Popslinger: A Great Aesthetic In A Basic World (Switch)

 February's theme is indie rhythm games, and I cannot wait to dance, sing, and groove to some great rhythm games, As I wave goodbye to puzzle game month, I found a rhythm game that is a mix of puzzle games, rhythm games, and side scrolling shooters reminiscent of the arcade days. So for one last puzzle game, and welcome in the month of music games, I found a game that is so much of both I could not help but cover it. 

This game is a 2 D sidescroller like a beat em up, bur is a played like a space shooter, with elements of a rhythm game and match three puzzle game. In terms of gameplay, you run from side to side, blasting enimies, dodging and reaching the boss to end the stage where you will get a grade. Blast four enimies of the same color and you get a power up such as shield, a turret or healing as well as changing up the music. You can press a button to dodge attacks with invincibility frames, and the controls are very responsive, from swapping blasters as you unlock them, dodging and moving. 

The stages do not overstay their welcome, even if they all are the same formula, go side to side, encounter a couple enemy waves, then the boss. More weapons, different enemy types, health expansions, and boss fights will add variety as you go stage to stage. Most of the stages are pretty short, and the boss fights can be as well. Most of the time I spent playing this game I was in cutscenes. The gameplay was very run of the mill and fun though the enimies can overwhelm you at times, I found myself hitting the retry button often or losing one of the infinite lives allotted to the player. The stages are very short as are the boss fights but there is a ton of trial and error. The boss fights being the worst of it as they swarm the screen with enimies, attack, and do specials all at once. That is my one major complaint which has two factors, the screen gets too busy and two crowded for its own good too often in the main game, enemy wave rushes and boss fights. This is only magnified dodge roll which is a necessity has a wind up and slight cool down, leading to many cases where it is inevitable to only take damage.  Aside from that the gameplay was nothing special but was fun, and I had fun with it most of the time, getting new weapons and health upgrades made me feel like I was making good progress.

The look, sound and soundtrack of this game is nothing short of fantastic, all the cutscenes are fully voiced acted and voice acted well to boot. The cutscenes are many and can be a real pace breaker at times, with jokes that don't always land, but the characters are likeable, and I found myself enjoying the effort put into the game, overall, the story feels like a Saturday morning cartoon that is mostly good. The graphics and soundtrack are the real highlight, this game looks and sounds amazing. Getting those combos feels like a real reward or getting farther in a boss fight and the soundtrack is amazing, start to finish there is not a weak track at all. The graphics are amazing, and the 90's aesthetic, using VHS scan lines and VHS menus and such look amazing. This game has a one-of-a-kind look and sound that makes the gameplay worth it.

This game is worth playing, perhaps waiting for a sale is best for even though the game is only 15 dollars it is pretty short, and more of the game is cutscenes then gameplay. But the stages are replayable and there is enough to do if you want to get it now, it is replayable and the aesthetic and soundtrack play a big part in that. The gameplay may be familiar and formulaic but playing what you know isn't bad if the game is fun and or stands out, in this case it is fun but flawed in the gameplay department and perfect when it comes to look and sound. This game is a good time and is worth time, perhaps on sale if you are on a budget, but what does work outweighs what doesn't.

Overall Feelings: Basic but mostly fun, looks and sounds amazing, gameplay is nothing to write home about that is fun but has some gameplay flaws, mostly good.