Astebreed: Definitive Edition

Astebreed: Definitive Edition
86
Metacritic
88
Steam
87.937
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$4.99
Release date
30 May 2014
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
88 (1 155 votes)

Climb into the cockpit of an otherworldly war machine and fly into battle against a horrifying alien race bent on eradicating humanity to preserve their own civilization.

Show detailed description

Astebreed: Definitive Edition system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows XP/Vista/7/8
  • Processor: Core 2 Duo or faster
  • Graphics: Shader Model 3.0 compatible, GeForce 8600GT (2007 model) or better
  • DirectX: Version 9.0
  • Additional Notes: Controller recommended

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
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erniethinnakone
erniethinnakone

Fun and fast paced game. Recommended.

Controls can be fiddly to use on the PC though, recommend the use of a joypad.

RiceCooker
RiceCooker

Well I am having a trouble in the keys , key icons are numbers and not actual keys, can't assign the keys, can't play it.
But still a great and fun game. I recomend it.

ΩMΣGΛ
ΩMΣGΛ

great game , nice hard diffeculty(can just be me being bad XD) great visuals , i would recomend this bullet hell game to my friends if they liked it but they only play dauntless and EDF XD

Laraso
Laraso

Great concept and cool looking mechs, unfortunately spoiled by the short length and amount of power given to the player.

I literally just sat through the game sitting in one place holding all the attack buttons and spamming the circular lock-on attack, and only had to actually turn my brain on and move a bit during a few short sequences. And then, an hour into the game when I was starting to wonder when the difficulty would pick up and I would have to start actually thinking about anything that was happening, I quit the game and looked it up only to realize that it was already almost over.

Really wanted to like this game, but it's hard to call a bullet hell that plays itself a game. Maybe the harder difficulties fix it a bit, but you're not able to pick them at the start, and sitting through an hour of playing with just one hand holding R1 + R2 and spamming R3 without doing much of anything else wasn't able to keep my attention.

Fanks
Fanks

Fitting the story in the game is fine and all. But when you need concentration to dodg enemy bullet, it's hard to do that while reading the subtitle. At least add the english dub so non-Japanese can still listen it well.

Nobeon
Nobeon

It brings me back to some shootem up games I played before, but this one... is just a new level in game play.
one of those games that you can come back and do all the things over again.

The anime based theme is also what makes me think this game is great.

Bowsette_THICC
Bowsette_THICC

Autistic Review Design:

===[ ❤ Audience: ]===
☑ Kids
☑ Everyone
☑ Casual players
☐ Pro players
☑ Try Hards
☑ Youtubers/Twitchers

===[ ☼ Graphics: ]===
☐ Potato
☐ Really bad
☐ Bad
☐ OK
☑ Good
☐ Beautiful
☐ Masterpiece
☐ Dat look gud

===[ $ Price/quality: ]===
☑ Full price
☑ Wait for sale
☐ Wait for Big boyz sale 70%
☐ Average
☐ Refund it if you can
☐ Don't do it
☐ Free

===[ ☢ Requirments: ]===
☐ 90' PC
☐ Minimum
☑ Medium
☐ Fast
☐ High end
☐ NASA computer

===[ TT_TT Difficulty: ]===
☐ You just need 2 arms
☑ Ez
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Hard (first few hours)
☐ Dark Souls

===[ ۞ Game time/length ]===
☑ Really short ( 0 - 2 hours)
☐ Short ( 2 - 8 hours)
☐ Few hours ( 8 - 12 hours)
☐ Long ( 12+ hours)
☐ Endless
☐ Do you know the definition of insanity

===[ ⌬ Story] ===
☐ It doesn't have
☐ Still better than Twilight
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Fantastic
☐ By the gods !

===[ § Bugs ]===
☐ Game itself is one big BUG
☐ Bugs destroying the game
☐ Lot of bugs
☑ Few Bugs
☐ You can use them for speedrun
☐ Nothing
☐ PUBG

===[ ♬ Sound/Music] ===
☑ Atmosphere is immersive
☐ For every action
☐ Earrape
☐ Eargasm

===[ ✦ Others: ]===
Multiplayer: NO
Singleplayer: YES
Autism level Game: 2/10
Lower is good higher is full on Autism

cointelpropossum
cointelpropossum

I'm not big into mechs, but I'm sure this would be really appealing for someone. The story is pretty straightforward, but has some fairly interesting plot points for me expecting next to no story. There isn't too much in the way of aesthetic, but if you enjoy mechs I bet you'll like it. it's as close to bullet hell visual stimulation in a standard shmup that you can get. They're no spell cards but, still has some good stuff. Felt a little easy due to that as well. Fairly short, but you're probably expecting that from a shmup as well. All in all, solid, if not essential.

Danoobiel
Danoobiel

This game is really, really short. You can beat it under two hours.

The last two bosses are absurdly hard and basicly bullet hell.

There is some story going on, but unless you are fluent in japanese you won't have time to read anything with every going on on the screen.

The cone shaped fast lock-on has abysmal handeling.

