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Plattform: PC Veröffentlicht: 18.02.2011

19,5€

Preis Update 07.09.23

Deathsmiles ist ein spektakuläres Japano-Shoot'em-Up, das sich für Anfänger wie Profis gleichermaßen eignet, je nach ausgewähltem Schwierigkeitsgrad. Der Spieler steuert dabei im Gegensatz zur Genrekonkurrenz kein Raumschiff oder Flugzeug durch die einzelnen Level, sondern eine von vier weiblichen Spielfiguren, die einem typischen japanischen Manga-Comic entsprungen sein könnten. Elegant tanzt die junge Dame durch den Schussteppich von einer Lücke zur nächsten, dabei selbst unzählige Projektile spuckend, mal nach rechts, mal nach links.

Überall trifft der Spieler auf schräge Gruselgestalten. Besonders die Endbosse scheinen aus einer anderen Welt zu stammen: So versucht ein Sensenmann die Spielfigur zu filetieren, ein am Boden genagelter Riesenkopf speit Gift und Galle und eine missgelaunte Kuh versucht die Spielfigur zu verspeisen...

Neben der aufgepeppten Xbox-Version darf sich der Spieler auf die Original-Spielhallen-Fassung in zwei Varianten sowie auf den besonders schweren Mega-Black-Label-Modus (inkl. einem neuen Level) freuen. Eine exklusive Soundtrack CD sowie ein Collector's Digital Artbook runden die Deluxe Edition von 'Deathsmiles' ab.

Features:

Furioses Japano-Shoot'em-Up, erstmals in Deutschland erhätlich
4 Spielmodi, Online spielbar via Xbox LIVE
Hübsch inszeniertes Horror-Gothic-Flair in 8 herausfordernden Spielabschnitten
Deluxe Edition inkl. dem Black-Label-Modus, einer Soundtrack-CD sowie einem Collector's Digtial Artbook
Gilt als der beste 2D-Horizontal-Shooter seiner Generation

Deutsch (1)
Englisch (40)

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849 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 18.01.17 11:46

Deathsmiles ist ein tolles horizontal-scrollendes Japano-Gothic Shoot'm Up von Cave. Da die Gegner mal von vorne und dann wieder von hinten kommen, muss man immer mal wieder in der Hitze des Kugelhagels die Schussrichtung ändern. Dies geht jedoch wirklich flott von der Hand, da es eine Taste zum vorwärts - und eine zum rückwärts-Schießen gibt und man keine gesonderte Taste zum Wechsel der Schussrichtung drücken muss. Wie alle Shoot'm Ups des Kult-Entwicklers Cavespielt sich Deathsmiles ausgezeichnet, ist wunderbar fantasievoll (und etwas durchgeknallt) designt und bietet einen tollen Soundtrack. Gegner wie Kühe, Schweine-Köche und Sensenmänner sind hier die Regel, und nicht die Ausnahme. Durch die fünf verschiedenen spielbaren Charaktere ist nicht nur für Highscore-Jäger ein großer Wiederspielwert gegeben. Besonders hervorheben möchte ich nochmal den Soundtrack. Er ist vielleicht der beste (und epischste), mit dem je ein Cave-Shoot'm up untermalt wurde.

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139 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 17.03.22 23:53

epic

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81 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 22.02.22 05:11

Played this quite a bit back in the day on Xbox 360. It still slaps and I'm still trash at it. Regardless, I definitely recommend it if you like arcade shooters. I just wish Cave would make the rest of their games available on Steam.

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8028 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 22.01.22 08:51

Deathsmiles is a very intricate Japanese shoot 'em up for its genre. Unlike most games that fit in its category, this one introduces new elements into the mix such as obstacles you can hide behind and all different types of enemy fire. I'm personally a fan of the Victorian gothic theme, so this game is right up my alley, and the large variety of unique enemies and bosses gives the theme that much needed depth a lot of games that revolve around a certain theme fail to capture just right. Like most CAVE games, this one has a difficulty selection ranging from kind of hard to kaizo levels. This game is definitely enjoyable for newcomers and veterans to CAVE games alike. Oh, and I'd like to give an honourable mention to the game's music, as it is absolutely incredible.

