Boiling Bolt Review

The genre of ships is one of the oldest in the world of video games, however new and innovative proposals always emerge in search of a new space in the heart among the followers of this type of games. That's the case with Boiling Bolt, a different shmup, and even with a deep story that I'm not so used to in this category. Now, not everything is history, but it has to gather a compendium of things to be effective, and not be overshadowed by other aspects such as its gameplay, this aspect being the most innovative.

Duration

If game modes and duration, i have to talk, I found a variety also quite unusual in the genre, having the typical arcade mode, the free route, in which you can choose level at your whim and move freely through the fence or a shot, a dead person, in which only one bullet will be enough to kill the enemy, but also you. While Boiling Bolt lacks a cooperative online mode, you can play it from the same console with a friend. However, it does have a leaderboard with which you can challenge your friends or people from other parts of the world.

Gameplay

"A long time ago, a war destroyed the world and did not leave planet Earth more than some islands that float by force of its crystals. Life resumed its course and the bitter past fell into oblivion. A millennium later, the attack of a strange woman on Scire put an end to the fragile balance. "

This is where June comes in, an experienced pilot, who will fight aboard her ship to defend the island, against the organization that wants to snatch the energy from it.

Unlike other shmup in which you move laterally or vertically, in this you move through a guided fence in which you can move in all directions, but always between the marked limits, this being a perfect excuse to move around the environment that proposes the convoluted levels.

As you progress through the stage, you will see enemies of all sizes, until you end up with one in particular. By killing this enemy, the fence will be closed by laser barriers that will kill you, if you crash into it. In this fence, you have to endure as much as possible of time, without consuming all the lives, if you overcome the section, you will be granted a classification according to your ability, these challenges you will have up to 30. But unfortunately, it's just another excuse to follow advancing to overcome the level of the scarce 5 that is in the title and try to extend the short experience. Of course, at the end of each level, you will have to face a boss, not exactly small which will take you time to defeat him, if you are not skilled enough.

And it's at this point where the title involves some difficulty. You have 5 lives, with up to 5 hearts, if you take all of them, and consequently a life, you will continue at the same point. However, another of the curiosities of Boiling Bolt is that if you eliminate the 5 lives, you will subtract points from those that have been returned to reappear, if you run out of them, being insufficient to return to the game, they will necessarily return you to the menu, having to start the game from scratch. Yes, with everything achieved so far, as the PowerUps with which you have equipped your ship and skills.

To acquire this, you have a market in the game in which you can buy through the crystals released by the enemies. You have different PowerUps, attack, speed and defense. Each one of them, will give you attributes with which will add point or subtract to the three things mentioned, for example, if I buy one of speed, it will give me +1 speed, being able to equip up to three different to my ship before starting a game

As for the special armament of the ship, you can use four different types of attacks, a plasma whip, an energy beam, a disruptor or an ice shield. Each special weapon will be activated by pressing one of the directional buttons or with buttons A, B, X, Y. Simple right? And is that the control itself is not complicated, since it will only use those buttons to activate these attacks, another to trigger a dash, with which to dodge the whole stream of projectiles, and very useful indeed, in fact it's used more than the account, simplifying the game even more. And finally, the basic shot, this will be activated by pressing right or left according to the direction, the right stick of your joystick. Although simple, you will have a tutorial to adapt to these controls.

Graphics & Design

Graphically the game looks good, colorful scenarios and in continuous movement, but with little variety as enemies, only finding in the heads of level, the appeal that i expect from this type of games. Where it does stand out, is in the cinematics and animations, since the characters are designed manga or anime style, and they look really good, being able to fit into any series or Japanese movie.

In the sound section, i found strong and moving sounds, which will try to get you into a rampant action that does not exist at all during the levels with normal enemies

Conclusion

Boiling Bolt innovates, but too much, being able to be shelved for the most demanding followers of this genre such as shmup. Even so, it can be attractive for those who want to start in the genre and want to avoid the typical rains of bullets that they normally have, a short experience and little demanding, if you catalog it, in this type of games.

*Game was provided by the developer/publisher for this review