On the upside this actually makes you feel like playing Gundam Seed.

RadioactivePepsi
RadioactivePepsi

If I could give a "Mixed" rating, I would, but sadly, the cons of this game outweigh even the abundant pros, so I've got to give it a thumbs-down. Allow me to explain why.

First, the pros.

Presentation:
For a Japanese indie game, Astebreed is incredibly ambitious. The Japanese indie scene is a *lot* more...small-scale than the American indie scene. A lot of games to come out of there are retro throwbacks with sprite graphics and chiptune music like Cave Story, visual novels, or dating sims, which are generally a lot less technically-impressive than a game like Astebreed. That's not to say that Astebreed is a graphical powerhouse (there's plenty from the same year that outshines it), but for such a small-scale project, the presentation, graphics, aesthetic, and sound are incredibly impressive. A *lot* of work clearly went into making this game polished as possible, complete with professional-level voiceovers for all of the characters (though sadly, only in Japanese, and the English subtitles can actually be a *hindrance,* as I'll go into later), excellently-drawn (though sadly not animated) anime-style cutscenes for major story beats, and absolutely breathtaking boss-battles.

Gameplay:
Controlling the player mecha is incredibly fluid, and combined with the game's excellent presentation, allow you to truly feel like a Gundam-style mecha pilot in a way few games do. XBreed (the player mecha) has a basic sword combo, an incredibly-cool lock-on system that allows you to attack enemies in a sphere around you or paint them with the right stick, giving it elements of a twin-stick shooter like Smash TV, and three awesome super-moves in place of a bomb counter. Slaughtering robots by the dozen is incredibly fun.

Soundtrack:
Astebreed's music is par for the course for a shmup that with presentation of this magnitude, but it's still quite good and worth a listen.

With such great graphics, music, sound, controls, gameplay, and overall presentation, you'd think I'd be recommending this game...but no. The flaws are so bad that I feel that it brings down the entire experience. With that in mind, here are the cons:

Shmup-Unique Flaws:
I should let you know something. I'm a shmup neophyte. I've played lots of shmups, but this was the first one I ever actually beat. This is because many shmups, even modern ones, embrace an "arcade machine" difficulty style. They're designed to be completed in multiple "runs," the player learning from their mistakes each time and gradually getting better until they can finally kill the last boss and see the end credits. The're brutally difficult, with no save system, one-hit deaths, a life counter, and limited continues, but they compensate for this by being mercifully short, the same way that arcade games throughout history have been designed, as they were intended to suck quarters out of your pocket.

Why is this history important? Because Astebreed does a full 180 from this design philosophy, with a large health bar for XBreed, a forgiving checkpoint system, a save system, unlimited continues, three different super-moves that are tied to a cooldown rather than a limited number of uses, a laserblade that can block two of the three bullet types that you'll find in the game, an absurd lock-on system (albeit one that weakens or outright removes your main shot while it's active), and the ability to REGENERATE like this is Call of Duty: Gundam Edition, and no damage taken from colliding with enemies...*BUT THE GAME REMAINS AS SHORT AS YOUR AVERAGE SHMUP!*

There's only six or so stages, and *all* of them are incredibly short! The last two are pretty much just boss fights! I burned through three-quarters of the game in under an hour, and could have *refunded* this cakewalk, only to hit a brick wall when fighting the last two bosses, combined with the mistake of leaving it on for like fifteen minutes, paused, while I took care of an errand, which was *just enough* to put me over the two-hour limit to refund by a mere ten minutes. The only reason I have 3.5 hours as of this review is because I dicked around for a while on Hard mode after beating the game.

The second problem is sensory overload. A lot of shmups have this issue, but I'm not going to cut it slack just because it's a common problem among better games. A game this easy should NOT have this problem, and yet it somehow does, in probably the most infuriating manner possible. It boils down to the English subtitles i mentioned earlier. Remember how the characters are incredibly talkative? Well, they included a text box in the bottom-left corner of the screen, complete with little anime faces for each character. They put a lot of work into that text box, giving each character several different facial expressions that all look rather good. However, unless you turned it off at the beginning of the game (or quit out and then turned it off), you'll quickly find that unless you speak Japanese, your eye will be drawn to the text box even as you're trying not to die, which is incredibly annoying if you're actually interested in what these characters have to say. Couldn't they put the text box somewhere closer to the action? Sensory overload rears its head elsewhere too, as some enemies are in the background and are non-hostile, but don't look far away enough that you can tell the difference. It's a real problem.

Story:
DISCLAIMER: The game includes a massive timeline that you can read, but I expected such an ambitious story-driven game to actually make *sense,* so I didn't read it. I am only analyzing what I saw in the actual game. And what I saw simply didn't make any sense at all, and I was left caring so little that I didn't even bother reading the timeline after I finished it. You'll understand why once I'm done.

