Gunvein - NGDev Team's Foray into High Definition Gaming

[jehu]

New NG Dev Team game - looks solid and presents a very interesting (perhaps controversial) departure from their namesake console.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6lB--mTlRw

[Ddshot]

Looks cool [OK HAND SIGN]look forward to the release


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[FRO]

It's interesting to see the trailer, and think about this game's development, in light of an earlier title that's related, though not directly an NG.dev team game. This looks like the fulfillment of the ideas that went into Ghost Blade (and subsequently, Ghost Blade HD), but with a much nicer, shinier coat of paint, and at least from the little bit shown, more fleshed out mechanics. I'll be eager to see more footage, and get a bit more insight into the game play.

[Darkseed_5150]

Upping their game. Good to see these guys and M2 incorporating more contemporary presentation to their games as it moves the genre forward.

[Sengoku Strider]

If you told me this was a Crimzon Clover followup I'd 100% believe you.

And be thankful they were going for a less eye-searing amount of medals on screen this time.

[Sima Tuna]

It's interesting to see the trailer, and think about this game's development, in light of an earlier title that's related, though not directly an NG.dev team game. This looks like the fulfillment of the ideas that went into Ghost Blade (and subsequently, Ghost Blade HD), but with a much nicer, shinier coat of paint, and at least from the little bit shown, more fleshed out mechanics. I'll be eager to see more footage, and get a bit more insight into the game play.

I was going to say, this looks like a sequel to Ghost Blade HD.

I'm going to wait to see how this develops.

[jehu]

This looks like the fulfillment of the ideas that went into Ghost Blade (and subsequently, Ghost Blade HD), but with a much nicer, shinier coat of paint, and at least from the little bit shown, more fleshed out mechanics.

I was going to say, this looks like a sequel to Ghost Blade HD.

I'm going to wait to see how this develops.

I bought Ghost Blade and really wanted to like it, but I found it to be too anemic. It’s something hard to describe - on the subjective outer reaches of the ‘gamefeel’ landscape - but I couldn’t get into it because of a certain watery-ness. Like things die without any fanfare, the SFX were piddly, none of the visceral drama and mechanical heft that feels so good in games like Crimzon Clover. I felt the same way about Fast Striker when I played it - no blood in its veins. I like NG.Dev, their classic NG-era rendered chunkiness especially, and I want this to do well. I just hope they invest it with some vitality.

[Jonpachi]

I was never a NGDev fan until Razion. It's one those rare shmups where I put every other game aside and just had to keep playing until I got at least the Normal clear. Given that, I'm excited to see where they take it next.

[Sima Tuna]

This looks like the fulfillment of the ideas that went into Ghost Blade (and subsequently, Ghost Blade HD), but with a much nicer, shinier coat of paint, and at least from the little bit shown, more fleshed out mechanics.

I was going to say, this looks like a sequel to Ghost Blade HD.

I'm going to wait to see how this develops.

I bought Ghost Blade and really wanted to like it, but I found it to be too anemic. It’s something hard to describe - on the subjective outer reaches of the ‘gamefeel’ landscape - but I couldn’t get into it because of a certain watery-ness. Like things die without any fanfare, the SFX were piddly, none of the visceral drama and mechanical heft that feels so good in games like Crimzon Clover. I felt the same way about Fast Striker when I played it - no blood in its veins. I like NG.Dev, their classic NG-era rendered chunkiness especially, and I want this to do well. I just hope they invest it with some vitality.

Same. I tried hard to enjoy the game, but had numerous issues with ghost blade hd. I even attempted a 1cc, but kept coming up against visibility issues.

Example 1: The bomb creates a shitload of smoke effect whenever it goes off

Example 2: your shots hide enemy bullets

Example 3: Enemy bullets aren't always very bright or vivid on the background

The visibility problems kept getting me killed and I'd fall just short of a 1cc, get frustrated and close out of the game. It feels awful to die to something you never saw.

A lot of explosions lacked impact in a major way. The visuals were bland. I don't remember the music at all. None of the ships were memorable either. Ghost Blade HD feels like one of those games that would have received a lot of praise if released in the prime "shmups drought." But to play it now, on my switch, on the same console that has mushishimesama, dodonpachi dfk, espgaluda II, gradius collection, darius collection, capcom arcade stadium, r-type 1 and 2, x-multiply, raiden 1, 4 and 5, caladrius blaze, sisters royale, shiki 2 (soon), blazing star, neko navy, thunder force ac and so many others... Ghost Blade HD feels like a 5 or 6/10 game at best. It's a minnow in the shark pool.

[suny]

I don't care for their game, but on this one, they collaborated with the guy making Mechanical Star Astra.
Could be interesting.
S.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Hopefully they'll partner with someone who actually wants to sell to the UK. Our new customs rules are silly but almost everyone seems to have worked it out.

