Shoot 'em ups come in many shapes and sizes. One of those is Crystal Comet, an upcoming Steam-exclusive shooter from a new developer called Rewdan Sprites. This one will feature 4-player local co-op, AI teammates, a story mode with full voice acting, and a very indie art style. The freshly released demo shows off all these features and more.
The game takes place in a future in which the arrival of a mysterious crystal comet disrupts the galactic peace, causing a war to erupt. That's an intriguing premise! In the demo, players select from four distinct characters and then hop into either the tutorial or directly into Story Mode. Everything, even the tutorial, is distinctively voiced in British accents. The voices are quite cool and make up a bit for the art style. The game's rock music has a nice energy to it as well.
After a quick test flight, the gameplay seems a bit overly complex for a shoot 'em up, using six different buttons on the controller and even the right analog stick for various weapons and functions. One of those buttons revives downed players, however - a unique and welcome feature for a shmup. Distinguishing enemies and projectiles from power-ups isn't as easy as in Contra: Operation Galuga, but players will probably adjust to the visuals over time.
Crystal Comet features:
Story mode with unlimited continues & checkpoints! AI team mates and/or local co-op. Unlockable 'random mode' (chaos turned up to 11 here). Perma-death (in random mode) - no continues allowed! A boss rush mode (with a Crystal comet twist). Unlockable spaceships / characters. Unlockable power-ups (unlock more for your 'run' when killing bosses). Multiple routes through story mode to reach the end. Multiple endings.Crystal Comet is planned for an August 24 Steam release. Grab the demo now to see how the game's luster (or lustre, as the developer would likely spell it) is shaping up.