The game puts heavy-emphasis on story, and is heavily character-driven. The antagonists tend to be incredibly talkative for a shmup and the main character constantly engages in banter with his mecha's AI (who is actually a teenage girl, it's complicated). That said, it is still an overly-simplistic and yet utterly confusing mess that doesn't bother to explain anything about what the hell's going on. I get that shmups aren't usually big on story, but if you're GOING to do something like this, then you have to go whole-hog.

I'll just give you a summary of the prologue and basic premise to communicate why. Basically, in the next few centuries, mankind is a spacefaring civilization and is attacked by an alien empire of robots that is hell-bent on wiping us out. Their troops are far more powerful than our mechas, but a mercenary, Grato, is shot down over his way an alien base (I think) and somehow, despite being in a SPACESUIT after his mecha was totalled, manages to somehow walk in unopposed. There, he discovers his own daughters have been converted into AIs and are bound to incomplete alien mechs that strongly resemble the ones back on Earth. With only the ability to pilot one of them, he chooses one twin and leaves the other. On the way, he dies in the cockpit (it's never explained why. Combat injury from the earlier crash? Stress-induced heart attack? Who knows), and his daughter pilots herself to human territory, at which point the mecha, XBreed (pronounced "cross breed") is completed by the humans and sent out with a hotshot (but stupid) pilot named Roy, who is Grato's adoptive son and was taught all of his skills. And, by the way, the girl narrowly avoided getting brainwashed when Grato piloted her out of there, meaning that her sister is basically now a complete psycho...even though she's one that actually *hates both* factions and you see the problem here?!

At the end of this game, I simply didn't care about these characters, had no idea why the aliens would choose to use humans as AIs to control their mechs when their own robots should be perfectly capable of doing the job, and I found the aliens' motivations laughable.

Rating: 5/10

Zero
Zero

All of the audio for this game is in Japanese. The gameplay is boring even for scrolling shooters, and it's impossible to read the english text and play at the same time, meaning you will not be able to partake in the storyline and play simulataneously

theichthyologist
theichthyologist

A beautiful looking game with a flawless presentation. The polished visuals and beautiful soundtrack just transport you right into the action. Gameplay is smoth as butter, even if you haven't played any schmups before: this games works as an entertainment for the veterans and as a kind of gateway drug into the genre for newcomers. Nevertheless, be forwarned: this one is a short game. You'll be done with the story mode in less than an hour. But after that you can try all of it again on the original mode, or hell, just replay it. The charm of this type of game is to play it multiple times and get better at it. Definitely a must buy in a sale.

Dingo
Dingo

Fantastic, dynamic, fluid, and exciting stg that takes advantage of modern visuals to great effect. Very fun gameplay system utilizing regular shot, lock-on shot, and melee attacks (as well as EX melee attacks when available) to take down enemies.

Solid scoring system in place that takes advantage of score multipliers up to 16x will require you to make the most of the mechanics in order to gain high scores. Great game all in all, an expertly crafted shooting game that outclasses most AAA games on the market.

Kegu
Kegu

+ Addictive and fun gameplay
+ challenging enough
+ Freaking awesome camera work, makes it really immersive.
+ Suuuuper sleek mecha designs!!
+ Keyboard/gamepad hotkeys customizable to your liking
+ Really nice extra content, like the gallery where you can view all those sleek mecha models

+/- The plot seemed interesting but as the voice acting is in japanese, and dialogues happen when you are trying to survive the bullet hell, you can't really keep up with it. But BECAUSE of that, it's also oddly immersive, really feels like you were in one of those mecha animes. However, if you understand japanese then this poses absolutely no problem at all and it's just a big plus all the way for immersiveness.

- The game is too short. Remake, prequel, sequel, spin off, completely non-related, whatever, JUST GIVE ME MORE!

Get this when

[x] Full price (Heck I could buy this twice!)
[ ] On sale
[ ] On an even saler sale
[ ] Someone else gets it for you
[ ] No... Just. No.

hydlided
hydlided

Can't run this on 4k. Keeps dropping the error message: DirectX StrechRender is invalid. Unable to play it afterwards.

|<os-6t|\/|s
|<os-6t|\/|s

Ready to battle in your Xbreed Mecha an alien race that has decided to wipe out humanity.

Super Aleste (Space MegaForce), Ikaruga, Dariusburst and Space Harrier in a Dreamcast and far from the Cave's bullet-dodging standards

Camera alternate between vertical/horizontal scrolling and rail-shooter perspectives(Space Harrier) in a perfect 2.5D visual with an anime style.

Simple at first view, to appreciate Astebreed at its true value,
you must master the combat system: ranged, melee(with a blade), dash, trigger special (Ex Attack), know the colour-coded enemy bullets...
It is by scoring that all the salt of the game is revealed

The weak point is the OST,but the Chars are very talkative, so with the animated style the immersion is total

The Edelweiss studio has succeeded in making another jewel in the shoot'em up, it is the true spiritual successor of their Ether Vapor.
Released on PC(2014), PS4(2015) and recently on Switch (November 2018).

