I'm the coder and game designer of Sophstar. I'm incredibly honoured to have our game ranked so high. This is being a tremendous , surreal journey. I never thought I would work on something so many people would enjoy that much. It's a huge honour, thank you.
absolutely deserved! The game's art style is a breath of fresh air I think, and it's always a relief when a cool looking game has solid gameplay as well ha (cough cuphead). Chunderfins is a fun username, it reminds me of a cartoon character or something ha
You deserve it! Your game rocks. I want to thank you for making this game. It rekindled my love for shmups and I already bought a bunch of them and having a blast. Hope your game gets a sequel.
YO! It took my luv for Mobile to remember your Funtaztic & colorful creation was still being developed & now it is part of my Switch collection👾 please consider giving us collectors a physical cart & disks with perks like keychains, t shirts,mouse pads,coffee mugs, side of the bus art, posters, artbooks, refrigerator magnets,pool & boat covers, gigantic billboard ads
Before June of this year I owned zero STGs. I just purchased my 40th the for the switch alone. You gave it a good review. I bought it. Thanks to Mark and Junkie for all these new games and a crippling case of reset syndrome. I can't help but play the first stage perfectly or reset. Also I feel like a punk if I slam that bomb button.
@@dadrising6464 I'll play the easy modes at first to get a feel but I'm in it for the normal 1cc. For years reset syndrome was a real pain. Using 3 credits to learn the game is a lot better than reset syndrome.
As someone who started shmups in 2022, I'd say it's been a wild ride coming in between all these great indie shmups released this year and the recent release of Crimzon Clover World Explosion on Steam, not to mention LiveWire's recent Cave ports to the Nintendo Switch. This is a great list and I surely need to check out all of the other titles mentioned here. Happy 2023!
I'm always happy to hear when new players are getting into the genre. I think you arrived just in time cuz stuff is going to get cooking in 2023! I'm already very excited for DOJ for example
Another newbie to shmups in 2022 thanks to the release of Andro Dunos 2 getting me interested in the genre. Glad to see that game on the list, although I can't believe you didn't mention the banging soundtrack! This channel has been essential viewing to catch up on releases and guide my purchases (too many!!). Thanks for all the effort! Looking forward to the switch release of Gunvein next year. All the best for the new year
Andro Dunos 2 does have a cool ost! I'm really glad this channel has been helpful to keep up with the genre! So many amazing games come out and don't get recognition.
Reviewing the general trend was a nice bonus to the video! Glad to see indies and doujins picking up where the big arcade developers like CAVE left off. A lot of these look so interesting to play, my shmup backlog keeps growing XD Here's hoping 2023 will be another awesome year for shmups. STG never die!
Glad you enjoyed my wrap up thoughts! I didn't just want to only drop a list, but also discuss the year as a whole. I'm really looking forward to 2023, i think it's going to be a stacked year (we're already getting M2 DOJ!)
Thanks for the list! Really excited to try at least two or three more shmups in 2023. Moving/interactive backgrounds are more of a 2.5D shmup thing imo, like ThunderForce IV/V and Einhander. Having busy backgrounds in sprite-based 2D shmups is a hard balancing act to pull off. I would like to see more sprite rotation/stretching. Maybe a BG maze that could flip or fold inwards :D
Absolutely thom! Backgrounds are really hard to get right without them being odd, but when they are done well it really adds a lot to the games presentation
I really enjoy shmups with a more relaxed soundtrack. Usually I turn off the music after a while when playing shmups because the music is so stressful, but games like like dreamer I actually enjoy having the music on.
@@TheElectricUnderground a lot of people are turned off because the character design is... bountiful. There is a data window you can activate that covers most of that side art though, so it's not a reason to not try the game IMO.
@@GojiGuy Please don't let that turn you off from playing the game, it's unfortunate that one of the characters has that design but the game is too good to pass up if that's your hang up with it.
Found so many great STGs thanks to your channel, thank you for putting in the work on these videos, they're excellent. Now back to chasing that Gunvein 1cc
Excellent and exciting 2022 summary - thanks a ton for yet another 12 months of unique, original, creative gaming content Mark; looking forward to all your coverage and content in 2023 and beyond.
It's been a really good year for the channel! Thank you for the kind feedback, I've put an insane amount of work in this year and I think next year is gonna be awesome :-)
I really hope Gunvein gets a western digital release on switch. Sophstar was definitely my favourite game of the year on switch. I was worried that with all the different systems like warp, it would be a bit too complicated (for me) to play like Radiant Silvergun. Everything on Sophstar feels like second nature though and it's great fun. Still no where near a 1cc.
Thanks for a great list Mark. Congratulations on a superb year for the Electric Underground. Looking forward to your coverage in 2023 and a new shirt!!