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51 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 28.12.21 07:14

Very weird game

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490 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 23.12.21 18:20

Played for years on XB360.

Deathsmiles is the actual most beginner friendly CAVE shmup. I don't know where people get Mushihimesama from.
If you want to get into CAVE games, this is where you start.

Shmups usually fall into two categories, made for all gamers, and made for shmup players. This one does a really elegant job of bringing those together with a unique style, memorable music, bosses and level design.

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198 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 23.12.21 17:51

flat girls, bullet hell, there's a giant cow. 10/10

play touhou

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191 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 26.11.21 18:22

One of the most challenging bullet hell games I have played with a great atmosphere and soundtrack, truly wish the series had continued past 2 which I can't wait to play in the collections coming for consoles and hopefully to steam too.

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348 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 16.11.21 17:29

I'm fairly new to the genre so I cant go to in-depth, but I do find this game very enjoyable.

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733 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 15.11.21 23:51

The visuals, music, and gameplay are all top notch. Very good horizontal shmup.

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163 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 07.11.21 17:45

Horizontal shooter with a fantasy theme by legendary developer CAVE. Tight controls. Intense bullet patterns. Familiar and focus mechanics. Beautiful presentation, graphics and audio. Go practice.

Listed on the Shoot 'em up Database

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521 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 31.10.21 05:01

it's a good time

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434 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 30.10.21 21:42

I am just happy that it is now possible to own a legal copy of the game on PC.

It's a great game that I really enjoy playing.

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1028 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 20.10.21 23:58

Dieser Beitrag hat noch keine Einträge.

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1009 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 28.09.21 05:50

berry nice

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196 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 27.07.21 15:55

Terrific, the best horizontal bullet hell i've played so far

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758 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 22.07.21 17:32

Peak Halloween game

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122 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 01.07.21 13:16

i reccomend this game and give it a 8/10

its an amazing cave shooter

loli's killing giant characters and grim reapers is surely something to enjoy, plus the endings are really wholesome and sure are worth replaying to unlock. windia best girl

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762 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 29.06.21 06:07

I am stupid.

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568 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 15.06.21 03:11

I really dig the halloween gothic style this game has which sets it apart from other shooters. CAVE bullet hell shooters are for the hardcore but Deathsmile's difficulty is very approachable. This game is recommended for players for those who are being introduced to CAVE games and are beginners to the bullet hell genre. The only parts I don't like are the loli characters especially the dialogue that some characters say. However, it isn't enough for me to dismiss the game because their presence complements its unique art style.

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33 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 02.05.21 04:56

https://youtu.be/nY__ZVktwic

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⠀♫ For Lost and Beloved Souls ♫⠀

───────⚪───────────────────────

⠀▐▐ ⠀►▏ ⠀⠀──○─ ???? ⠀₁:₂₅ / ₃:₅₀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ᴴᴰ⚙ ❐ ⊏⊐

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88 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 02.05.21 01:31

This is a great game to play on Halloween. Looking forward to Deathsmiles I and II.

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676 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 28.04.21 22:59

Smile. Epilepsy. Death c:

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438 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 25.04.21 22:17

This is an extremely well crafted and very accessible bullet hell shooter title. It's a Cave game. For those reading who don't know who they are, they're a seriously respected - bordering on revered - company within the genre. Thus far there are only three Cave titles on steam. This, Dodonpachi and Mushihimesama. I do think that Mushi is the greatest of them all, and one of the best shmups ever devised. However, Deathsmiles is also really, really great too. More enjoyable than Dodonpachi's identikit military industrial complex backdrops - in my not-at-all humble opinion.

Unlike Mushihimesama and many of the other bullet hell titles available on PC, Deathsmiles is a predominantly horizontally scrolling game. Having grown up on a coin-gulping diet of R-type and the like, I really like this style. It also allows for more screen real estate when compared to the narrow display mode found in vertical scrolling bullet hell games.

You have four (five in the MBL mode) characters to choose from. Each play slightly differently based upon their shooting pattern and accompanying familiar. Unlike many other shmups you are able to mix up your path through the levels enroute to the final boss. This adds a nice dollop of strategy as to how you progress. Perhaps you want to play the trickier levels first to get them out of the way. Or maybe the opposite. Regardless of your path through the game, you'll still curse at the difficulty spike on the final castle level. The spinning dancing couples in the ballroom get me every bloody time.

