Shooting the Ships in Steredenn

Bullet hell shooters and rogue-likes are two genres that I've never really thought of in the same breath. At their core, they've traditionally been very different types of games. In one corner, we have the shmups, where a key part of mastering them is intense memorization, knowing exactly when and where enemies are going to come from, and having intimate knowledge of bosses' bullet patterns. Meanwhile, rogue-likes' main draw is the promise that each outing will be different. No two adventures will be the same. This flies in the face of bullet hell shooters, as it eliminates the need to remember everything since enemies won't necessarily be the same, come from the same places, or use the same bullet patterns.

Nonetheless, some folks have opted to make a game that combines these two very divergent genres with Steredenn. The game is still in development but from what's there so far, this unexpected hybridization works surprisingly well. Instead of making mental notes on each playthrough of the game, keeping track of everything that happens, the player is forced to fly by the seat of their pants and rely on instinct in order to survive.

This isn't to say that every each playthrough will be utterly unique from the next, as there are certain basic patterns that seem to recur from time to time. I've noticed similar ship formations or laser deployments that happen on a somewhat regular basis. Also, the bosses follow a set pattern of scaling power, going from a very simple introductory one to much more decked out ships later on, all the while sticking to the same models. There seems to be a variety of bullet and weapon patterns when fighting these guys that varies on each playthrough, but the vessels themselves stay the same.

Weapon choice is pretty standard stuff with bullet shots, rockets, lasers, and bots. The last of these feels a tad overpowered at the moment, though, as it's easy to deploy a bunch of these and they will auto-target incoming enemies, continuing to fire at them until they're destroyed. Putting out lots of these results in tons of concentrated fire on enemy ships, making quick work of them, and they can also be used to block incoming fire. If you saturate the screen with these things, the game feels a bit easy.

I'm having some mixed feelings about the visuals, however. It's that pixelated psuedo-retro look that has been popular for the last while. At first, it was an art style that was kind of pleasant to look at, but the indie game scene is becoming so saturated by it that it's beginning to wear its welcome. The stuff in Steredenn sort of reminds me of Dungeon of the Endless in terms of art direction. It's not horrible per say, but for those who have played quite a lot of games with this aesthetic of late, things may feel a little bit long in the tooth.

Nonetheless, the game could turn into a decent time waster. A randomized shmup does have its charms and is a nice departure from the legions of fantasy-based games that go the rogue-like route. One can only take so much swords and sorcery before going bonkers.