Tribute to the shmups of the 32-bit era (90s), a must have SHMUPS indie games, better than most modern triple-A shmups
This title has joined my indie shmup library at the same rank as Drifting Lands (Alkemi Games), Cosmonator (Bourbontank), Pawarumi (Manufacture 43), Steredeen (Pixelnest), Super Hydorah (Locomalito), Jamestown (Final Form Games) & Ikaruga (Treasure)

Kyzous
Kyzous

you play as th janitor and pilot gundam with a loli that can cntrol laser sperm to kill alien mechs and alter reality??? wha the f this plot is nuts but is very funn shot the bAdguy pewpewpewpewpewpe

Petebloodyonion
Petebloodyonion

Bullet hell - Check
Big Mech - Check
Insane Action - Check
Japanese school girl - Check
Big boss - Check

What's not to love about this game?
By the way, the game run perfectly and is smooth as butter :)

Rowdain
Rowdain

Recently have been going through all of my unplayed games that I've purchased and I recently started with this one, Overall I would reccomend it. Astebreed is a story focused schmup where you are trying to bring together two fighting sisters. I though the story was ok however a lot of the dialogue is explained during missions where you are trying to focus on the gameplay so if you are a novice like me then it will most likely be hard to keep up.

as far as gameplay itself goes it is a fairly solid schmup, it may be a little too easy compared to some of the staples of the genre but if you are just getting in to it than this is a fine first title.

jamestkirk83
jamestkirk83

Solid shooter with some fun, semi-mindless action gameplay and a few cool boss fights. This isn't going to blow you away, but it's a very decent game and a pretty good introduction to the SHMUP genre. Recommended on sale if you want a solid entry-level shooter (you've also got to like anime, though, because Astebreed is anime as all heck).

Elyes Bankeryes
Elyes Bankeryes

A shmup cum mecha game. If you've played Nier Automata, then the shmup sections are this game pretty much.

Except this is more refined and tailored for such an experience. It's very arcade-y and short(it's less than hour long for a single run-through) but very replayable. The set pieces are very interesting with how perspectives are changing all the time. The music and graphic are also good. Not jaw dropping in their detail, but the artistic direction is commendable.

Some caveats, there is a huge difficulty spike in the 5 stage's boss. The mechanics aren't well explained. You can't change the direction you're shooting in. Eventhough that last one might seem like a big issue, it actually isn't.

I recommend this game to anyone looking for an arcade like experience. It's very polished and refined.

DroZzhat
DroZzhat

I've played through this twice now and still have no idea what any of the story was about. Super short, not even a full hour through all the chapters if you don't die and knock off the bosses quickly. It was also pretty easy, the last two bosses were the only spot I ever died. It was fun, though. Also, it's rather pretty. If you like Shoot 'Em Ups I don't see why you wouldn't like this... I mean, unless you don't like anime or you absolutely have to understand the story to like something.. in which case, you probably don't like anime.

Ryz3
Ryz3

Rip Totalbiscuit, after his review of this game and being on my wishlist for so long, i finally got to enjoy this amazing game

On-3
On-3

whew finally beat it after about 5 days of trying. Actually had to watch a walk through to figure out some of how the last boss works. Glad I did i'd be at it for ever otherwise.

Great game, if you like shooters pick this one up. It's relatively short and a good thing do it can be brutal if you don't know what you're doing. Still it's very beatable it will just take some doing.

my only gripe is that there is a lot of dialogue going on during game in japanese but the text following what's said is i english... kinda hard to read this stuff when you're getting shot at so I missed half the story.

Otherwise

Thumbs up

polymanictaz
polymanictaz

Amazing game with fantastic playability. reminiscent of the true reaction and multi facet brain training of classic shoot em ups of old, with the bonus of 3rd dimension of well orchestrated transitional views, graphical magnificence and Mech-Tech anime. this has to be the best shoot em up ive played since silkworm, swiv, uridium 2 and any other that i could remember since!
From this point on things get a lil bit confusing!
There is more than just a doogadooga ethos to this breed though, the MECH SWORD is needed to survive dodge (hold the slash and move in direction). In old school shoot em ups the targets would try sneaking behind ya, you had to get there through insane chaos with par-sec timing and yes you still do but you also have a certifiable slashing technique to reduce them pewpew stains to the consistency of con-flake wood shards, This is good for taking out back creepers and destroying larger gunners in situ, that limit your movement with sustained fire. some shots are also able to be destroyed by slash (the powers in his hat) also there is a special that builds. If I needed I could pick a few hairs in saying the levels could be a bit longer before transition or reaching the boss, but I dont need to i have a giant mech sword! anyone else wanna hair cut?

Overall it is glorious mania with the furosity of angry badgers in the pants of a toothed argh demon of disgruntled mick god of genocidal migraines at the speed of osmosis!
This is what a modern day shoot em up should look and more importantly feel like.
if this game was a woman id admire her so much shed most likely take out a restraining order.