Hard to tell too much from that trailer. I thought Ghost Blade was nice but far too easy, so hopefully it takes a bit more inspiration from Fast Striker and not the Hucast offshot in the difficulty stakes.

[FRO]

Same. I tried hard to enjoy the game, but had numerous issues with ghost blade hd. I even attempted a 1cc, but kept coming up against visibility issues.

Example 1: The bomb creates a shitload of smoke effect whenever it goes off

Example 2: your shots hide enemy bullets

Example 3: Enemy bullets aren't always very bright or vivid on the background

The visibility problems kept getting me killed and I'd fall just short of a 1cc, get frustrated and close out of the game. It feels awful to die to something you never saw.

A lot of explosions lacked impact in a major way. The visuals were bland. I don't remember the music at all. None of the ships were memorable either. Ghost Blade HD feels like one of those games that would have received a lot of praise if released in the prime "shmups drought." But to play it now, on my switch, on the same console that has mushishimesama, dodonpachi dfk, espgaluda II, gradius collection, darius collection, capcom arcade stadium, r-type 1 and 2, x-multiply, raiden 1, 4 and 5, caladrius blaze, sisters royale, shiki 2 (soon), blazing star, neko navy, thunder force ac and so many others... Ghost Blade HD feels like a 5 or 6/10 game at best. It's a minnow in the shark pool.

Regarding the music, give the arranged soundtrack a try in HD, if you haven't already. I think it's a general improvement over the original, and I'm not just saying that because the composer is a buddy. It has a more consistent sound and feel throughout. You're spot on about the visibility issues, though, and I mentioned that when we covered Ghost Blade on the podcast. I think the HD version improves things somewhat, because it's overall better than the Dreamcast version, graphically and in terms of pure visual acuity, but it still has some of those problems. The explosions lacking impact is also true. But I'm hoping with what NG.dev has done so far, particularly with how good Razion EX came out, that this bodes well for Gunvein and its overall ability to overcome these kinds of issues.

[xxx1993]

So when's this game coming out? I heard the Steam release is set for sometime in September, but nothing on the PS4 and Switch ports yet, right?

[mehguy]

I hope they don't abandon Neo Geo development, but it kinda looks like they're going that route

[clippa]

Gunvein demo is out now!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2025840/Gunvein/

[Creamy Goodness]

Same. I tried hard to enjoy the game, but had numerous issues with ghost blade hd. I even attempted a 1cc, but kept coming up against visibility issues.

Example 1: The bomb creates a shitload of smoke effect whenever it goes off

Example 2: your shots hide enemy bullets

Example 3: Enemy bullets aren't always very bright or vivid on the background

The visibility problems kept getting me killed and I'd fall just short of a 1cc, get frustrated and close out of the game. It feels awful to die to something you never saw.

A lot of explosions lacked impact in a major way. The visuals were bland. I don't remember the music at all. None of the ships were memorable either. Ghost Blade HD feels like one of those games that would have received a lot of praise if released in the prime "shmups drought." But to play it now, on my switch, on the same console that has mushishimesama, dodonpachi dfk, espgaluda II, gradius collection, darius collection, capcom arcade stadium, r-type 1 and 2, x-multiply, raiden 1, 4 and 5, caladrius blaze, sisters royale, shiki 2 (soon), blazing star, neko navy, thunder force ac and so many others... Ghost Blade HD feels like a 5 or 6/10 game at best. It's a minnow in the shark pool.

Regarding the music, give the arranged soundtrack a try in HD, if you haven't already. I think it's a general improvement over the original, and I'm not just saying that because the composer is a buddy. It has a more consistent sound and feel throughout. You're spot on about the visibility issues, though, and I mentioned that when we covered Ghost Blade on the podcast. I think the HD version improves things somewhat, because it's overall better than the Dreamcast version, graphically and in terms of pure visual acuity, but it still has some of those problems. The explosions lacking impact is also true. But I'm hoping with what NG.dev has done so far, particularly with how good Razion EX came out, that this bodes well for Gunvein and its overall ability to overcome these kinds of issues.

The arranged soundtrack is really good. I'm generally not a fan of the whole Euro-dance thing that NGDev uses in their games, but the arranged soundtrack was a definite improvement. As for the overall game I've seen a lot of people talk about how easy it is, but I found it really hard and not in a good challenging way. It was just frustrating due to the already mentioned visibility issues. A lot of it has to do with enemies giving off a lot of shrapnel when they explode along with some collectibles looking like bullets. I would often find myself dodging stuff I shouldn't be dodging only to run into a bullet because of it. Something that adds to the visibility issues and the general anemic gameplay is the game uses a lot of RNG. A lot of bullets seem to come at you in random globs rather than elegant patterns. And many of the bullets being really small or oddly shaped doesn't help either. All of this turns the game into kind of a chaotic mess.

Also, not sure if anybody else had experienced this, but when going hard with rapid shot it seems to slow down and get weaker. Like the sound of it slows down, but the game is still running at normal speed. And it seems to get weaker when this happens. That is really annoying.

