is also solid and fundamental) as well as areas that I think the game could definitely improve if it wants to hold up in the long run. The game is exciting but a lot of its decisions do have tradeoffs that I think are worth talking about and also there are some pretty basic oversights when it comes to the modes of the game that I find surprising.
In my previous video on this channel I discussed my serious concerns with the game's initial streaming restriction screen and how aggressive and legal the language of that screen was (it was also formatted like a user agreement). It made a very strong impression that the developer would be copyright striking any player who showed the end of the game, the music (without sound effects), or the art gallery on stream or in a video. Copyright is serious business and games that threaten and try to control their own players via the enforcement of copyright are a no fly zone for me both as a player and reviewer. Since publishing that video my concern was made known to the developer who clarified that the screen was meant as a request and that he will not be copyright striking his players for streaming the "prohibited" content. Since my interaction with the developer sharing my concern, he also updated the language of the agreement screen to be less aggressive and to sound more like a request. Overall, I am very relieved to see these changes but there are a few more concerns about the screen that I share in the video, but I also know sometimes a compromise might be the best that can be hoped for in a situation like this.
After the dev responded with the statement that he will not be copyright striking players, I went ahead (on my own) and changed the visibility of the my original video to private. Not because I didn't think the what I said in the initial video wasn't important, but rather because the situation was changing and the dev listened to my critique, so I didn't want outdated information just hanging out in the youtube alg without context. Now that I have made this second (and final) video about Devil Blade, however, I can now put that initial video into the context of this one. So it is now unlisted and able to be viewed via the link below.
Moral of the story, don't play with copyright and if you make a request of the player surrounding streaming or sharing the game, be sure to be CRYSTAL CLEAR about if this request will have legal consequences or not.
Link to Previous vid discussing the original streaming restriction screen of the game: https://youtu.be/-NrAZtLepD4
Link to awesome shmup player "Frog": https://youtu.be/lm0LqbOXVbM
Amazing thumbnail created by @boghogSTG
Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/electricunderground
00:00 Intro
01:15 Buisness Talk
06:17 Blockbuster Graphics
11:00 Pace and Enemy Telephraphing Are Strong
15:35 Devil Blade is Qute not Treasure (which is cool too)
20:40 Inferno Mode is Innovative (but the Beginning)
25:40 The Game Is Too Easy In the Long Run
31:15 Pointblanking-Only Is Fun But Needs More Depth
36:30 Why Devil Blade Would Benefit From More Wholistic Rank
38:00 Devil Blade NEEDS a Real Practice Mode
42:40 Final Thoughts (Yes, It's Good)
#devilblade, #shmup, #shootemup