SKay
SKay

Gives you all the thrills of a bullet hell shooter, plus a larger than average move set and best of all? It takes more than just a single hit to kill you, making this an ideal starting game for those who want to try bullet hell shooters but they don't want their butt handed to them in less than 5 minutes

Carina
Carina

This is one of my all-time favorite shmups. What I like most about it is that it did the same thing that their previous game did, Ether Vapor Remaster. The game type would switch between horizontal scrolling, vertical, and 3D. It's like it borrows something from every type of great shmups of the past and puts them into one. Some aspects of the story are kinda cheesy, but it's aight. I felt like they put a lot of effort into this and hope they make another shmup in the future that is like this. I want more.

n0perls2cluch
n0perls2cluch

I thought this looked familiar!! Ether Vapor is essentially the prequel to Astebreed, gameplay-wise. The 2.5-D gameplay is perfected here. Never did I feel like I didn't know what was going on, what to aim at, which things to avoid. That alone deserves a recommendation.

Graphics look great. Beautiful lighting all over the place. Pacing feels just right. There's a story in the background I didn't pay attention to, but it sure looks like your average anime plot. Which is fine; at least it looks pretty. Dialogue occasionally funny. Difficulty wasn't all that hard until the final (?) boss.

Astrebreed could've gone wrong a number of times. Instead, it mitigated its shortcomings (the plot) and optimized what mattered (the unique perspective gameplay).

FlashStep
FlashStep

Astebreed is one of the most unique shmups around. With a variety of attacks/defenses, weapons, ways to survive combined with fantastic art and camera work, this is an amazing shooting game you dont want to miss.

Pale Mist
Pale Mist

WARNING, SHORT GAME!

I finished the game in less than 2 hours, on normal, and this is my first bullet hell game.

I'm asking for a refund. This is so not worth paying money for. There are demos that last longer. I actually came to the game store page to see if this is a free game (since I bought it a long time ago due to the glowing reviews), because I couldn't believe people are charged for this length.

Graphics. Bad. Story? Bullet hell and unless you speak Japanese, during the bullet hell, you are expected to look in the bottom corner and read subtitles. The story itself is extremely rushed, and it rushes through super generic mecha story tropes. Music? Generic. You finish the game, and are told that you can read the world lore and timeline in the extras menu. The game didn't even last long enough to make me interested. I think this is a game that is made only for fans of this genre. Anyone else...eh.

It's not a bullet hell game, but I'd recommend Strike Suit Zero over this.

Arsene Lupin
Arsene Lupin

In my ongoing and likely futile effort to write a Steam review for every game in my library (#309 out of 612)... it's time for Astebreed.

Astebreed is a 2.5D shmup, or bullet-hell game. The game is built around a fairly cliched story mode that recycles almost all of the biggest science fiction anime tropes of the past thirty years or so--if you're familiar with Gundam or Macross or Space Battleship Yamato, you'll see a lot of familiar ideas. The core shooting mechanics are pretty solid, but take some getting used to (a gamepad is required, by the way). I found the lock-on system to be a bit finicky, but the melee attacks felt great--crashing into enemies and chopping them up with your mech's sword feels weighty and satisfying.

The most problematic aspect of Astebreed is definitely it's 2.5D presentation. The actual mechanics of the game are entirely two-dimensional, but are overlayed on top of a 3D, cinematic background--which occasionally displays rather cool set-pieces, like fleets of warships engaging each other--but the frequent shifts in perspective can be disorienting. The storytelling may also be a bit divisive, as its told primarily through dialog--all in Japanese--and the subtitles are very small, and in the corner of the screen, which would make them difficult to read even if the on-screen action wasn't the chaotic jumble it is. Just something to keep in mind.

All told, Astebreed is one of the more interesting shmups I've encountered. I'm not sure how well it compares to the best examples of the genre--I'm not even sure what those bests might be--but I had a good time with Astebreed.

Eocene
Eocene

Not quite sure exactly where I'd rank this one among the all-time shmup greats, but it's definitely up there.

Billy Mays Here
Billy Mays Here

So managed to beat the game. It was a great deal of fun HOWEVER it did crash regularly on me. The shoot'em up fun made it worth it however understand you may have to start over from scratch because of a game breaking crash.

Game has not been updated since 2017.

GetUsedToIt
GetUsedToIt

Played it on the switch instead fairly short game manged to cleared it within an hr+ or so, fairly fun for a short ride and doesn't require much skills to clear the game on normal at least. Not worth the full price but if it's on a 50% or so discount i would say grab it.

I
I

Spectacular japanese mecha sidescroller with some nice graphics, effects and perspective/camera angle changes which makes the game really entertaining to play.

I found combat system to be refreshing and cool because it gives you a lot of tools to deal with the situation, which means you don't have to just hold the Shoot button and try not to get hit by millions of flying bullet. In Astebreed you can go into melee destroying bullets and using your cool sword to smash enemies into pieces, use the same sword for a dash attack which also has invincibility frames, use rockets for a lock-on attack If enemies sneaked behind you or clean the screen with big ultimate aoe attack.

