Dead End City

[Stevens]

Another winner suggested by Steam.

Think Mad Max + Galaga + Spy Hunter. It has a demo and it's really good.

[BurlyHeart]

I've had my eye on this for a while.

Played the demo last week. The first stage was almost like a training stage, but the second level was really cool! Pure Mad Max vibes and much improved patterns.

[moonblood]

Very cool! The world needs more car shmups Hoping for a console release.

[-Fish-]

I've put around 6 hours in this so far and I must say I'm enjoying it immensely. For some reason it really reminds me something that could of been release for the Neo Geo back in the day. The life/fuel/overfuel system is interesting and there's a thorough score multiplier system in place. Normal/Hard difficulties. Steam online leaderboards are present as well.

You've got 5 stages that are each basically laid out in this order:

7 waves Galaga style shmup-> vertical scrolling traditional shmup --> boss battle



Fun STG and I'm top of the normal diff leaderboard (for the moment at least lol).

[Leander]

I've been waiting for this one too, and it's as fun as I hoped.
The dev is a good dude, he is around in the community and has been listening to feedback from players. Lets get this game to 10 reviews so Steam sends him some traffic.

[Stevens]

I'm going to pick it up today or tomorrow.

Also the attract screen, like Zero Ranger, is Dimahoo.

[BurlyHeart]

I told myself no more game purchases this year...but I'll make an exception for this (on Monday), especially given -Fish-'s glowing Steam review and the cheap price.

[qmish]

Link. Let the thread have it.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1880 ... _End_City/

[BurlyHeart]

Happy to say I was the 10th person to leave a review. Very good game and I'm having a lot of fun.

I'm far from an expert, but the scoring system seems very well put together.

[-Fish-]

Happy to say I was the 10th person to leave a review. Very good game and I'm having a lot of fun.

I'm far from an expert, but the scoring system seems very well put together.

The scoring system is very good. What the player vehicle lacks in easy destructibility is made up for in heavy damage to your score multiplier. As you can see from experience sometimes it takes a bit of time to raise that multiplier again to 9x. I enjoy the fact that special weapons raise the multiplier faster but once the multiplier is maxed you will want to refrain using special weapons as to increase the fuel pickups to overcharge the primary weapon. Its a fun little tradeoff. Getting the 1cc is easy but getting all the way through with maxed multiplier is the real challenge. Especially on hard mode.

[Pixel Licker]

Hey All. I'm the dev on Dead End City. Glad to hear everyone is enjoying the game so far. Let me know if you have any suggestions or feedback. I am still fixing the last few bugs that have popped up post launch so I can slip in improvements if they are easy to add.

[Pixel Licker]

@Fish Once you hit x9 you also have the choice to use special weapons to generate medals. But that of course leaves you without the Fuel Time safety net. In many cases you can recover the special shot ammo with smart special shot use. So finding that balance is key to scoring vs survival. Some chariots are easier to use in this regard but that is why they aren’t unlocked initially. Ripper is the easiest to use so that is why it is the default.

I have tried to balance the chariots as best I can but if people get intimate with any particular one and feels like there could be a minor tweak I would appreciate the feedback.

[-Fish-]

Thanks for the deeper explanation dev. IMO the vehicles all feel good and diverse for the moment. I do prefer the red vehicle over the rest as its maneuverability is the highest. One thing I did mention in the Steam forum is possibility of adding an expert mode in addition to the hard mode.

Just something you might could consider for a future update down the line.

[hamfighterx]

Hey All. I'm the dev on Dead End City.

Gotta ask... any plans for a Switch version? I normally don't like playing on PC. Might still have to bite the bullet for this one though, looks rad.

if people get intimate with any particular one

Wait a minute, what kind of game is this, exactly? Did you have any trouble getting it past Steam content review?

[RobotParking]

Picked the game up because of this thread. So glad I did. Really enjoying this one!

[SPM]

Thanks for the reminder, I had forgotten about this! The presentation looked great, I'm glad the gameplay delivers as well. Added to the wish list, I'll get it soon

[BulletMagnet]

Wait a minute, what kind of game is this, exactly? Did you have any trouble getting it past Steam content review?

Well, in case the name "Pixel Licker" didn't tip you off...

[-Fish-]

Wait a minute, what kind of game is this, exactly? Did you have any trouble getting it past Steam content review?

Well, in case the name "Pixel Licker" didn't tip you off...

Definitely no sexual content the game guys. I'm sure you all were kidding but just making sure lol.

[Stevens]

DAMMIT FISH

All ma scores are like juuuuuusst behind yours.

Some thoughts on the cars:

I've unlocked four of the five - still need crazy cat lady.

Rockset (nice 80's reference) feels the best of the ones I've tried, even though I got the 1 CC with Shiro her car feels much better. Nice movement speed, the main shot is really good and her special weapon has a nice risk/reward balance. Point blank with it and it rains medals. I would guess increased damage output also, but not sure.

[-Fish-]

DAMMIT FISH

All ma scores are like juuuuuusst behind yours.

Some thoughts on the cars:

I've unlocked four of the five - still need crazy cat lady.

