Graceful Explosion Machine

Last updated
Graceful Explosion Machine
Graceful Explosion Machine cover.jpg
Developer(s) Vertex Pop
Publisher(s) Vertex Pop
Composer(s) Robby Duguay
Platform(s) Windows, Switch, PlayStation 4
ReleaseSwitch
  • WW: April 6, 2017
PS4, Windows
  • WW: August 8, 2017
Genre(s) Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)

Graceful Explosion Machine is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Vertex Pop. It was released in North America and Europe for the Nintendo Switch on April 6, 2017, then for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 on August 8, 2017 in the North American and North European regions. The game has received positive reviews from critics.

Reception

According to Metacritic, the Switch version received a 77/100 from 19 critics indicating "generally favorable reviews". Mitch Vogel of Nintendo Life gave the game a 9/10, calling it "an arcade shooter with a lot of style and a surprising amount of substance". He praised the weapons in the game, noting how each individual weapon's strengths and weaknesses encourage the player to use their full arsenal. He also noted the game's replay value and found it "incredibly satisfying" to return to previous levels to get a high score. [1]

Writing for IGN, Jose Otero liked how each enemy had their own attack patterns which gave them "loads of personality" despite being composed of "basic shapes". He also praised how "stringing together a killer run" provides a "satisfying adreneline rush". He ultimately gave the game an 8.0/10. [2]

A more negative review came from GamesRadar's David Roberts who gave the game a 3/5. He praised the game's "colorful, candy colored" graphics and the audio cues that "let you know when to lay off the blaster or grab more gems" but lamented that "once you've played the first few stages you've seen pretty much everything it has to offer" and that "each stage takes way to long to complete" attributing the latter to five-minute stages that, for the majority of the time, are spent on "mindless fodder" in between the "larger and more interesting enemies. Ultimately, he called Graceful Explosion Machine a "decent enough distraction" that "allows you to turn your brain off" when the player has a few minutes to kill. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Radiant Silvergun</i> 1998 video game

Radiant Silvergun is a shoot 'em up developed by Treasure. It was originally released in Japanese arcades in 1998 and subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn later that year. The story follows a team of fighter pilots in the far future who are battling waves of enemies summoned by a mysterious crystal dug up from the Earth. The player hosts an arsenal of six different types of shots to choose from, and a sword to destroy nearby targets. The stages are tightly designed to present players with scenarios that can be approached differently with the various weapon types.

<i>Buck Bumble</i> 1998 video game

Buck Bumble is an action video game for the Nintendo 64 developed by British video game company Argonaut Software and released by Ubi Soft in 1998. A special Buck Bumble rumble pack was packaged with the U.K. version.

<i>Splatterhouse</i> 1988 video game

Splatterhouse is a beat 'em up arcade game developed and published by Namco. It was the first in a series of games released in home console and personal computer formats. This game would later spawn the parody Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti, the sequels Splatterhouse 2, Splatterhouse 3, and the 2010 remake Splatterhouse, with the classic games being added to Namco Museum since 2017.

<i>Contra III: The Alien Wars</i> 1992 video game

Contra III: The Alien Wars is a 1992 run and gun video game developed and published by Konami for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is the third home console entry in the Contra series after Contra (1988) and Super C (1990) for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). In PAL regions, it was retitled Super Probotector: Alien Rebels and the player characters were replaced with robots. The player is tasked with fighting off an alien invasion of Earth across six stages. Four stages feature side-scrolling action traditional to the series while two are presented from an overhead perspective. It is the first Contra title to have been directed by Nobuya Nakazato who later directed other games in the series. He designed Contra III to feature more comical elements, a more cinematic soundtrack, and tighter stage design than its predecessors.

<i>The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild</i> 2017 video game

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a 2017 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo EPD for the Nintendo Switch and Wii U. Set at the end of the Zelda timeline, the player controls an amnesiac Link as he sets out to save Princess Zelda and prevent Calamity Ganon from further destroying Hyrule. Players explore the open world of Hyrule while they collect items and complete objectives such as puzzles or side quests. Breath of the Wild's world is unstructured and encourages exploration and experimentation; the story can be completed in a nonlinear fashion.

<i>Axiom Verge</i> 2015 video game

Axiom Verge is a metroidvania video game by American indie developer Thomas Happ. The game was originally released in March 2015 in North America and April 2015 in Europe and Australia for PlayStation 4. It was released in May 2015 for Linux, OS X, and Windows. A PlayStation Vita version was released in April 2016. The Wii U and Xbox One versions were released in North America and Europe in September 2016. A Nintendo Switch version was released in October 2017.

<i>Bayonetta 2</i> 2014 video game

Bayonetta 2 is a 2014 action-adventure game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Nintendo. It is the sequel to the 2009 game Bayonetta, and was directed by Yusuke Hashimoto and produced by Atsushi Inaba, Akiko Kuroda, and Hitoshi Yamagami, under supervision by series creator Hideki Kamiya.