There is also a surprising amount of story, characters constantly talk to each other and you're not just thrown into the level without any background or explanation. All that lore, dialogs and more can be read after the game in Extras, so don't worry If you miss something during the gameplay.
Apart from lore there are cool concept art, mecha models and other neat stuff in that submenu - most of it unlocks by finishing the game.

But beware that it's only few hours for main campaign and most replayability comes from challenging yourself and playing on hard difficulty

Doctor Whomst'd
Doctor Whomst'd

For the "future of shootemups," it doesn't have that many new ideas. Usually I felt forced into exploiting auto-lock because of how many enemies kept coming from directions behind me. If you want to have waves coming from every edge of the screen, then just make a twin-stick shooter or something. It's not bad, per se, but I found it aggravating.

DB Souper
DB Souper

Really creative shmup with lots of fun dynamic camera angles, I just wish I knew what was going on in the story. Reading subtitles in the middle of a bullet hell just doesn't work.

Leodash
Leodash

This game looks really good. The gameplay is Shoot 'Em Up mixed with Hack 'n Slash in space. It is satisfying.

There is a story but I couldn't focus on the dialogue during the gameplay because I don't know Japanese, yet. Probably have to watch full run on Youtube to read the dialogue. The story is like shounen anime'ish.

ArtheLad
ArtheLad

I am no good at shooting games, It took me 3 hours to complete normal mode, but this mecha game is great, worth the price when on sale.

Absolukely
Absolukely

D tier anime story and voice acting with a bizarrely paced, incoherent plot and mindless. spammy gameplay. Lord knows how this is so well reviewed. I'm going back to my 2hu.

Shinjuku
Shinjuku

Even if it's a short game I had tons of fun. The story leaves a lot to the imagination, you just need to put the pieces together but as you can imagine the plot isn't that deep for a game like this.

Loved the amount of lights and flashy effects, bosses were fun and the whole experience was enjoyable. It's the kind of game you would play after investing lots of time in another game and you just want something fun, short and enjoyable.

Dreaderz
Dreaderz

Astebreed: Definitive Edition - A bullet hell mix with shoot em up that delivers a solid story and pretty cool animations. The actual gameplay and mechanics honestly was pretty fun to actually jam and dodge. Higher difficulties were insane and super intense. The sword gameplay added another layer of mechanics to it as you can slice some enemy projectiles. This was a fun game that I'd recommend to any bullet hell fan out there!!

Role player
Role player

I don't even understand if I'm playing.
Aside the bosses, the game play itself.

The first two bosses are identical.
The cheesy japanese dialog are always a displeasure.

It's a flash-fest of things moving without a clue of what is happening.
Add to this the continuous change of perspective(chase, over the shoulder, topdown, side) and you have a 100% confusing experience.

Nagifan
Nagifan

Game doesnt work on amd gpus without the use of a dll file from an external site. final boss is way too hard to beat

KomiNeko
KomiNeko

So, I'm perhaps quite a few years late for this review, and while in one hand I'll say it's perhaps for the better, on the other I'll say that only so much changed as well.

As someone who had previously played Ether Vapor and thus acquainted with the idea of "Cinematic Shoot'Em Up" I feel that Astebreed is an upgrade all around. More flashy, more agile action, flowing looking for the most part and giving you that Anime vibe in general both through the story, visuals and music (which by the way I love). The game was made with its top-down/side-scrolling/from-behind transitions in mind and it shows as it's never too difficult to change tactics, but it does mean in some areas that you have to focus both on the fore and background which is more than what people are used to in these games.

The scoring mechanic is somewhat straight-forward, but to master it you have to use all the tools at your disposal; some might say the game plays itself and its easy save for one or two bosses but as with most bullet hell SHMUPS: Finishing the game was never a question, it's how high you could score. You won't get that by just wildly swinging your sword.

Your primary weapon is like several machine guns spread over a small section at the front of your mech, which can be used alternatively as a lock-on attack giving more focused damage on the targeted enemies versus are area you can aim at directly. Your secondary but very useful weapon is a sword that can not only cause substantial amount of damage (Both in a localised area of effect, or in a short directional dash) but can also destroy many of the projectiles thrown your way, some of which will boost your special attack meter. Lastly your special attack can either be a wide area attack to clear projectiles and deal strong damage, a multi-targeted sword strike that doesn't need to be in a straight line, or a strong multi-attack on a single enemy if you can focus all your lock-ons on that one enemy (bosses mostly).

Some actions contribute to your multiplier, others will drain it but score kills using the multiplier , so you need a mixture of all these to keep the multiplier high while making the most out of it. And naturally not being hit will help in the scoring as well.

In terms of difficulty the game is very generous in easy and medium difficulties, easy making the bosses super accessible and in general having less red shots (Cannot be destroyed by your sword), medium still giving you the ability to repair your mech to full health if you don't get hit for long enough. Hard however not only have more enemies, more bullet density, but you can also only repair your mech so much after taking damage so it's more difficult to survive without mastering the ways of dodging enemy fire - If you find that a boss in the lower difficulties is "too difficult" it means you are likely not ready for this.

