Ikaruga

Genre: Bullet Hell Shmup

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Ikaruga is a Bullet Hell Shmup that many have argued is the king of the genre. It was first released on the Dreamcast in 2002, and has since been released on multiple platforms, which is a testament to its quality.

For those unfamiliar with it, Ikaruga’s claim to fame is that the ship you pilot can swap back and forth between a black form and a white one, with corresponding bullets and a corresponding shield. If you’re in your white form and are hit by a white bullet, you won’t take damage – instead you’ll absorb the hit and charge up a special attack. Likewise, if you’re fighting a white enemy, you may want to switch over to the black form because enemies take more damage from the opposite color. With this as the core of the gameplay, you must strategically decide the best times to switch, both to better take down enemies and also to avoid the huge hailstorm of bullets sent your way.

The game looks as good as it ever did, apparently running 1080p in docked mode and 720p in handheld mode and a solid 60FPS for both, and this version even includes some nice features to take advantage of the Switch’s unique hardware, such as the ability to play the game in the vertical alignment when it is in portable mode.

Like most shmups, the game is short, but this is the sort of game that’s meant to be played until you perfect it, always challenging your old best score, or take on the online leaderboards. And this is a fantastic game to play in 2-player co-op too.

All in all, shmup fans couldn’t ask for a better title on the Switch, which already has plenty of other great games in the genre. If this sort of game interests you, Ikaruga is a must-have.

tl;dr – Ikaruga is a Bullet Hell Shmup that’s at its best on the Switch, which not only plays smoothly while docked, but even has features to make the best use of the Switch in portable mode. If you like this genre, you need this game.

Grade: A-

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