Rockset (nice 80's reference) feels the best of the ones I've tried, even though I got the 1 CC with Shiro her car feels much better. Nice movement speed, the main shot is really good and her special weapon has a nice risk/reward balance. Point blank with it and it rains medals. I would guess increased damage output also, but not sure.

Rockset is really the only one I enjoy. This vehicle has the fastest in movement speed which for my playstyle (overly spastic) seems much easier to collect falling medals. I can't seem to get into a grove with the other vehicles because of the slower movement. I probably just need more practice though .

EDIT: Managed to get 1st for now on Normal - 2,157,777

[Verticen]

I just completed my first 1cc of Normal Mode; very solid indie shooting game!

• Verticen – 2,306,075 – ALL - Rockset - Normal (V1.0.10)

Good visuals. Most important elements are easy to see even in effects-heavy action. Props to the logo design making word “City” a rusted key; neat touch.

Scoring system is easy to understand, flashy, and fun. Good design call making vehicle collisions only -1 combo btw.

My biggest gripe is that (unlike enemy bullets) the mortar attacks get lost in a lot of visual clutter like explosions, debris, and medals. Felt less fair taking hits from mortars than from high-vis bullets. They’re primarily in the first half of the game, so not a huge issue.
Also I wish that local highscores were saved, even when not connected online.

This ran alright out of the box on my Steam Deck, though noticeable framerate dips were somewhat common, especially when spawning a lot of medals. Both the d-pad and left analog stick are mapped to player movement, though the analog stick is mapped like an 8-way pad (non-analog movement). In the game settings I set fullscreen to OFF to fill the screen vertically.

Very cool! The world needs more car shmups

[xxx1993]

Just played this. Final boss is a REAL fucking asshole, though... And why can't you continue?

[RobotParking]

My biggest gripe is that (unlike enemy bullets) the mortar attacks get lost in a lot of visual clutter like explosions, debris, and medals. Felt less fair taking hits from mortars than from high-vis bullets. They’re primarily in the first half of the game, so not a huge issue.

Yeah, I can consistently keep things at x9 going into the second stage but once it's raining medals and mortars + random circling cars are hopping in from the sides of the screen, I really struggle to keep on top of it.

All that said, this started as a neat little surprise I picked up on Steam and became one of my go-to games if I've got a half hour or 45 minutes to play (even beating out Gunvein sometimes). Like many others here, I'm a fan of Rockset, but I think Wraith is probably my favourite. When I'm able to nail the back line with a well-placed mortar, it feels tremendous.

I hope this does well for the dev. It's a really fun premise and even if I can't use continues, being able to replay individual stages as a score attack mode is really compelling.

[Pixel Licker]

Hey all. Glad to hear so many are enjoying the game. Just wanted to give a heads up that I am working on Caravan stages for all the chariots right now as part of the next update. I am also looking at some tweaks to the chariot stats, since I am hearing a lot of feedback about the player speed. The goal is to get it out before the end of the year, but it might be shortly after that.

As for console ports, there are discussions underway, but nothing I can verify as definite. But helping spread the word on the Steam version keeps Pixel Licker (and myself) alive.

@verticen: There should be local high score saving, but only for your top score per chariot (per mode). The moment you connect to Steam it will update your local data and submit any offline scores you might have made.

[RobotParking]

Hey all. Glad to hear so many are enjoying the game. Just wanted to give a heads up that I am working on Caravan stages for all the chariots right now as part of the next update. I am also looking at some tweaks to the chariot stats, since I am hearing a lot of feedback about the player speed. The goal is to get it out before the end of the year, but it might be shortly after that.

As for console ports, there are discussions underway, but nothing I can verify as definite. But helping spread the word on the Steam version keeps Pixel Licker (and myself) alive.

@verticen: There should be local high score saving, but only for your top score per chariot (per mode). The moment you connect to Steam it will update your local data and submit any offline scores you might have made.

Ahhh this is awesome news. I already left a glowing Steam review but I keep name dropping this game to friends.

[dark]

Looks cool. I've been daydreaming of a car shmup akin to CAVE shmups since playing Ibara and seeing the first level boss. My personal preference would have been for a more serious style (like Ibara), but something that almost matches my daydream is better than nothing

[Leander]

I've managed to clear it with Crankcase(? - the chariot with laser special) but every time I make it to the final boss with other characters I die there. That boss is quite a difficulty spike unless I am doing something wrong.

I guess I should do time attack runs on stage 5 to try and practice this boss?

[hamfighterx]

As for console ports, there are discussions underway, but nothing I can verify as definite. But helping spread the word on the Steam version keeps Pixel Licker (and myself) alive.

Excited to hear that, count me in those who would be there for a console port and thanks for your posts Just bought the Steam version this morning to support, looks great and I'm pumped to give it a try.

[moonblood]

https://www.eastasiasoft.com/games/Dead-End-City

just stumbled on this, game seems to be getting a console release next year

[Pixel Licker]

The release for the console ports has been confirmed: February 28, 2024! It is coming to Switch, PS4/5 and Xbox. Digital only unless Eastasiasoft aren't telling me something.