I feel like it's worth trying to explain away the distasteful Gothic Lolita character art and deeply creepy backstory (abducted / presumed molested and murdered young girls go to a fantasy land to become witches) as being an idiosyncratic Japanese thing.. This is the only game I own which makes me feel self conscious about what people might think upon seeing me play a game with Loli art. In any case it's the core mechanics and superbly designed scoring system that override any such fears of being labeled as a creepy weirdo. I just can't afford to care about that when the game's just so damn good. Oh, yea, and it scores extra points for having toccata and fugue by JS Bach blast out during the final battle.

If you skim read this, you're a lazy person, but the take away is that this is one of the greatest bullet hell games, by one of the greatest shmup development studios.

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7 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 18.02.21 14:54

I'm usually not into the cute-em-up games, but Deathsmiles is very well done, as you would expect from shmup master CAVE. Tight controls and beautiful high-res graphics vs. the arcade version. Definitely pick up if you're a shmup fan.

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1213 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 08.01.21 03:56

I don't like the characters and the story gets sillier with each play but holy shit is everything else great!! The bullet patterns are really fun , the enemy designs are creative , scoring mechanics are fun and It lets you choose the difficulty for each stage. I wish the game had more intermediary goals. I beat it once with continues and then kept grinding till I beat it with no continues.

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360 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 22.11.20 19:03

I originally purchased Deathsmiles for my Xbox 360 back in 2010. Not gonna lie, it was mainly because of the box art. But what I found was a very challenging and fun bullet hell shooter with a Halloween theme, both of which are right up my alley. The thing I really enjoy is that you can choose your difficulty on the fly from level to level, although the final level is insane no matter what you do. With four (or five, depending on which version you play) different characters with different powers and Familiars, it has a lot of replay value. Extremely casual shooter fans may be turned off by the difficulty, but I think it's really worth giving it a try, especially if you're a fan of spooky themes, Gothic Lolita art styles, and giant telekinetic cows (you'll see...).

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994 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 26.09.20 11:10

pew pew but horizontal

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525 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 21.08.20 14:50

Not a fan of anime or weeb garbage, but this game is a solid bullet hell shooter. Very approachable as a new comer to the genre. Looking forward to sinking my teeth into this one.

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299 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 18.08.20 02:40

I bought two copies of this game for twice the lolis at half the age.

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717 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 18.07.20 10:22

One of the classic Shmups. Excellent music, lots of replayability, super fun and challenging.

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495 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 02.05.20 13:42

It's a Cave game on Steam, if you like shmups you already have it.

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2787 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 07.03.20 23:01

I said before that Mushihimesama is the best shmup on steam. That was a lie. As of time of writing, I think it's Deathsmiles - if you can stomach the art style. Mega Black Label (MBL) in particular is such an intricately designed game with excellent mechanics, a great difficulty system for newcomers, lots of different characters and ways to play, with one of cave's more unique aesthetics and Manabu Namiki's consistently fantastic music.

I didn't expect to like this shmup nearly as much as I did, and yet the more time i put into it the more I enjoy it's mechanics, strong level design and identity and how it manages difficulty with a cutesy-cheesy art style and great bosses.

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3296 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 19.01.20 16:55

La la la... Halloween party! La la la... Let's Trick-or-treat!
~HALLOWEEN JUNKY ORCHESTRA

If you're not the bullet hell enthusiast, then you may stop reading this review right now. Just because, like any other bullet hell game out there, this one is not for you. At least, not yet. Bullet hell games are known to be (way) harder than regular SHMUPs and, even though this one is not the hardest one of the kind, you'll still die a lot without having much fun. Sure, there are difficulty levels here, but... let's just say that as long as you're not an experienced SHMUP player, you're not ready for this. You have been warned. Now, if you are a fan of such entertainment, then, I guess, one word will be enough for you to get the idea about what do we have here. The word is – cave. CAVE Interactive. Creators of the DoDonPachi, Ketsui and Mushihimesama series.

