Astebreed (PC) – an indie treasure

2D shooters are no longer just for the hardcore, as this stunning new indie game turns out to be one of the best shoot ’em-ups of the year.

One of the best things about indie games is that it’s actually possible to be surprised by them. As great as more mainstream games might be they’ve almost inevitability been preceded by a year or more’s worth of trailers, previews, interviews, and betas. But Astebreed has been out for just over a month at this point and we never had any idea it existed until a few days ago. Now that we do we can see it’s one of the best shoot ’em-ups of the year.



Astebreed isn’t a first person shooter though, and it certainly doesn’t have any cover mechanics. It is instead an old school 2D shooter, very much in the style of genre master Treasure and classics such as Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga. We’ve never heard of Edelweiss before but they seem to be a Japanese indie developer with only a small string of other arcade style action games to their name (after this we’re certainly going to check out earlier game Ether Vapor on Steam).

But while their appreciation for Treasure’s more traditional 2D work is obvious in every second of gameplay it’s actually Nintendo-published franchise Sin And Punishment that this game most closely resembles. The similarities come in that although in gameplay terms Astebreed is always a 2D shooter the perspective constantly changes, so that sometime it’s a traditional side-on game, sometimes a vertical scroller, and other times essentially an on-the-rails third person shooter.


The story behind the action is, of course, pure nonsense (and detailed in subtitles you never have time to read) but the cinematic stylings are hugely impressively and amongst the most technically advanced we’ve seen in the genre. The viewpoint doesn’t just switch at random, but is used to punctuate the action with the reveal of a boss or to allow for a brief respite after a punishing set piece.

Creating a top quality 2D shooter is rarely about big new ideas but instead is more like designing a good roller coaster, with the appearance and design of each wave of new enemies requiring skilled choreography that often goes unappreciated – until you play a game that gets it wrong.

Although it’s a truism that the Japanese do not use PCs to play video games that’s only generally true in terms of mainstream Western titles. The PC has always been home to a thriving market of visual novels and other low budget titles intended solely for a Japanese audience, and there’s also an active indie scene – know in Japan as dōjin soft.

Even so the graphics here are still well above the level you’d expect, with rock solid 60 frames per second action and higher than 1080p resolution. But of course it’s the gameplay that is most vital and here Astebreed also excels. You’re piloting a Gundam-ish flying robot, which has three main forms of attack: a short range sword, a focused stream of bullets, and a wider spread shot attack.

Astebreed (PC) – even the robot designs are good

Both shooting styles can use a lock-on mechanic, with the spread shot allowing you to target enemies in a circle around you, while the focused shots can only be used for objects directly in front of you. There are some additional complications, with different attacks being used to cancel different kinds of enemy bullets and a variable use special ‘EX Attack’, but the basics are relatively simple and much more accommodating for a novice player than something like Radiant Silvergun.



In fact the game goes out of its way to try to welcome those new to the genre, with an in-depth tutorial, reasonably fair checkpoints, and three different difficulty modes. The opening prologue is also purposefully easy, which not only helps not to scare of potential players but is also extremely useful for experimenting with the game’s various systems.

As genre fans would expect there’s a complex scoring system for when you’ve got the hang of the action, although delving into that side of the game is entirely optional. The score multiplier is based around your robot’s shields, and as long as they’re still up your combos will continue to rack up whenever you make a kill using either of the two normal shot attacks. When you use a sword you bank the points but the multiplayer drops.

And again the game goes above and beyond by including a full suit of online leaderboards and achievements. There are even graphs to show the ebb and flow of your multiplier over the course of each level. Compared to other shooters, and other Japanese-dominated genres like fighting games, it’s a remarkably complete package that doesn’t use its niche status as an excuse not to include basic functions.

In strictest terms Astebreed doesn’t do anything new in the genre, but within that context this is one of the best examples of its breed in years. It’s especially good for newcomers and although it certainly gets very hard towards the end the game’s not spiteful about its difficultly level, and it does its best to help you succeed. We wouldn’t even really call it a bullet hell game, for although the screen certainly does get bus it doesn’t require rote learning or supernatural arcade skills to progress.


Regardless of genre Astebreed is simply an excellent video game, with well balanced gameplay, great graphics and art design, and an interesting and varied challenge despite the short running time. That all this should be the work of an unknown indie developer just makes it all the more impressive, and all the more worthy of your time and money.

In Short: One of the most impressive indie titles of the year and arguably the most cinematic and accessible 2D shooter of the modern era.

Pros: Superbly designed action, with excellent graphics and a very cinematic camera. Lots of features aimed at both newcomers and genre veterans, including a well thought out scoring system.

Cons: As is usual for the genre the game can be beaten in under two hours, once you get the hang of it. Few genuinely new ideas.

Score: 9/10

Formats: PC (reviewed) and PlayStation 4

Price: £14.99

Publisher: AGM PLAYISM

Developer: Edelweiss

Release Date: 30th May 2014 (PS4 TBA)

Age Rating: N/A

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