Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Nov 14, 2016

  A good idea... but terribly balanced, full of bugs, plagued with insane controls (either you use a controller and are incredibly slow or use the mouse and can't stop firing without moving), and just generally a severe lack of polish.
• gamedeal user

  Nov 30, 2016

  This is the best shoot 'em up that I've played on Steam. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA0PrMPm4yc Shoot 'em ups have always been my favourite genre of game. I was born in 1975 and grew up playing them in the arcades. I dislike the newer Bullet Hell style shoot 'em ups because I think that they have a lower skill ceiling than the oldschool shoot 'em ups. Even though I first played Raiden in the arcades in ~1996, I've never managed to finish the game. I only got as far as Stage 5 ( from what I remember ). I have been playing Raiden using a custom, $200 joystick called the Eightarc "Ebony Fusion" ( by using MAME - multi arcade emulator ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpz1Kg3H-l8&t=210s Raiden: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raiden_(video_game) Eightarc Ebony Fusion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXvrTvhsv6g MAME: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAME My point is that I'm hardcore about my Shmups and I think that most of Steam's shoot 'em ups are garbage. Steam had a "Shoot 'em Up" sale a few months ago and I bought and refunded all but a few. Steel Rain is a keeper. Steel Rain reminded me of how I felt playing games such as, "Thunderforce 3" on the Sega Genesis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLUnXOm6o18 Steel Rain is definitely the strangest shoot 'em up that I've ever played. It is a hybrid of three different genres: 75% shoot 'em up; 20% city builder; 5% light RPG. In the campaign, the goal is to liberate planets. After clearing three shoot 'em stages, you can colonize the planet. You can build manufacturing facilities ( to enhance the weapons on your ship ). You can build trading facilities ( to generate income over time ). You can build science facilities ( to research new weapons technologies ). There are three+ different difficulty levels. I finished the game on hardcore mode which was the hardest difficulty level and ( I think ) that unlocked Legendary difficulty. You can also dial up the difficulty with a slider. How hard is the game? Hard to say... somewhere between Thunderforce 3 (on Hard difficulty ) and Raiden ( default Arcade difficulty. There a 2 different ROM sets; I play the version where when you die, you drop all of your power ups, which is super-brutal-hardcore ). The variance in Steel Rain depends on your individual skill level and how much planetary research and tech you have access to. Tips for noobs: - Click on: "Options" - "Controls" and set the deadzone to <5% and control speed to 9 ( or however high you can handle ). This will make the controls silky smooth. - After you finish the tutorials, you can actually colonize the tutorial planet. - I practically finished the whole game on hardcore mode, without using the specials because they were not listed in the controls. The problem with doing that is that the last couple of planets were brutal and really require you to use the specials. These are the controls: Left bumper = repair. Left trigger = overload ( which does area effect damage ). Right trigger = Steel Mode ( invulnerability mode ). Over time, I plan on replaying the game on Legendary + maxed out difficulty, to get as many achievements that interest me. I played Steel Rain on a Microsoft Elite XBOX controller.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 2, 2017

  Steel rain not only is one of the only bullet-hell shooters available for Linux / SteamOS, but as someone who grew up playing Gate of Thunger, R-Type, and other classic standard-bearers for the genera, I can fully endorse this game. On ANY platform. Do yourself 3 favors: 1) Buy the game 2) Go through the tutorial (maybe even two or three times) - The game has a lot to offer in the form of skill trees, etc. 3) Sit back and smile Pro's - The game is fast, smooth, and georgeous - Soundtrack kicks a** - Lots of customization opions - Lots of eye candy - very challenging yet not totally riduculous / impossible - Easy mode to get your feet wet Con's - Great as the soundtack is, the library could have a few more tracks to it - Somewhat of a learning curve to understand all of the game's elements
• gamedeal user

  Jul 27, 2017

  I'm at a loss to how I'd describe Steel Rain. It's got classic side-scrolling shoot-em-up action, at its core. Between missions, your ship levels up skills and buys upgrades. After you finish levels (planets), you gain access to a city placement resource-gathering tool. It doesn't work flawlessly; it works often enough you forgive it for the few shortcomings you encounter. In my Dariusburst review, I criticized that game's failure to mix MMO and shmup compellingly. Steel Rain, on the other hand, does it well. Quests and planetary sieges provide randomized fleets to take out and earn extra money. Each mission attempt, not just mission, is unique: some enemies spawn at different times, in different numbers, from different locations. The action could've quickly gotten stale, but Steel Rain's gameplay lubricates the long-term experience as you grind into late game. It makes grinding feel like less of a tiresome chore, thanks to ten difficulty settings. Getting to the late game is where the city-building and research trees come into play. As you develop your acquired planets, your income shoots up and you unlock helpful research upgrades. Most of the upgrades I found inapplicable to my style of play, a roadblock to get the stuff I actually wanted (T2/T3 Drones, Steel Citadels). Switching Research production to Production ...uh, production is an option once you've fully researched all tech. The menus are plain, and just effective enough to not totally piss you off. The music, sound effects, and some of the visuals are forgettable and underwhelming. These are minor qualms, however, compared to the rest of the game. Steel Rain is a shmup whose innovative idea is numbers. You don't grind high scores exactly; you don't need to, really. You grind your ship's level and credit amount to astronomical (no pun intended) heights. You rebuild human civilization one new planet at a time. You upgrade your ship into a catastrophic one-man army, mission by mission, quest by quest, skill by skill. It's a slower, RPG-like progression that fits well enough for a recommendation. Steel Rain could use improvement via a sequel, but the foundation laid here is solid.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 17, 2019