<i>Super Mario 3D World</i> 2013 video game

Super Mario 3D World is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U in 2013. It is the sixth original 3D platform game in the Super Mario series and the sequel to Super Mario 3D Land (2011) for the Nintendo 3DS.

<i>Kirby: Triple Deluxe</i> 2014 video game

Kirby: Triple Deluxe is the thirteenth platform and tenth mainline installment of the Kirby video game series, developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was released in Japan on January 11, 2014, in North America on May 2, 2014, in Europe on May 16, 2014, and in Australia on May 17, 2014.

<i>Shantae: Half-Genie Hero</i> 2016 video game

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, stylized as Shantae: ½ Genie Hero, is a platform video game developed by WayForward Technologies for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Windows, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Stadia, and PlayStation 5. It is the fourth game in the Shantae series, following Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, and the first to be specifically developed for high definition game platforms. The game was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Windows, and Xbox One in December 2016, for Nintendo Switch the following June, for Amazon Luna in October 2020, and Stadia in February 2021 along with Shantae: Risky's Revenge. A version for PlayStation 5 was made available in November 2021.

<i>Tomodachi Life</i> 2013 life simulation video game

Tomodachi Life is a social simulation video game developed by Nintendo SPD7 and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. The game follows the day-to-day interactions of Mii characters as they build friendships, solve problems, and converse with the player. Tomodachi Life is the sequel to the Japan-exclusive Nintendo DS title Tomodachi Collection.

<i>Super Mario Maker</i> 2015 video game

Super Mario Maker is a 2015 side-scrolling platform game and game creation system developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U, released worldwide in September 2015. Players can create, play, and share courses online, free of charge, based on the styles of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U. The game was revealed as the final challenge of Nintendo World Championships 2015.

<i>Splatoon</i> (video game) 2015 video game

Splatoon is a 2015 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game centers around Inklings—anthropomorphic cephalopodic lifeforms that can transform between humanoid and cephalopod forms and frequently engage in turf wars with each other and use a variety of weapons that produce and shoot colored ink while in humanoid form, or swim and hide in surfaces covered in their own colored ink while in their cephalopodic forms. Splatoon features several different game modes, including four-on-four online multiplayer and a single player campaign.

<i>Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.</i> 2015 turn-based strategy game

Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., known in Japan with the subtitle Lincoln vs. Aliens, is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console. The story is set in an alternate steampunk-based history and features a Silver Age comic book art style and a cast of characters from across American literature and folklore. The gameplay blends turn-based strategy with third-person shooter elements in a similar vein to the Valkyria Chronicles series.

<i>Splatoon 2</i> 2017 video game

Splatoon 2 is a 2017 third-person shooter game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It was released on July 21, 2017 as a direct sequel to Splatoon, including a new story-driven single-player mode and various online multiplayer modes. An expansion pack for the single-player mode titled Octo Expansion was subsequently released as downloadable content (DLC) on June 13, 2018.

<i>Arms</i> (video game) 2017 video game

Arms is a 2017 fighting game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. The game differentiates itself from standard fighting games with its unconventional fighting system where every playable character fights with long range attacks and up to four players can choose a fighter and battle using a variety of extendable, weaponized arms to knock out opponents in a three-dimensional arena. Arms received generally favorable reviews from critics and sold over two million copies as of July 2018, making it one of the best-selling games on the Switch.

<i>Snake Pass</i> (video game) 2017 video game

Snake Pass is a puzzle-platform game developed and published by Sumo Digital for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. Players play as a snake traversing floating islands in themed levels. Despite being a platform game, the player cannot jump and has to move similar to a real snake. The game was released in North America, Europe, and Australia in March 2017.

<i>Kirby Star Allies</i> 2018 video game

Kirby Star Allies is a 2018 platform video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. An installment in the Kirby series, the player controls Kirby in his quest to prevent a priest named Hyness from reviving a dark force to destroy the universe. Kirby must complete each level by jumping, inhaling enemies, and using his array of abilities to progress.

<i>Rad</i> (video game) 2019 video game

Rad is a roguelike video game developed by Double Fine and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in August 2019 and for Amazon Luna in May 2021.

<i>Mario Strikers: Battle League</i> 2022 video game

Mario Strikers: Battle League is a 2022 sports video game developed by Next Level Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It was released worldwide on June 10, 2022. It is the third game in the Mario Strikers series. The game received mixed reviews, with critics praising its gameplay mechanics, multiplayer, and presentation, though it received criticism for its scarce launch character roster as well as lack of single player content.

References

  1. Vogel, Mitch (6 April 2017). "Graceful Explosion Machine Review - Switch eShop | Nintendo Life". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  2. Otero, Jose (10 April 2017). "Graceful Explosion Machine Review". IGN. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  3. Roberts, David (6 April 2017). "Graceful Explosion Machine review: 'Without a solid hook, it's likely to leave your mind as quickly as it arrived'". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 8 August 2017.