Game Review: I Got Isekai'd Into A Shmup

By Al

Players: 1-4
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC

I've been reviewing a lot of shmups lately, and I have to admit that they do tend to all blend into each other after a while when you play as many as I have. Now that I've upset shmup fans the world over with that statement, we can move on to today's review. I Got Isekai'd Into A Shmup is a vertical shooter that just might have some plot and gameplay elements that help it to stand out above the crowd. It's out now on the Nintendo Switch and PC, and we're going to be taking a look at the Switch release here. Did the game live up to the somewhat higher expectations I set for it? Let's dive in and find out!

I Got Isekai'd Into A Shmup begins with you arriving home from a long day at work. You feed your cat, get comfortable in front of your computer, boot up a game, and BAM, you're isekai'd into a shmup! That's literally it, but it happens so randomly that I did find it at least a little chuckle-worthy. There isn't much explanation given as to why things went that way, but you're placed into the role of one of four pilots who are already on their way to fight a way against an invading space army. Your commander gives you the basics of the plot via your initial orders, and she eventually reveals to you that the war you're taking part in has to do with a cache of crystals that the invaders want access to. It appears that capitalism is alive and well in this space future! Fighting for a resource you can probably share, you're ready to give your life to stop this invading army. The story doesn't really go much further beyond that intro, but that's fine considering that most smhups aren't exactly known for their deep plots. I did find myself wishing there was a bit more to this game in particular though considering the premise, but what we get is fine enough. Though I was able to forgive the thin story, I can't say the same for the game's script. I'm not sure what the developer's native language is, but I'm positive it isn't English based on the dialogue you'll find within the game. A lot of the text feels like pure gibberish wrapped in nonsense, and there are countless grammatical errors sprinkled throughout. It was actually really hard to get into the game with how distracting it all was, but once again, story isn't exactly the main focus here. What is that focus you ask? It's gameplay of course, and that's what we're going to look at next.

For the most part, I Got Isekai'd Into A Shmup is your standard vertical shooter without too many surprises. You pick one of four characters/ships, and are given five lives and five credits to clear eight levels. The ships you pick change the form your standard shot takes, and that's it beyond aesthetics and some slight changes in dialogue. No matter what ship you choose, you have three forms of attack. Your main burst shot, which can be augmented with limited, time-based power-ups, your charged short, which is basically a strong solid beam that fires straight ahead, and your mega bomb or overdrive. The latter sounds like it might be two different things, but both are screen-clearing attacks that change depending on if you're using the burst or charged shot when you unleash them. There is also a shield mechanic, but it requires the collection of crystals that you're only able to get in the second half of the game. With the exception of shields, it only takes one hit to bring your ship down, and I don't think there's any way to get more lives beyond the five you start with. Enemies comes at you in waves, firing at you in all sorts of patterns, and each level ends with a boss encounter. You can pick up items in the game, but most of them exist only to increase your score. There are the weapon power-ups I mentioned earlier that change the trajectory of your main shot, as well as additional bombs you can grab. It’s a fairly simple system all things considered, but things like the charged shot, and the use of shields, are just unique enough to keep you invested.

One of the things I found most odd about the game is how late the tutorials come in. You're tossed into the game rather quickly, which is fine all things considered, but aren't given an explanation on the points system until the third stage. The only truly important thing to remember when it comes to points is that there will be tons of stars to collect, and you'll be given bonuses if you're able to chain a combo together. The enemies in the game aren't exactly the smartest out there, so you'll just want to dodge their shots and always be on the offensive. If you manage to get through the first half of the game, you'll be given another regarding the use of crystals. For all the importance they have to the plot, I found it odd that they aren't really mentioned up until that point. Seeing as I got through so much of the game without using shields, I mostly forgot that they existed. Perhaps that why I was never able to beat the game in the harder difficulty settings, but that could also just be because I'm a rather average player as far as shmup skills are concerned. I must say that the entire shield mechanic feels just a bit pointless, as they never seem to protect you the way a well-timed bomb does. Speaking of tutorials, the game actually delivers a lot of dialogue throughout the levels, but it comes by way of non-voiced text at the bottom of the screen. It's very small, and really easy to miss if you're not paying attention. Even if you do manage to read it, you'll still have to retranslate it in your head on account of the horrible script I mentioned earlier. Thankfully it hardly ever seems to be important, and you can do well enough in the game ignoring it.

Despite the slight issues I've mentioned so far, it didn't take long for I Got Isekai'd Into A Shmup to grow on me. It's a fun, fast-paced shooter, and the difficulty seems decently balanced despite the limited lives and continues. I'm not one to go for high scores, but I found myself occasionally noting when I had snagged tons of stars, or when my combo maxed out. Not only is the game fun, but there's also a ton of options that make it accessible to gamers of all skill levels. Besides being able to change the difficulty, you can also just straight up turn on invincibility. There's actually a lot of cool options in-game, including one that flips the game onto its side, making it a horizontal shooter. I would've preferred an option that made the credits unlimited myself, but I guess that might be asking for a bit too much. Oh, and there's also multiplayer. I'm not exactly how it works story-wise (Are the others isekai'd too?), but you can actually take control of all four characters at once if you have enough friends and controllers. I only played two-player during the review period, but four-player multiplayer is so wild that I'm sure it'll attract many players. Playing the game with a friend also significantly fixes the issues I have with the difficulty, and I can't help but wonder if the game wasn't actually designed to be played solo. Don't get me wrong, it can be beaten, but it is rather challenging.