In case if you want some details, though, here come some. Deathsmiles is a horizontal bullet hell game with Donkey Kong Country-like visuals (because why freakin' not?), Gothic-like design and Halloween as the main motif. In this game you control one of the four (five in the Mega Black Label version, but I'll return to it later) sisters, who use their familiars (which are the most unique thing in the game) and magical powers to fight things and should stop a desperate man from performing a dark ritual during the Halloween eve. In other words, the story is pretty close to what we had in Ibara, only this time we've got Halloween motif instead of technology. There are eight stages (one of which is optional) and the entire game takes about one hour to beat. Which probably won't happen from your first try, since you'll need to learn about how each level works first, but you know how it is in such games. You always need to build up some skill first.

Anyway, this exact release comes with not one, but two versions of the game. And every version comes in three different editions. First, there's the regular version of the game. Which can be played as the direct arcade port, the “normal” updated version, which comes in higher resolution, and re-balanced 1.1 edition. The second version is called Mega Black Label, or MBL. And it's pretty much the extended version of the game, which comes with extra content and extra ending, which creates the bridge to Deathsmiles II story (unfortunately, Deathsmiles II is not available in Steam yet, but, well, at least you'll be able to see its main villain here). MBL version adds a new difficulty level, an extra stage called Ice Palace, a new playable character (an NPC from the original game) and some small gameplay tweaks. And, like the original version, it can be played as both the direct arcade port, a “normal” updated version with better visuals and re-balanced 1.1 edition. That's pretty much it. Steam achievements included, three different soundtracks are available as DLC.

Now, do I recommend this game? Of course, I do! Don't be silly. CAVE Interactive is awesome and what we have here is a pretty impressive release that don't ask extra money for MBL content. The characters and overall design are pretty cool, every character has her own ending (two of them, actually, since you'll have a choice at the end of the game), soundtrack is fantastic, etc. And the actual ports? Those may not be perfect, but they're pretty solid. So, $24.46 for such a cool release with three different soundtracks to enjoy? It sounds like a steal. Deathsmiles is one of those bullet hell games that make you want to return to them again and again. Just because of their charm and their quality. Just keep in mind that the entire bullet hell thing is not for everybody. This kind of games is for people who enjoy building up their skill and re-playing the same levels for the million times. Just because of how satisfying they are. If you don't like dying a lot and trying again, then this game is not for you. But if you enjoy this kind of SHMUPs, then you're in for a treat. Deathsmiles is something every bullet hell fan should have in their library. Let's just hope that they'll release that Christmas-based sequel in Steam one day.

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78 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 13.12.19 00:54

Top 3 shmups
#1 Pulstar neogeo
#2 Triggerheart Exelica
#3 Deathsmiles

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1395 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 18.11.19 01:23

Bunch of gothic lolitas, well not all, but at least one of them is, fighting monsters in a gothic-ish bullet hell setting.

Also, one WITCH is included in the game for even MOAR goth ! And the gothic loli has DEATH magic ! If that ain't awesome AF ! Also, if you read this, you're a fr'n pumpkin.

The game was made at (a) (dark) CAVE (Co, Ltd.) in Tokyo, Japan.

Ya damn GOTH. Recommendation if ya like bullet hell type of games.

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1488 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 19.12.16 02:40

Deathsmiles is one of the few horizontal shooters by CAVE. Due to its unique nonlinear nature, it also happens to be one of their easier offerings, and therefore suitable for players new to the genre. It debuted in Japanese arcades in 2007, and was later released on iOS, Android, and Xbox 360. Thanks to Degica, it has now been released on PC as well. The Steam release includes normal, arcade, and 1.1 versions of both the original and MBL (Mega Black Label).

As the name suggests, the arcade versions have the same graphical appearance as the original arcade release. I could be mistaken, but as far as I know, normal mode is exactly the same as arcade mode except it features upgraded graphics. I purchased the game exclusively for the original versions of normal/arcade mode so I can't say I have the knowledge to speak at length about 1.1 or MBL. From what I know, in 1.1 you have a greater degree of control over the character's familiar. MBL is a different version of the game that features an additional playable character. What I do know, however, is that some or all of the modes of MBL are either missing slowdown or don't have it at all. If you're buying the game just to play anything other than the original version, I highly suggest exercising caution and doing some research. That said, the remainder of this review will be about the normal original version of the game.

