StarLightRiders: HyperJump – Stunning Neon Bullet Hell Bliss ...

StarLightRiders: HyperJump, the latest bullet hell experience from EastAsiaSoft, and developer LunarCitySeven brings to us an intergalactic anime space epic that is both brutally challenging, and lightly simplistic in the way of content offerings. In either solo or co-op local play you'll find yourself flying as one of two bubbly anime space cadets who are chasing after a known enemy. Little else is disclosed in the way of story, and characters, but as dialogue unfolds onscreen the player is slowly clued into what exactly is going on. The key takeaway is that your ship is equipped with multiple weapons and tools need to circumnavigate the bullet hell filling the screen. Enough armament to deal with your mechanized foe and his alien army!

From the get go only a few options are available at the game's main menu listing. This includes a "Play" option for getting into the game as well as a "Chapter" option for selecting the stage, and an "Options" option for adjusting volume sliders, and screen shake intensity. Playing the game comes with both solo and co-op opportunities, for those interested.

As one of two female pilots your ship is equipped with some weapons, bombs, and a warp function for getting past certain obstacles. You have a widespread shot made possible by joining ship satellites, a powered up and limited hyper shot the clears out bullet hell, and a focused beam shot for dealing with harder to destroy aliens/ships. This along with the limited use screen clearing bomb are your only means to deal with the enemy onslaught. And by downing enemies you'll make reactor power-ups drop that power-up both your hyper shot, and warp feature. At the same time taking down multiple enemies in rapid succession without taking damage rewards you with combos that add into the game's score multiplier system.

Stages that you'll playthrough in order are vertical scrolling in nature with a top-down point of view that has the ship flying upwards towards the top of the screen as aliens and enemy craft descend in waves, and groups. Each stage has a set amount of enemy waves to deal with as well as a final boss to clear. They are also uniquely themed, environmentally. At the end of a stage your score is tallied via 3 rank multipliers and added to your overall total. As far as survival is concerned you'll find that during your fight and flight adventure your ship can take only three hits before it's completely destroyed, and then you'll need to press the options button to continue. The continues are also limited, and once exhausted will lead to a GAME OVER screen. Unfortunately there's no leaderboards in-game, and thus no real reason to chase high scores.

The Presentation ...

The developer went all out with StarLightRiders' visual presentation creating a pixel pleasing spectacle done up in bright neon colors, and anime inspired art including a border depiction of the more Japanese inspired female character designs. It is top quality in the way of design, and even the soundtrack stands out with an anime inspired electronic flair.

The Verdict ...

As good as StarLightRiders: HyperJump looks, plays, and sounds it ultimately falls short of being the best it could be due to a lack of extra modes, and leaderboards. The game seems incomplete, and could definitely use more features to make it a proper competitor among other more well endowed indie bullet hell experiences. Even so the game is being sold at an affordable price that still does meet the quality standards in regards to what you're buying into. If anything it's good for streaming, and earning some extra PSN trophies. Definitely a game meant for anime enthusiasts, and fans of bullet hell shooters.