All that said and done, there's the story left to comment, which I kind of critique. Not because there's no english dub, not because there's some text to be read during the game (frankly the only section I wasn't able to read playing the game casually was Daniel's ramble because of Esto's insult at him), but because for as much as I like some of the concept of the story, some of it just feels a bit nonsensical, particularly in the original version. I managed to put the pieces together and gather where the devs were trying to go, but at the same time some things just seem very contrived - And sure, it's difficult to elaborately tell a story during what's essentially an arcade shoot'em up, but some more work could've been put here.

But on that note, I also do feel that things got a little better in the definite/arranged version. Between the story telling post-credits, launch animation, some extra scenes out of the gameplay elements, things do become a bit more coherent and enjoyable. The visuals were also a nice improvement even though Astebreed already did this part well enough all the same, and I believe that a couple of audio tracks were added with this which were also nice to listen to.

All in all, an enjoyable game, all the more if you're into Bullet Hell with that scoring perfectionist intention.

時結无矢*レトロです*
時結无矢*レトロです*

Studio Mudprints gave this game a 5/5 for a reason, it is very good. The graphics, The gameplay, The Mechanics, The design, The theme, EVERYTHING. Is AMAZING. This game have so much things you can do with it and it feel like you are controlling a Gundam while dealing with a shit ton of bullets. VERY FUN. IF YOU LIKE MECHA AND DODGING BULLETS. GET THIS DAMN GAME ALREADY.

HanzoOda
HanzoOda

Such a good game and a LOOOOONG overdue review. This was my first purchase on steam and to this day i'm very happy with the decision to do so, cant go wrong if you like unique games with compelling stories and gameplay to match. I WILL ALWAYS ADVOCATE FOR THIS GAME!

WayneOhlogy
WayneOhlogy

Nice quick and super fast action gameplay.
Very beautiful artwork and interesting story as well.

If you want a quick pace action game, you came to the right place.

thunderclaw
thunderclaw

This game is Love At First Sight for me. If you know me you know my love for mechs and shoot em ups. And Astebreed feels as if it is custom made just for me. The game feels great and plays superbly. The jaw dropping visuals only complement the relentless action on screen and the different attack patterns are so much fun to use according to the situation.
What more can i say I am sold and i really hope Edelweiss makes more shmups in the mech style in the coming years.
I have nothing but sincere admiration for your works. And thank you Playism, bring more shmups to steam.

Orwell
Orwell

In the original mode, Imagine in a APRG and dash/dodge is holding a button and don't know when will be activated.
And there are at least other 4 buttons and 20 buttons on the controller or keyboard
why dash/dodge and melee have to be the same fu@king button

Although they did that in the Arrange mode, still every dash/dodge feels like rolling the dice, either hit something or survive. They just can't dash a certain distance of the screen, either no reaction or moving to the other side of the screen.

I have no idea how the players survived the original mode. I just want to have a mode without full screen attack that requires dash/dodging and be a "normal" side scroller STG just like Deathsmiles. I hope they really know what they are doing when designing dodging system, and if they make this right, this can be a good game.

HachiKitsune
HachiKitsune

this game is pretty good. it's not great, but it's pretty good.

I admittedly do not like a whole lot of bullet hells, I'm really not the biggest fan of tightly weaving between projectiles while trying to place my own shots on the enemy. that said, this feels a lot like the flying segments of NieR Automata, maybe with a little bit less polish in areas. the story is a bit difficult to follow, and I don't think I can explain it without spoiling, but it's not bad, and does have some emotional weight to it. I'm a huge fan of mechas, and this game delivers the anime mecha aesthetic in spades, I really really like the look of the upgraded Xbreed, it looks so good.

what I presume is the final boss, is not the best imo though, but maybe that's just me. it feels like it could be so so good, there's parts on a giant mecha you can break, and I thought that would hold weight later on in the fight, but I always hit the same outcome, which was just, being slowly sweeped into death as I try to focus my attacks somewhere that they'll do something. I'd accept insight into this fight, but don't know what I'm supposed to do about the spinning lasers meant expressly to push me into a tiny segment of the screen with barely any room to evade other projectiles, maybe I just don't have the skill to avoid stuff properly, or maybe I just don't have it in me right now.

overall, it's pretty good. if you like mechas and bullet hells, you'd probably like this, and it's cheap, even when it's not on sale. it's definitely worth playing, and it has some really good spectacle

Minxfinks
Minxfinks

Labad akong ulo ani, dili nako ni kaya, pero sayang interesting man ang plot. Unique pud ang gameplay i guess, mura dyud kag galupad ug gundam, pero ambot ngano mag sakit dyud akong ulo pag mag dula ko ani.

Ser90
Ser90

First levels aren't bad but you can't follow the story if you don't speak Japanese since the game tries to tell a "story" at the same time as you dodge massive bullet storms. Then you reach the final battle and it is pure chaos. The button mapping for controllers makes everything infinitely worse. Even if they pay you to play it, avoid.

bflakes
bflakes

Not sure how I even got this game. Must have come in a bundle I have gotten once upon a time. It's an interesting and fun game with nice graphics. Though the combat is fun, getting the hang of it can take a bit of practice. I am near the end of the game and still don't quite have it down.

