Neptunia Shooter (2019)

Neptunia Shooter gets the core mechanics right for an 8-bit shooter, and it adds bullet hell mechanics and character-switching to spice things up. It's length also isn't a bother due to the lack of continues, stretching out a very short experience to a more acceptable one for the $5 price tag. What makes the game feel hollow is its bare-bones approach, including the lack of music and a dearth of enemy variety. If you're willing to overlook this, you'll find Neptunia Shooter to be decent enough for a quick spin. If you're expecting something grand with the trademark Neptunia charm, you'll come away disappointed.

I don’t like to equate money to time spent on a game. I think that’s a horrible way to value a game. I also don’t like to say that a game isn’t worth playing because some other game is better. However, this game utterly fails to be compelling or unique. There are so many better games in this genre, with so much more vision and so much more effort. In my opinion, this is simply not worth your time, and absolutely not worth your money.

Was Neptunia Shooter fun? Definitely. Would I play it for more than an hour? Probably not. As a longtime fan of both the Neptunia franchise and bullet hell games, I can honestly say it’s really fun and pretty challenging, but it could also be a lot more than what it is. If you’re a fan of the bullet hell genre and like the Neptunia series, consider giving it a shot, but I wouldn’t expect many other people to get enamored with the game.

Neptunia Shooter may take its simplistic design a bit too far character wise but delivers a solid and cheap shooter experience that fans of the genre will enjoy.

There's really not much that needs to be said about Neptunia Shooter. It's a decent shmup with an identity of its own. However, it could've been a little more ambitious.