Deathsmiles features four playable characters. As usual, CAVE's focus was clearly on the gameplay and not on the story. While the plot is minimalist at best, it does seem to have more of an involved story than the other two CAVE games currently available on Steam. There is even a small amount of dialogue and two endings for each character. Deathsmiles takes place in the magical land of Gilverado. The characters are from real world countries but were transported there under mysterious circumstances. The gist of the story is that someone opened a portal to the realm of demons and now Gilverado is being overrun, it is your job to save the day.

Perhaps more so than in most other shooting games, saving the day is as easy or as hard as you make it. Deathsmiles allows you to not only tackle the stages in nearly any order you wish, but also lets the player select an individual difficulty level for each stage. If you consistently pick the highest difficulty level the game activates suicide bullets with death mode to further ramp up the difficulty. If that's still not enough, you can choose an optional late game stage that is far more challenging than the other levels. If the hardest path is not chosen, Deathsmiles is probably one of the easier CAVE STGs to 1cc. One other difficulty factor is which character is chosen.

Each of the four girls have different properties, the most obvious of which is the shot type. Without going in depth, they all have familiars that function differently from each other. The shot type strength and ease of familiar control makes some of them more friendly to new players than others. For most Rosa will probably be the easiest and Casper the hardest. They all have small heart shape hitboxes in the center of their bodies in addition to the ability to fire forward and backward, perform a special lockshot, and enter power-up mode after collecting a certain number of items. Advanced scoring strategies involve clever uses of power-up mode.

Admittedly, Deathsmiles isn't my favorite STG, but that's mostly due to personal preference rather than any inherent flaws with the game itself. I haven't sunk as many hours into it as CAVE's other games, but I've had fun playing an odd credit here and there. It's a solid shmup and yet another good title from CAVE. I'd recommend this game to anyone that has enjoyed their other games, and is more interested in playing the original game than any of the MBL modes. As of writing this, it has been nearly a year since release and unfortunately there is no sign of proper slowdown being implemented in the modes that are missing it.

Edit: As I wrote previously, over time I've occasionally played a credit or two. It's worth mention that I feel this game has grown on me. I've found the more I've played and learned the intricacies of its mechanics the more I've enjoyed it.

Like the review? Follow my curator page to see my thoughts on other games.

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29 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 02.09.16 02:35

Have this on the 360 and just wanted a more reliable platform.

At any rate, Cave does not make bad shooters. While Deathsmiles is not their best and certainly one of the easiest danmaku games you can play, you gotta keep in mind that it was developed nearly 10 years ago and danmaku has come a long way since then. Still, this is a highly enjoyable experience and the characters have a well-indicated hitbox so you'll know exactly where you need to be.

If it wasn't good, I wouldn't have bought it twice.

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378 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 09.04.16 17:56

Deathsmiles is a horizontal Bullet Hell centered around five girls and their fight against evil. Right off the bat you are given 6 modes to choose from which all feature subtle tweaks to the gameplay. Normal mode allows you to pick which ever difficulty you want and Arcade mode only allows you to pick the easier levels a few times before forcing you to up the challenge. “Ver.1.1” is definitely a mode you'd want to avoid picking the first time around as it only gives you one bomb per health bar and causes enemies to fire yellow projectiles once they are defeated far more often. Mega Black Edition adds an extra fifth character called Sakura to the fray as well as one new optional level and an new harder, more insane difficulty called “Level 999” that will test even the most hardened bullet hell player's skills. It is quite an overwhelming number of modes to choose from the first time you play and they don't state what the differences are so I thought I'd dedicate a paragraph properly explaining them.

After you choose your mode of choice, the game will start up in a rather small screen that you can tweak to your liking in the options menu as well as change the border art. Depending on the mode you choose you are able to choose from either 4 characters or 5. They all have the same speed and health though what really separates them is how they shoot their projectiles and their unique familiars that accompany them throughout. Sakura fires in a narrow spear like formation and has two crow familiars that take quite a bit of skill to use correctly but allows you to fire at any angle. Follet fires in a wide helix like formation and has a dragon familiar that rains fire in a short but devastating stream while Rosa has a single giant stream that sparks a few extra projectiles toward the end of it and has a fairy companion that can shoot through any objects which is insanely useful. The other two have their own quirks too and none of them feel better than the other which really helps fuel the need to discover the ins and outs of all the cast.