[Sima Tuna]

Ghost Blade HD would be an easy game if the visibility issues were resolved. I think that's why the game is called "easy". At the very minimum, I would expect a patch added to remove the smoke generated by player bombs. There are so many easy fixes that could be done to Ghost Blade HD, which would dramatically improve the experience.

-Remove smoke generated by player bombs
-Remove smoke/effects generated by exploding enemies
-Place enemy shots on top of player bullets in the screen layer at all times
-Add an extra outline around enemy bullets

All of this could probably be done easily with a mod. Killing enemies, using bombs and firing bullets all create more visual noise in Ghost Blade and lead to a worse experience. That shouldn't be happening.

The blobs of bullets are probably part of the game's design. I think they'd be less bothersome if other visual clutter was resolved.

[To Far Away Times]

NG dev is (sometimes) awesome. But their later games are a lot better than their earlier ones. Lets hope this is more like the superb Razion EX and less like Ghost Blade.

[clippa]

Don't let the fact that it's NGDev put you off.
Boghog is helping them out this time. His mitts are all over it!

[kid aphex]

I watched an HQ video of the demo and the graphics are better than expected…
Much better than previous NGDev stuff.

Game looks pretty awesome.

[qmish]

Gunvein demo is out now!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2025840/Gunvein/

Played it a little bit.

I'd say it has one of most important tutorial sections I've ever seen in shmups, explaining about different types of enemy patterns (aimed, area, random) and certain techniques to use for player.
Though on the other hand, actual "let's try now" are somewhat wonky, either because me is still very noob in genre, or because they fail to tell you what exactly they except you to do (which doesnt aligns completely with what they say). Even still, the actual theory parts before that are very damn nice to have in a game.

As for playable "gameplay portion" in demo, i'm not sure what to think yet. I tried both "roguelike mode" and "challenge mode" and didn't find if there is just a demo version of level from "classic arcade" mode yet.
Personally, I feel like the game has much potential, but I'm still not sure if visual readability is good enough or not.

Also, for me personally, game is a bit TOO "danmaku", which is not really my cup of tea. I'm not sure how better explain it, but e.g. in most popular Cave games you don't really end up into "freaking hell of pixel-perfect micro movement galore" until Stage 4 or Stage 3, while earlier stages tend do be more like "classic stg" where you don't have the WHOLE screen already filled by bullets, so there is plenty of macro and explosions just like in Raiden or something. While this game, just like Aka to Blue, tries to be like Touhou maybe? Where it's from the start you see how much style is about "your tiny tiny hitbox into labyrinth of many many bullets" with visual clutterfuck into your eyes and what not. I'm not "that much" into that, by defenition, and usually i somewhat expect it to be in second half of games (like in most Cave titles).

Visuals reminds me of Crimzon Clover a bit here, btw. Dunno if anyone else agree on this, lol. Music is nice.

Overall, I'm kinda not really "sold" on Gunvein yet, but seems promising so far. As for me myself, I always more or less liked NGDEV Team's games (Fast Striker <3 ), so glad to see they're doing things again.

[kid aphex]

Visuals reminds me of Crimzon Clover a bit here, btw. Dunno if anyone else agree on this, lol. Music is nice.

Totally, just a little less sprite-y. Smoother and less chunky, to my eye.

Roguelikes have becomes my new favorite genre of game, so I’ve been anticipating Gunvein’s attempt at a shmup-like-rogue-like…
Can’t wait to try it out myself (eventually)

[Stevens]

Whoa I haven't touched a shooter in a while, let alone one from NG Dev. This looks like it could be solid.

[ummo]

I quite liked the demo, great soundtrack as usual and somehow managed to 1cc it in all 3 levels. As a NGDev fan, I approve this release

[heli]

They broken my TV-speakers with Ghost-Blade HD on PS4.
Sony should ban this, i should write a complaint mail only i am to lazy.

[qmish]

Eh? What does Ghost Blade have to do with ngDevTeam? I thought Dux and Ghost Blade are made by different people.

[Kollision]

there are slight ties between both companies, but both Dux and Ghost Blade were made by Hucast, not NG:dev.team.

[Barba]

there are slight ties between both companies, but both Dux and Ghost Blade were made by Hucast, not NG:dev.team.

It's 2 brothers (literally).

[Nugs]

I liked the demo.
Got a bit of a blue revolver vibe from it with the bullet patterns and the 'pick up bomb fragments then use the bomb to score' mechanic.

[ShootTheCore]

there are slight ties between both companies, but both Dux and Ghost Blade were made by Hucast, not NG:dev.team.

It's 2 brothers (literally).

More specifically, Rene does the game design and Timm does the programming. Rene did the game design for Dux, Ghost Blade, and many of the NG Dev games.

https://www.mobygames.com/developer/she ... Id,444307/