Developer: SITER SKAIN
Publisher: Nyu Media
Platform: Desura, GamersGate, Nyu Media, Rice Digital, Steam

Digital distribution is quickly changing the landscape of games available to players. In the days when arcades still existed, it was likely most had tried at least one shoot ’em up there. Afterwards, the genre trended toward niche with releases that mostly just fans were aware of. Nyu Media, known for their doujin releases, recently brought RefleX to a western audience.

Interestingly, RefleX is the second game in The Tale of ALLTYNEX trilogy by independent developer SITER SKAIN. Yet, it is the first released to Steam. The game includes eight stages complete with large bosses and tons of regular enemies. Of course, this is what is par for the course with shooters.

What is it that makes the game stand out against countless others? The most interesting feature is a reflect system. Using a shield during battle protects your ship but also reflects enemy bullets. Where bullets bounce back is dependent on the angle they struck your shield to begin with. So, in theory, these reflected bullets are a great way to weaken enemies. In play I found this hard to control simply because there’s so much going on.

Bullet hell shooters are famous for having tons of visual clutter thanks to ridiculous bullet patterns and enemies. With so much going on, using the reflective shield to its best is beyond my reach (at least right now). At least RefleX grants failing players extra continues! There’s a lot good about the game, but it seems opposed to novices, despite appealing to them with more lives. RefleX is best played by fans of the genre or those who really, really want to play a solid shooter regardless of difficulty.

3 out of 5 alpacas

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