One of Deathsmiles most unique features is the ability to choose in what order you take the first 6 missions on. You can play them in any order and if you are playing Arcade mode gives it a bit of strategy as it will not let you play all the levels on easy so choose wisely. After you finish the batch of 6 levels you are then given the option to head to either the last mission or the completely optional stage. Mega Black Label modes adds another optional level resulting in two optional stages if you are brave enough to face them. Those two optional levels do not have a difficulty mode you can set so these will be your demise if you are used to playing on easier difficulties. You don't receive anything for completing them other than a higher score at the end assuming you don't die so it may be best to skip them if you are attempting to run with no continues or a 1CC as Shmup fans call it. With 7 levels and two optional ones it will take you around 40 minutes to get through this.

The gameplay has a rather neat feature in which you can shoot to the left with one button or to the right with another. I really liked this unique mechanic as it keeps you from remaining stationary on the edges of the screen like so many other bullet hells. In Deathsmiles sticking in the middle is your best bet as enemies will swarm you from both sides of the screen which feels absolutely awesome as you lay waste to your foes and feel like the anime version of Neo from the Matrix. Unlike most other games of this genre you will not die from a single hit, instead you have a life bar with three sections. Taking a hit will cost you one section of the life bar while touching an enemy or a hazard will cost you half of a section. Losing an entire section will reset your bombs to max capacity though they do not stack so taking a hit while still having bombs left is incredibly wasteful. Bombs work like in any other game and they clear the screen of all projectiles and does heavy damage to your enemies.

You can increase your life bar to allow you to take more hits if you do well enough though it is a very difficult task and using a continue will reset it back to normal. Holding both firing buttons at the same time allows you to fire at any enemy in short range of your character which is less useful than simply firing in that direction. Where it becomes really useful is when facing bosses as getting in close and holding both buttons locks on to him meaning you can focus on just avoiding his attacks while doing consistent damage. As you defeat enemies they will drop items that both increase your score and fill up a number meter at the bottom left of the screen. Once you hit 500 or more in that meter and you press both attack buttons you will enter a “Power-up mode” where you cause more damage and receive much more points per kill.

In “Ver.1.1” entering this power-up mode becomes much riskier as killing an enemy while it's in effect guarantees that it shoots projectiles once it dies and your attack becomes much more flashier making it hard to keep track of where the projectiles are. It is a risky gamble while on death's door and you are hoping the extra points you get from it will get you a health item or a bomb. Holding the attack button slows you down and deals more damage but the amount it slows you down is so minimal you are unlikely to notice. The amount of continues you can use is unlimited so any one can get to the end of this title.One minor annoyance that remains from Cave's last Steam release called Mushihimesama is the lack of one overall option for your screen settings. That means you will have to tweak your preferred screen settings on each of the 6 modes which is a very slight annoyance yet a remaining problem of their ports.

Where Deathsmiles really messes up is on the story. It is pretty terrible and that is nothing new to the genre but there is too much of it here and no way to turn it off. It's pretty bothersome to mash a button to slightly speed up the cutscenes that were boring the first time around and it does reduce my will to keep on replaying it. Each character has slightly different things to say throughout the course of the game and each one also have one of two endings to choose from at the end. You know nothing about the characters which makes it hard to care but it's a cool feature nonetheless. A simple option to turn the story off would do wonders for those that have already seen all it has to offer or simply don't care. Graphics are do the job yet for some reason the characters are 3D models that have aged far worse than the 2D sprite work. The game also has objects like walls or cliffs that block you and forces you to make your way around it. I'm personally not a fan of stuff that impede your movement in bullet hell games but the real problem here is that you occasionally don't know if it's an actual object or just background scenery until you try flying through it. In a genre that requires split second timing second guessing yourself like this will likely spell your doom.

