Shoot 1Up DX (Switch)

Powah Dunk | January 18, 2021 | Review | No Comments

Another year, another Shmup. While Shoot 1up DX has been out in other regions and formats for a while it has finally flown its way to the UK eshop store for British fans of the fly and shoot genre!. Any good? Pop in 50p and will have a look!.

Developed by Mommy Knows Best Games hoping to make its stance in the resurgence of the Shmup/bullet hell genre. Starting out as a mobile game, the title has been given the DX treatment in the form of 2 additional stages & improved visuals, and extra content.

1up Shoot DX being a “shmup” follows the predictable pattern of stage start, shoot, collect items for the score, fight boss, repeat until death or credits appear, fortunately, the game has an interesting gimmick up its sleeve.

Instead of stacking lives, every life you collect is a ship that appears with you, collect yourself a good few lives and you have a mighty fleet to take on the foes. You can then position them closer or further away from you which changes your range of attack and how likely you are to die!.

Each ship also acts as your traditional bomb, you can factor this into your strategy and hide your main ship while bringing the others in the radius of the bomb. Should you stop firing you build a small shield that explodes, another fantastic way of thinning the herds if used right.

During the stages you are given a choice of which route to take, tougher routes are shown with the Devil emoji and usually involve flying backwards, horizontal, or in every direction. I loved these sections, coupled with the main gimmick these really helped the game stand out.

The game bosses are fantastic and can be quite wacky at points, looking at you random female boss bordering on fan service, the last boss naturally has mutations when you think it’s done and overall the bosses are the best part of the game which is common for a shmup.

There are 2 ships, several difficulties, and various modes including a single ship mode and the ability to alter the game speed for chaotic results. Plenty of replay value and ways to cater the experience to you, each run lasts around 20 to 30 minutes depending on difficulty, the standard “medium” is slightly too easy for anyone familiar with Shmups as I 1 CC’d it on my first run.

1up Shoot DX plays brilliantly and has plenty of options for players, unfortunately, the presentation of the game let it down for me. I wasn’t a huge fan of the art style, it felt too smooth, almost like a flash game, and the stages while all different planets didn’t do much to differentiate themselves from each other. The sound is another place that took a massive hit for me, explosions sound painfully weak and the same music track plays through bar bosses and it just grated on me to no end. I mentioned in this Podcast (https://anchor.fm/trevorsgamecorner/episodes/Episode-36-Crimzon-Clover-with-Andy-The-Butcher-em2vm1) the importance of presentation and instant gratification in the shmup and here unfortunately it doesn’t quite hit the mark.

1up Shoot DX is a great shmup with a fantastic set of gimmicks where sadly the presentation holds it back from being something really special. Hopefully, there are plans for 2up Shoot and we can get real crazy with that one as it would be a shame if nothing more is done with the series.