It's a short game and while its not bad I can't say I would recommend it, however I am not huge into bullet hell games.
While this is a bullet hell mecha game, it is also a subbed anime. I consider playing through the levels while needing to read part of the difficulty though it is definitely a deterrent.

While I think I will finish it, it isn't quite my cup of tea. There is some replay value with high scores and harder difficulty but I probably won't bother with it. This type of game might suit others better than myself, might be worth it but only if on sale.

SecretAgentKiiN 特务健
SecretAgentKiiN 特务健

⚖️ Grade = B. Worth a play, if you enjoy Score Streak Challenges. However, if you're looking for Complex Controls & Struggle to Win, don't play it

CONTENT AVAILABLE:

✔️ Short but Fun
✔️ Fast Cooldown
✔️ Damaging many enemies in very short time
✔️ Slowly Self Repair Hull
✔️ Score Attack for replay value
❌ Require Complex Controls & Struggle to Win
❌ Diverse Game Mode
❌ Customize Mech
❌ Versus friend best result

GRADE MATCHED WORTH PLAYING? DISCOUNT? COMMUNITY REVIEWER
A+ 5 Loving it & wants more No Wait - -
A 3-4 Needed play it right now No Wait -
B 2 You'll be half satisfied Wait 50% -
C 1 Lack of interest Wait 75% - -
D 0 Not what you need Wait 100% - -

🏅 Community Rating: Very Positive
🔎 Long Version Checklist ➜ Reveal
📢 Mocking on Short Hours + Criticize ➜ Write here

💎 COMPARE TO OTHER SIMILAR GENRE:

* Allow to Swing Sword & Shoot at the same time
* Fast Locking Homing Missile
* Fast cooldown for next power attack
* Infinite ammo

🔊 BUYER MUST KNOW:

* Require enter name before scoring in game
* Score will not continue if player exit or restart in current chapter
* Arrange Mode & Original Mode play the same contents
* The different in Arrange Mode & Original Mode is the control scheme & difficulty
* Average Completion Hours is around 2-4 hours

🕘 IMPRESSION:

* Year 2014: Game released
* Year 2022: Buy for a playtest
* 2 hours later: Not bad, but not enough content

⚠️ RUMOR CHECKING:

* Simple shmup game with mechanics that make no sense ➜ This is not a game for you, read review before you buy
* I got a feeling I'm not in control of the game ➜ Happen when holding multiple button at the same time
* RIDICULOUSLY EASY ➜ Not entirely unless you're are Veteran Gamer

Thanks for 👍 to let me know what you interested:
🔔 If you want more similar reviews ➜ Browse here and follow this Curator, or
🤝 Check out what we do talk about at the back ➜ Visit our group

Icecold
Icecold

Its all good until you reach the queen system and get wrecked. Should be a reminder to people, chasing your enemy across the universe isn't always worth it.

Phalange
Phalange

Yes it's good. The gameplay is interesting and that's why you'll want to play Astebreed. Astebreed is a basic rail shooter with complex gameplay based on 2 basic weapons, a gun and a sword. Both the gun and the sword can be used with different effects thanks to the joytsick to lock on targets and a power bar for special moves, and a dash to avoid damage. I played a bit less than an hour and so far if I think the gameplay is very well thought out however the big downside for me is the non stop talking from the characters, they speak to you constantly, in game and you'll never get even 10 sec of rest. So it does play very well and there are some fun to be have but it will ask you a bit of time to get accustomed to the gameplay for it is a little unsual, at least for me. Looks ok, sounds terrible.

Naki123
Naki123

I have some trouble while using Lucis homing attack during shooting and slash enemies with blade :/
That is my only complaint, other than that I still manage to beat the game after few retry, so it's was a fine game, I guess.

Avestas
Avestas

I get to be sis-con, light-novel pilot that gets walked in on by his two imoutos while he's jerking off. 10/10!!

russelhemphil2025
russelhemphil2025

This game is amazing. Glad I found it! Must own if youre a shootem up fan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZhUDnaJ0Gs&t=86s

The Emperors Eyebrows
The Emperors E…

A nice ride with a story that moves way too fast

XX_517Raziel_XX
XX_517Raziel_XX

Fun game and plays good on the steamdeck

猫猫猫猫
猫猫猫猫

Great shooter. Love the mech mixing physical with long range and special attacks. Wish you could reassign buttons though. ON hard trying slash and use the lock on at the same time as moving was overly difficult with my controller. Probably better with a fight stick.

Serpens Ignis
Serpens Ignis

What happens if you cross shmups, mecha anime and gorgeous visuals and music?
You get one of the best japanese indies out there.
Play this game.

larione™️ top nep
larione™️ top nep

horribly optimized, I can't play in 16:9 but not bad for a game like this

nikwarters
nikwarters

works on steam deck,good game.