One More Try: 1CC Games’ SHMUP Twins
We all have the games we adore and pour hours upon hours into, but in reality may be pretty horrendous in playing with no signs of actually seeing success and only minimal progress. For me, those games are shoot em’ ups, or SHMUPs for short. Rooted in the glory days of arcade, the projectile on-rush triggers an anxious rush that serves as a prominent definition of “one more try.” These roots can be twisted and turned in many ways, whether its games faithful to the genre such as Protoculture Games’ Devil Engine, or games that more-so borrow influences such as Glass Revolver’s ITTA. While it’s rare to see the genre live on in modern arcades, the indie scene has kept the genre alive and well; even if most have flown under the radar. But in 2021, developer 1CC Games and publisher Chorus Worldwide hope to bring the genre under the spotlight with two stellar games.
The back half of the year saw the release of Star Hunter DX and Space Moth: Lunar Edition. Between fluid combat, skin-of-your-teeth traversal, and the visual feats of bullets and enemies, both provide a beautiful demonstration of what makes a SHMUP so addictive and engaging. Despite being horrifically terrible in both Star Hunter and Space Moth, I never felt fed up or frustrated to the point of quitting. As unsuccessful as I was in my attempts to defeat space pirates or take down interstellar insects, 1CC delivered on that definition of “one more try.”
These two games, which I am now dubbing the 1CC twins, have been completely obliterating me (in a good way, mind you). While I have not seen enough to provide a full review, there are just too many incredible elements I have seen and felt to not take a moment to gush.
The Looks & Feels
What is most fascinating between the 1CC twins (coining that term; you’re welcome Chorus) is the execution of a voice and vision inherently unique from one another; an impressive feat in the midst of a global pandemic with each launch only four months apart. The unique visual language established by each faithfully nails two ends of the sci-fi spectrum. Both games shower the screen in bullets and mayhem, but when it comes to the finer details, 1CC shows the utmost love and care. Digging into the details, and taking each games’ launch into account, one would presume the games were created by two separate developers.
In terms of gameplay, while addictive and fun, SHUMPs are traditionally quite brutal. They are designed to not only test your skills, but also to eat away at your 90s quarter allotment from your parents. Even outside of the arcade, many modern takes of the genre still hold that quarter-eating brutality. Bringing the experience home, that difficulty isn’t totally necessary. Frankly, it feels gatekeepy and intimidating for casual newcomers. While both 1CC twins share the core elements of traditional outstanding moment-to-moment gameplay, the games hold one unique mechanic each to help promote accessibility and success; propelling a promising future for the genre in modern home gaming. While the mechanics don’t make the games a walk in the park (or space), it gives the player time to practice and breathe. For SHMUP veterans, it’s an avenue to perfect each stage to secure a spot at the top of the leaderboard.
Drop Your Blaster And Raise Em
Star Hunter DX follows the space pirate-turned-bounty hunter Luna Starr as she hunts down her mutinous former crew across a vast galaxy. Securing a sweet point between GI Joe and Star Wars, Star Hunter excels in its presentation. Vibrantly crafted original characters paired with cheesy (in a good way) dialog introduction transcends the player into the hype of an 80s cartoon. Once in the action, splashes of neon popping in the depths of dark and detailed galactic backdrops get the heart and anxiety pumping as you traverse deep space in your hunt. While not necessary, the visual language here grounds the narrative to the controller, making the player feel the high stakes of this life or death mission.
In addition to the Saturday morning cartoon ocular feast, 1CC breaks down barriers for newcomers with a simple mechanic; bullet time. Building up a meter allows you to slow down time in the midst of the cosmic storm. This gives the player a moment to catch their breath, but is by no means a Get Out of Jail Free card. There is a balance in mind in how much you can utilize the mechanic at a time, and how quickly you can use it again; fair for newcomers, and not too forgiving for veterans. While newcomers may use the mechanic for swift dodging, veterans may utilize it strategically for high score chasing. Star Hunter DX is the first game within the genre I’ve played with bullet time implemented, and it will be hard to play others without something similar.
Lend Me Your Lämp, Bröther
Space Moth: Lunar Edition is a hypnotizing bullet-hell bouquet engulfed in neon bliss that is utterly thrilling to play. If Star Hunter DX is Star Wars, then Space Moth is the result of George Lucas taking acid ahead of drafting his next script. The Lunar Edition is a remaster of sorts from Space Moth’s original release back in 2016. This new version delivers visual enhancements to its backgrounds, forcing neon lit creatures to pop beautifully to the forefront. Newly added particle effects help bring life to the creatures; especially as they explode into a pixelated dust. Even the roaring synthwave score received an update, with remixed tracks for both newcomers and fans of the cult classic original to be completely encapsulated by. For transparency sake, I’m writing this piece while on the main menu for some serene background tones. It’s quite fantastic. All of this is to say that the game is all around breathtaking. Tied to classic 80s and 90s arcade SHMUPs, it is a cliche example of “it looks just like how I remember,” but in no way, shape, or form would be possible in the glory days of arcades. Purely on visuals and presentation alone, it is still a shock that this is the same developer who shipped a new game merely four months ago. And already in that brief period, learned from Star Hunter DX and cranked it up to 11.
The 2016 cult title also received a significant update in terms of its gameplay as well. Utilizing a custom bullet pattern editor created for Star Hunter DX’s development, enemy attacks are more profound and chaotic; both adding to the challenge and an electrifying firework display to the on-screen action. With that added challenge comes a flexible toolset and Space Moth’s version of a bullet time-like system; soul draining and skull mode. The player has two main attacks in their arsenal: rapid fire and a laser. Rapid fire soul drains enemies, causing the neon vibrancy to fade to black and priming them for extra damage. Killing soul drained enemies with the laser gives you bonus points. In addition to the rapid fire soul draining enemies, it also increases your skull circle surrounding the moth. Activating skull mode causes all bullets caught within the skull circle to turn into [you guessed it] skulls, increasing your multiplier for high score chasing.
There are a lot of systems in play, and honestly felt quite overwhelming reading through the How To Play menu in attempts to comprehend it all. But once inside the flow of the stages, the systems in place shine in flexibility providing something for all players to grasp onto. This is the most apparent with the skull mode mechanic. While converting and collecting skulls increase the score multiplier, it also makes your moth impervious to all projectiles for a short period. Similar to Star Hunter DX’s bullet time, this provides a moment to breathe or a last ditch effort, but never lasts long enough to where it can be abused and feel cheap. Once again, it’s an exquisite balance that could have easily been missed.
Can I Have Another Quarter, Mom?
Even wrapping up this piece at 2:30am on a Tuesday with the Space Moth menu music serenading me to a conclusion, jotting down my thoughts makes me want to dive in for a quick run before hitting the hay. While I’m no expert in the SHMUP genre, as an admirer of intricate systems and intelligent design, I am confident in my sentiment to call both Star Hunter DX and Space Moth: Lunar Edition a masterclass in gameplay, presentation, and accessibility for newcomers. Even if I fail mere moments into a run, 1CC has eloquently crafted both twins to prompt a simple exclamation I will happily repeat over and over again - “just one more try.”
Written by Mike Towndrow