Crisis Wing | PS4 Review

Crisis Wing is your standard shoot 'em up affair. It's SSDD. Same Shmup Different Design. While it looks noticeably different from anything before it, it's visual design does little to help the game in the area of gameplay. The ship's movement, which is a crucial part in any bullet hell shooter, is so loose that it makes for an unfairly challenging experience, and I do believe that artificial difficulty is what the developer was banking on in the area of challenge. When it comes to modes of play the SSDD side of things still applies. Nothing to write home about, but it does include a sort of unique take on time attack mode. Visual tweaks are also made available in the form of sharp, or CRT filters. Even the border colors, and screen orientation can be changed. 

In Crisis Wing's single or two player co-op modes each player gets a set stock of ships, and bombs from the start. These can be increased through scoring, and power-up collecting. As per any shmup of the top-down variety you are placed in the heat of battle within set stages. Said stages consisting of waves of lesser enemies, and a final boss. The lesser enemies drop point medallions if their waves are killed out entirely. Collecting the medallions in succession increase their point value. Max medallion point value is capped at 10K, and can be kept up so long as you don't get hit or miss a medallion. This, of course, is where the game's local leaderboards come into play. There are also marked power-up ships you'll happen upon which when destroyed will drop power-up gems or extra bombs. The power-ups change your shot type per color when picked up, and each time you pick up a new power-up gem your shot type will change accordingly.

As you face waves of lesser enemy craft, and the bosses threats come from direct contact as well as contact with the bullet hell shots that litter the screen. There are no slowdown features for better bullet hell dodging, and as previously mentioned the ship you control moves very quickly, and loosely about the screen. The thumbstick, and how far you tilt it seems to change the severity of the movement, but offers little reprieve in the more bullet hell focus fire fights. Bombs do briefly offer invulnerability to the bullet hell with the forward shooting of a giant green skull, but that doesn't last long enough to combat repetitive bullet hell in boss situations. The biggest benefits from bombs is the direct damage it does to enemy ships. Enemy ships themselves destruct in stages until they glow red, and finally explode. Most enemy ships are bullet sponges to some degree or other with boss ships being the tankiest of them all. 

Modes offered come in four varieties, technically speaking. You have single player, two player co-op, time attack, and boss rush. The single and two player modes are your basic arcade playthroughs with a series of stages to clear. Each with their own end boss, and intermittent waves of lesser enemy ships. With the two player co-op, in particular, you can set the life stock to shared or not shared in the main menu options. Time attack, on the other hand is an infinite life challenge where you are given a set time limit to rack up as much points as possible, and make it as far as possible. The stages, and enemies in time attack vary greatly in comparison to the ones in the single player, and two player co-op modes. Lastly, boss rush is boss rush mode that does offer pre-battle waves for powering up your ship beforehand. The game suggests you reach at least stage three in the 1P and 2P modes before attempting to play through boss rush mode. Regardless of the warning though you can still play it at anytime with no need to unlock access to it. The same goes for time attack.

The Presentation ...

Visually the layered, and highly detailed design of Crisis Wing is impressive even though it has been scaled down to less than fullscreen. The sprites, and level designs are intricate in nature, and made sort of 3D with lighting effects, and a layered/animated look. Special effects, and bullet hell effects also make for a visually pleasing spectacle. When it comes to audio it's very arcadey. It's got that old school arcade sound about it, and seeing as this is a game designed very much like the 32bit shmups of the arcade scene it is a fitting soundtrack. Sound effects are also on par with this type of experience. 

The Verdict ...

I think the Achille's Heel for 'Crisis Wing' is it's artificial difficulty that is ship movement. Had the developer implemented a slowdown mechanic for the bullet hell the game would be more doable. I think it crutches too much on the looseness of the ship's movement for challenge. That having been said I am aware that some reviewers believe the opposite, and think the ship is too sluggish. I think this is a result of the small play area, and the lack of room to dodge the wider and more clustered spray of projectiles. I stick by what I say though, and believe the movement of the ship is so loose and quick in nature it doesn't allow for proper dodging. Outside of that it doesn't really do anything game or genre changing if you don't count the stack medallion scoring gimmick. Sure the time attack is a slightly different take, but beyond that it is a standard shmup experience through and through. The only thing differentiating it from other shmups being it's visual design, and more metal soundtrack. I do have to keep in mind that this is a budget priced indie, and in that regard it's not all that bad. I just wish there had of been a slowdown mechanic included.