Though they never kept me from enjoying the game, I do have a few gripes that I want to point out now before we move on from gameplay. I personally found the weapon upgrades to be anything but useful, and avoided them for much of the game. They always seemed to be on-screen when I didn't want them, and they more often than not screwed up whatever strategy I was going for at the time. A standard power-up system would've been nice, but the weapons are fully upgraded from the start, so it probably would've been redundant. Then there's the fact that I found the colors of enemy bullets to often blend in too well with the nonsense going on at all times. Enemy bullets come in different colors, and it can sometimes be hard to tell what's a power up, what's a star, what's a bullet, and what are your own attacks. Simply put, it's all a bit chaotic. This confusion brought me more than a few cheap deaths, but it is something that you can get used to after several runs. My last issue with the game sort of goes into spoiler territory, but it's something I feel I have to address. Imagine my surprise when I finally beat the game and was given a: "Thanks, but you have to collect all the hidden stars to see the REAL ending!" I didn't even realize up to that point that some of the random stars I was shooting were meant to be end game collectibles. I'm not even sure how many are hidden in the game, and you're apparently supposed to find them all if you even want a shot at the game's actual final levels. The game does have a simple ending if you choose to stop playing there, but it's annoying that I was not able to beat the game properly on my own despite clearing all the regular stages.

Graphically I Got Isekai'd Into A Shmup looks great, but there are a few things that keep it from perfection. Let me get it out of the way now that the game runs perfectly fine on the Switch, and there was never once a hiccup in the gameplay. It's a colorful adventure, that often has lots of different things going on at once, and it's all handled beautifully. The enemy and boss designs feel a bit uninspired, but they get the job done. I liked the anime style cutscenes, as well as the visual style used for the game's tutorials. Even though I just praised the anime aesthetics, they're also where some of the visual problems lie. I wasn't exactly expecting each of the pilots to have a strong personality all their own, but I was shocked by how similar they looked. I know that you're supposed to be jumping into their bodies via the isekai thing, but that doesn't excuse the fact that they all look like they're variants of each other. They could've easily have been simplified to just a pair, or better yet a single pilot that is able to choose their own ship. Add in the translation issues I mentioned earlier, and the entire game has an odd look and feel to it that makes it appear lesser than it really is. This is still a great game, and one that looks great for the most part, it just fails to deliver anything visually that impresses.

I have somewhat similar things to say about the sound design as I did the graphics, though I do have to say that the game's music edges out anything the game offers visually. The soundtrack has the rock/metal vibes one would get from something out of the R-Type series, but with a bit of a lo-fi feel to it. None of the songs ever truly got stuck in my head, but there were a couple that I definitely enjoyed hearing. I don't think I'll rush out and grab the soundtrack, but what's here is surprisingly amazing. Soundtrack aside, the sound effects are all punchy too, though I feel that they often get lost in the mix. I'm actually still not sure if the game is missing a few of sound effects in general since they don't always seem to trigger. It never affected gameplay much, so I didn't think of it all that much beyond that. That said, I was disappointed by the lack of voice acting in the game, though not quite for the reasons you might be thinking. I obviously wasn't expecting fully voiced scenes in an indie game like this, but a few vocal quips here and there would've really livened things up a bit. In general I have no true complaints about the sound, beyond that it too fell just shy of perfection.

A single run in I Got Isekai'd Into A Shmup can take about an hour, but that's if you don't die during the process. I eventually got good enough where I was able to clear the game on the easier difficulty, but I couldn't get to the final stage on the standard setting. Since the game seems to run on a fixed rotation, and there are those hidden stars to find if you want to get the true ending, so I'm willing to bet that memorization is the key to beating the tougher areas of this game. Despite me being convinced that there are some sections of the game where it's just impossible to not get hit, I'm going to be playing this one for quite a while to come. There's fun to be had, and I have to beat on something other than easy. All that aside, there are four characters to play as, at least two different endings to see, and several in-game achievements to unlock if you're just interested in content. You're looking at several hours of gameplay at the very least, though there's near endless replayablity when you factor in the awesome multiplayer. The game is currently priced at $12.99, which seems fair for the amount of content you get. I personally think $9.99 would've suited the game batter, but I won't hold three dollars against it all that much.

Though it's not the most polished shooter out there, I Got Isekai'd Into A Shmup is definitely worth picking up if you're a fan of the genre. It's challenging, has some unique gameplay quirks, and even allows four players to get in on the action simultaneously. Its art style and accessibility options also make it perfect for shmup newcomers too. I had a lot of fun with this one, and I'm sure you will too. I truly hope that we see more from this developer in the future, as I'm willing to bet that they'll get everything right on the next one. I guess we'll just have to wait and see on that one... See you in the next one!

Check Out I Got Isekai'd Into A Shmup on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/i-got-isekaid-into-a-shmup-switch/

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Story: B-
Gameplay: B+
Graphics: B
Music/Sound: B+
Value: B

Overall: B

Pros:
+ A fun shmup that has several elements that make it unique.
+ Though the story doesn't really deliver anything too interesting, the idea of an isekai shmup game is amusing.
+ Plenty of difficulty and ship options, including the ability to make you completely invincible, make this one perfect for gamers of all skill levels.
+ The sound and visuals may fall just short of perfection, but both are still amazing.
+ Four-player multiplayer is just wild.

Cons:
- The game's script is near unreadable, with plenty of typos and grammar errors throughout.
- It can be very hard to see what's going on in-game at times due to all the nonsense cluttering the screen.
- Some unique gameplay elements, like the weapon power-ups and shield mechanic, don't seem to be implemented very well.
- It can be hard to follow the plot with no voice acting, and all the text appearing very small in-game.
- Why do the four main characters all look the same?

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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I don't know about those stars though...

#IGotIsekaidIntoAShmup