  Here are many underlying mechanics within, and best of all is it's all at your fingertips. 3 shooting formations switchable at your whim, times that by 6 different firing color types makes things all based upon preference, need and/or accessibility. Additional powerup pickups increase missiles, spread, shields, power, etc. Experience points are energy which you can pickup or get for killing things and beating levels. Leveling up grants skill points used to raise skills that open up new dimensions of gameplay. Really cool late game breaking upgrades too, through the research trees. Everything drops cash which is needed for the immense ship upgrades categorized by things like hull, drones, missiles etc. A nice selection to say the least and visually complimenting. Colonizing liberated worlds with buildings of your placing brings income and research along with passive effects and new technologies. Dynamic daily quests for your choosing that brings mega cash bonuses. Plus more, much more, much much more...4 overall settings Easy, Normal, Hardcore, Legendary - each with 10 difficulty levels that affect score, ranking, income, enemy movement, damage, hp, bullet amount, speed and cooldowns.. Stealth mechanics, yup. A booming soundtrack, like bass booming worthy to listen to outside of game. Albeit only a handful of tracks, none of them dedicated to a stage, simply played from a random playlist. There really is alot to dig into here and seems to be a very elongated experience. Even on my craptop with intel series 4, I beat it on normal in 14 hours, with unlockables left to get. crafting too, random hidden bosses, planetary invasions etc. Graphics are simple, not too many animated enemies. Very satisfying gameplay Made on Gamemaker studios as far as the credits suggested. In game level editor.
• gamedeal user

  Sep 1, 2020

  „Mondera III is under attack. All Productions stopped. „ „What about Gaea Prime?“ „The Laser Batteries are working perfekt.“ „Okay, get me the RAZOR Wing. BLUE Weapon Mode and i want the TRAPID Drone! Fast. We need the Factorys! Our Enemy is not sleeping.“ „Yes, Sir. When are you planning to take on the Boss of GLACUS PRIME?“ „Not so soon. Our Wings must be upgraded to stand a Chance. Until then i do some Side Missions after i did the Orbit Patrol. We need more Ressources, or we will lost the War.“ „RAZOR Wing ready. Good Luck!“ „Thanks. Time to test the new Missiles.“ Oh yes, a typical Gamesituation, dear Reader. Welcome to STEEL RAIN. From the first View it looks like a simple Shooter, but it surely isn`t. It is an amazing Genre Mix. We have Shooting, Economy, Strategy and even RPG Elements. So what awaits you? Short Story, Earth is lost and the Human Race goes against an overpowering Extraterrestrial Race. The Plan is to defeat them by conquering Planet after Planet. You have the control of special Fighting Wings. These Wings can be upgraded with special Types of Missiles and also Drones. It feels a little bit like the Satellite from the R-TYPE Ship has ist own Game now, because the Wings looks more like Drones then a Spaceship. Each Wing has 3 Battle Modes, from Range to Melee Attack. They also have different Weapon Types, shown in different Colours. Each Type has its own Strengh and Weakness. Find them out. Going into Battle, your Wing goes old school KATAKIS like Sidescrolling. If it moves, shoot it! There are many different Enemy Types waiting for you and after destroying they, left Coins and Power Ups behind. Main Target is to conquer the Enemys Planets. Each Planet has 3 Zones. The third Zone is always an Endboss. Defeat them and you can colonize the Planet. That brings you to the Economics Part of the Game. Build Factorys to get upgrades and more. You need them all to rise your Wing and also get new Wings. Have an eye on your Planets, because if they go under attack, all factorys will stop working. Repell the Attack and do also Orbit Patrols. You are also able to get Normal and Elite Skills for each Weapon Type. Believe me, they really make the differenz when you are in Battle. Another Skill Tree is waiting for you, that brings you Benefits for every Section. The more Research Labors you build, the faster they are unlocked. That goes also for the Trading Part. While you are going for better Wings to conquer the Planets you can do some different Sidemissions. You see, there is much to do. Oh, i forgot. The Difficulty Setting is really good done. You can go from Easy to Hardcore Level and each Level has also 10 more Difficultys. Perfectly to test the might of your growing Wings. That all in fast flowing Graphics and guided by a great Soundtrack. STEEL RAIN was a Suprise for me. The first Time i saw it, i liked the Cover and i bought it, because i like shooter, yes it looks like a shooter. I really fastly changed my mind. The exceeding thing is, the Principle of the Battles are all the same. Flying sidescrolling left to right, mostly with the same Graphics. But they never ever get boring. They got me from the Legendary „Heroes of Might and Magic“ Addicting part. Just one more Battle. Only one more. And that with the Missions and the Economics part and not to forget the Skill and Research Part is a really addicting combination. There is also a EXPEDITIONS DLC that brings you more Content. Also wonderfull done. If that is not enough, you can design your own Levels, STEEL RAIN has a very nice Level Editor. Have fun. I´m playing with Mouse and the Wing reacts absolutly perfect, no matter how fast or how slow i move. Well done. The Developer was able to find a perfect Balance to this Game. For me that is amazing. Thank you very much for over 20 Hours fun and there are more to come. Because just one more Battle, just one. Also thanks for the Amazing Soundtrack, i bought instant, it has a steady Place in my Player. So dear Reader, if you like to experience an interesting and addicting but exceeding Genre Mix in the Shooter Genre, with an amazing Gameplay and fast flowing Graphicstyle and a fair price then this is for you. Enjoy! Thank you for Reading.