Psyvariar Delta

Genre: Bullet Hell Shmup

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Psyvariar is a Bullet Hell Shmup originally released in 2000 in Japan in arcades and on PlayStation 2. This version, subtitled “Medium Unit” was joined later that year in arcades by the release of the “Revision” version of the game, which remixed the game’s levels and added new features. In 2002, a “Complete Edition” was released combining these two earlier versions of the game, with this being the first version to release outside of Japan in 2003, albeit only in Europe. Finally, in 2019, players in the US are able to get their hands on this game in the form of Psyvariar Delta, which released on PC and Nintendo Switch and included all previous content as well as a new Delta version of the game with new remixed stages.

Psyvariar has a decent presentation that makes use of 3D visuals for its fighters and backgrounds. As you can imagine for a game from 25 years ago, the visuals aren’t especially impressive, but they get the job done, and the same goes for the game’s synthesized soundtrack.

As for the gameplay, Psyvariar is a good example of a Shmup with a “graze” mechanic, here referred to as “buzz”, which rewards players for being super-close to enemies and enemy gunfire without touching it. In addition, this game has a “spin” function that enables players to alter the patterns of the bullets they’re firing.

Beyond these features, Psyvariar is a pretty by-the-book Bullet Hell Shmup, which is to say it’s nails-hard and there are tons of bullets on-screen at any given time. The game does try to help players out by offering a zoomed-in window so players can make slight adjustments to get near enemy fire without touching it, but unfortunately I found this feature unhelpful, as the window is so small and zoomed-in you don’t get much warning before a stray bullet enters that area.

Overall, I think Psyvariar is a Bullet Hell Shmup that has aged pretty well, though I definitely think it can’t quite compare to other games in the genre like Ikaruga. Still, if you’re a fan of Bullet Hell Shmups, this is a pretty solid entry in the genre and one worth checking out.

tl;dr – Psyvariar Delta is a Bullet Hell Shmup containing three versions of the classic game Psyvariar, including a new version made specifically for this release. This is a solid entry in the genre making good use of a graze mechanic called “buzz”, and although I wouldn’t call it exceptional, it’s still worth a look for fans of the genre.

Grade: B

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