Deathsmiles (PC) Review

By Renan Fontes 20.05.2016

Review for Deathsmiles on PC

Ported from the arcade to the Xbox 360 and now to PC, Cave's 2007 gothic bullet-hell finally makes its way out of Japan fully localised and filled with previously exclusive content. Follow the journey of four young women as they travel through the many Halloween-esque biomes of Gilverado in an attempt to stop the tyrannical Jitterbug. Does Deathsmiles manage to spice up the shoot 'em up genre, or is it another bland attempt in an already oversaturated market?

Unlike the common shoot 'em up, Deathsmiles abides by a horizontal side-on style of scrolling as opposed to the standard vertical. Enemies are able to attack from both sides, necessitating a deep level of focus. Getting flanked from the left while trying to fend off monsters from the right creates a scenario where a deeper level of concentration is needed to succeed. Not just that, though, but the horizontal scroll also allows for there to be action on-screen at all times. Unfortunately, this is one of the few aspects of the bullet-hell where there is any sort of depth.

Deathsmiles is a game full of illusions. There are five playable characters, but the differences in play style are so minor that choice ends up not really mattering. Level selection is presented in a way where it looks like the campaign will branch off into different paths depending on what level is played first, but every level must be played to get to the final stage, making the ability to choose rather meaningless.

Screenshot for Deathsmiles on PC

The only choices that aren't meaningless are the mode and difficulty options. There are two main modes, Arcade and Mega Black Label. Arcade is the original release, and Mega Black Label is a remaster sporting a new playable character and boss. While Arcade has three difficulty options, Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3, Mega Black Label adds a Level 999 - the definitive way of tackling the shoot 'em up.

Even with a higher difficulty, however, there's still much left to be desired. While Level 3 and 999 certainly give off the appearance of a tried and tested bullet-hell, it's merely just another unsatisfying disappointment. There's no rhyme or reason to the design of each level. Enemies will fly out from any given area with little to no telegraphing, leading to potentially frustrating scenarios.

While the levels and enemies are nothing to write home about, Deathsmiles succeeds rather impressively in the boss department. Every boss challenges the mechanics and tests focus on a deeper level than anything else, but the boss to level ratio isn't enough. There's one at the end of every level, but the levels are so much longer that it feels too much like a chore to trek through a tedious stage just for a two to three minutes of engaging shooting.

Screenshot for Deathsmiles on PC

Cubed3 Rating

5/10
Rated 5 out of 10

Average

Deathsmiles isn't bad by any means, but it also isn't good, either. The aesthetic itself has plenty of charm and sets itself up to be a memorable experience, but the core gameplay just isn't complex enough to warrant long play sessions. It's a fun experience in very small bursts and the bosses are certainly engaging, but the bullet-hell doesn't manage to expand or change the genre in a meaningful way. It's a cookie cutter shoot 'em up that leaves a lot to be desired and doesn't offer anything in return.

Developer

Cave

Publisher

Degica

Genre

Shooter

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  5/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

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