Indie Gems Bundle – Explosions Edition

Genre: Compilation / Bullet Hell Shmup / Roguelike / 2-Stick Shooter / Match-3 Puzzle

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local), Online Leaderboards

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Review:

Indie Gems Bundle – Explosions Edition is a collection of three games from publisher Digerati that all fit somewhere in the spectrum of Action games. I have reviewed these games separately. Here were my thoughts:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Grade
NeuroVoider	2-Stick Shooter / Roguelike	1-4 Co-Op (Local), Online Leaderboards	A-
tl;dr NeuroVoider is a combination of Two-Stick Shooter and Roguelike that has you fighting an army of robots, stealing their parts, and then using them to upgrade your own capabilities. It’s an incredibly fun game with great co-op, a fantastic presentation, and tons of variety and customization. The randomized level design and enemy AI could have used a bit of work, but on the whole this is an absolutely fantastic game that should be owned by anyone who enjoys a good Action game.
Steredenn: Binary Stars	Bullet Hell Shmup / Roguelike	1-2 Co-Op (Local), Online Leaderboards	B
tl;dr Steredenn is a Bullet Hell Shmup that incorporates elements of Roguelikes into its game progression. The presentation here is phenomenal, with fantastic pixel art graphics and a great soundtrack, however, the randomized elements and some questionable design choices make for a game that’s even more difficult than the usual Shmup, making this a game mostly only the biggest fans of the genre will have the patience for.
Transcripted	2-Stick Shooter / Match-3 Puzzle	1	B+
tl;dr Transcripted is a game that combines Two-Stick Shooter gameplay with Match-3 Puzzle gameplay similar to Zuma. While the two gameplay styles don’t always get along well with each other, for the most part this is a pretty cohesive gameplay experience that’s satisfying, unique, and features a superb presentation.

This is a really good combination of titles. Not only are all three games in this game ranging from good to great, without a bad one in the bunch, all of them offer a wide variety of gameplay while sticking to the basic theme – NeuroVoider offers a mesh of 2-Stick Shooter and Roguelike, Steredenn has fast-paced Shmup action with Roguelike elements, and Transcripted combines a 2-Stick Shooter with a more thoughtful Match-3 Puzzle style of game.

Really, the only sticking point I have here is the price – at full price, this collection only saves you $5 off the cost of buying the three games separately. However, I’d say all three of the games in this collection are well worth owning, so even that small discount makes this collection worthwhile, and it becomes even more the case if you can catch this collection in a sale.

In the end, Indie Gems Bundle – Explosions Edition is an excellent combination of three solid games, and if you haven’t already gotten one of the games in this collection and you’re a fan of Shmups and 2-Stick Shooters, you should absolutely give this collection a try.

tl;dr – Indie Gems Bundle – Explosions Edition is a Compilation of three Action-packed games, each of them ranging from good to great. If you’re a fan of Shmups and 2-Stick shooters, you’re bound to find something to love in this package, even if the savings over purchasing these games individually is minimal.

Grade: B+

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