Enemies in this game range from minotaurs, cyclops and even tanks. It is a very cool and whacky mix of both reality and fantasy. Each level has a boss at the end waiting for you and they all fight quite differently. Bosses are far odder than regular enemies and your jaw will likely drop when you see one of them is a giant cow. All in all Deathsmiles is a fun Bullet Hell that tries many different things and succeeds on most of them. While the story is a pain to read through having 5 characters, multiple routes and many modes to choose from is more than enough reason to replay this game time and time again. It's not the best the genre or Cave has to offer but it is a unique enough experience to warrant a buy from any fan of Bullet Hells.

701 Produkte im Account

6 Reviews

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145 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 27.03.16 20:34

I loved this game back when they released it for the Xbox 360, and I love it now. CAVE releases some of the best bullet hell shmups out there. Creative artwork, lots of great bullet patterns, and best of all they are really approachable.

While your goal should be to avoid death and rack up the highest score possible, they are content to give you continues out the wazoo, so that you can experience the entire game no matter your skill level. This way, if you are new to games like this, you won't be put off by hitting a wall right away, and can still experience all the challenge and creative fun this game has to offer while you work on improving your skills.

Between finding the best ways to maximize your points and use your familiars, this is the kind of game you can lose countless hours just trying to perfect. If you haven't liked shmups in the past, this MIGHT change your mind just due to its more forgiving nature. Of course, if you just don't like chasing high scores or the concept of shmups, this game probably isn't going to change your mind.

3597 Produkte im Account

32 Reviews

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210 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 11.03.16 12:16

Status: Completed (w/ Rosa)

This is an enhanced port of the 2007 arcade shooter from Cave, which was also ported to Xbox 360 (and later to mobile platforms). It feels and plays like a very high quality old school arcade game.
The chosen theme here is nothing new for Japanese shoot'em'ups - witches and castles entourage, bizarre enemies and story which doesn't take itself seriously (well, if you choose Rosa, that is), and it reminds me of games like Parodius and Cho Aniki. You will fight bosses like giant cow and giant man head, it's that kind of game.

Presentation

...is fantastic. Gorgeous art, highly detailed everything. Non-stop action, bright colors, little touches here and there. It features both pixel art and pre-rendered sprites (some of the enemies and bosses like Mary).

Gameplay

The controls are simple, yet not really common - you have one button to shoot right and another one to shoot left. You also have a bomb / spell which kills everything on the screen and “Targeting Magic”, which is an alternate attack which features lock-on mechanics.
Bullet hell shooters are known for being very unforgiving. But Deathsmiles has...how would you say...democracy? All stages except the last one (and the bonus one) have Rank system (difficulty level). You choose 1, you get a walk in the park, you choose 3, you get the true bullet hell.
So both groups of players would be happy – the ones who play shoot'em'ups for entertainment and the ones who play it hardcore, for scores and ranks.
Every stage is different and the game introduces new enemies with each one. I never felt like something was recycled.
Its length is exactly would you expect from an arcade game – 30-40 minutes and it's GREAT. The replayability is there – choose different characters (all have different attacks), choose different ranks, choose a different mode, heck, choose a different ending (quite literally, you just choose the ending you want in the end of the game, A or B).

Technical

There are many options to customize your experience. Make it 4:3 or 16:9, choose background image, zoom the screen how you want, etc.
The game has framerate slowdowns. They're not common, and they usually occur when there are hundreds objects on screen at the same time. In such games it's something that people see as both good and bad, so it's up to you to judge is it a problem or not.

A quality port and great game, a must have for shoot'em'up fans.

Deathsmiles

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Steam Nutzer-Reviews

⠀♫ For Lost and Beloved Souls ♫⠀

───────⚪───────────────────────

La la la... Halloween party! La la la... Let's Trick-or-treat!
~HALLOWEEN JUNKY ORCHESTRA

Deathsmiles

Sammlung

Über das Spiel

Systemanforderungen

Steam Nutzer-Reviews

⠀♫ For Lost and Beloved Souls ♫⠀

───────⚪───────────────────────

La la la... Halloween party! La la la... Let's Trick-or-treat! ~HALLOWEEN JUNKY ORCHESTRA

La la la... Halloween party! La la la... Let's Trick-or-treat!
~HALLOWEEN JUNKY ORCHESTRA