Thank you very much Retro Super Box! This year has been a great time for the channel, I think the channel has hit a groove so def working to keep in going into 2023
I'm chuffed Operation STEEL snuck onto the list, thanks to everyone who gave it a vote! I am sad Dead End City didn't receive more votes, more people need to play it. Also I picked TerraFlame over Moon Dancer but nice to see Terarin getting that love :) ps. Happy New Year everyone!
Glad to hear it BB! I need to get around to doing like a 1cc commentary of STEEL soon, just been completely backed up editing vids and keeping up with the crazy release schedule.
Great list, was a lot of fun guessing what was coming up next as I watched. Really appreciated the end segment as it's most fascinating, to me at least, to see where things can be improved. Thanks for all your hard work this year Mark, keep it up my man!
I absolutely love Moon Dancer. Made by the same people that did Raging Blasters, Missile Dancer, and Gememi Arms. I am 2nd in the world on the Expert difficulty on Moon Dancer. I've played the crap out of it lol.
I highly recommend. It's such a perfect game in my opinion. Just simple to understand and can be played and short bursts. One of my top 10 of all time. I'm biased though lol
Was there a doubt about number one 😂? Mark i want to wish you an amazing new year, I'm glad i found your channel, i appreciate the fact that you actually respond to comments and you even linked me to some shmup guides when i asked, i also appreciate your honesty and integrity man. Hey I'm not being a simp 😂, credit where credit is due and i hope your channel grows much more.
Ha no kidding! My new years resolution is to finish my quest for the ketsui omote. I might need to take a month off vids and just play ket nonstop to make it happen.
“But HOLD ON. Before you just click off the list because you’ve had your way with me, you’ve gotten what you want from me, you’ve got your dirty little numbers…” LOL
Great list, great video. One day I would love to see a top 10 shmups ranked for their music, displayed right next to a standard top 10 shmups, like a table with two columns, to see how many titles are present in both columns. Good soundtracks are very important in Shmups. Danmaku 3 would be my top1 in the standard list, but would it be also present in the soundtrack top 10, not sure, possibly yes ; ). Just an idea
Yay! Andro Dunos nostalgia! Played a lot of Andro Dunos on the arcades. Seeing these games made me wonder whether I should develop another SHMUP after more than 10 years.
Great video, appreciate it, a few on the list I missed this year that look fun and need to pick up. Thanks for all the vids this year, I really enjoy how you approach the reasoning behind your reviews. I came for shmups obv but would love to see you do more vids on other genres. I loved your bayonetta and gun grave views/opinions for example. Happy new year
Thank god you played like dreamer. You talked about all shmups this year except for this one lol. I also like that the game has a lot of content compared to other games. It has many modes, progression ideas, unlocks, customizable characters options, and really well thought difficulty options so newcomers and experienced players can enjoy equally. Really hard to achieve in shmups.
Yes I finally got around to it! It is an excellent game, absolutely worthy of its number 2 placing. I was actually impressed by how polished the menus and overall construction of the game is.
@@TheElectricUnderground I also see it popular because it catches casual audiences. Because graphics , humor, progression and difficulty system. It feels that you can do a lot besides 1cc the game. For example, I see gunvain a great game but I haven't spend in it so much time like in like dreamer because it doesn't have many goals to achieve.
Yeah when i saw it's place in the voting I remember how much you enjoyed the game! I'll have to try it out soon, just been slammed with vids and editing ha.
I bet it has benefited from a number of patches since release. It's a good game, but I think that there is still a lot of room for platinum to improve upon. I'm curious to see if they will make another shmup or if this was a one time deal.
Great video! It's funny, because I tend to buy games physically, a lot of 2022 games I won't get until 2023 🤣 And fwiw I think I played the G-Darius V2 update more than anything else this year lol
Gunvein is a masterclass on how to properly implement continuation in console arcade titles. The continuation system is fair, even though it has infinite continues. It keeps me highly engaged.
For me, #1 is Andro Dunos 2 - it's an amazing game, but perhaps also the biggest surprise because at first, everything about it somehow screamed "Amiga Shmup" (That's not a good thing) - it even has an upgrade shop! But nope, it's a legitimately fun and approachable shmup. Kick Ass Soundtrack, and the hyper weapon system that encourages actually using powerful shots and switching weapons, the bosses are fun. It's my most played shmup that isn't a port/re-release. That said, I haven't checked out Gunvein yet.
Andro Dunos 2 is a really solid game. I had a ton of fun with it when I did my 1cc commentary for it. I think in a less stacked year it would have won, but these days the genre is putting out some really solid games so even hitting number 4 is impressive I think.
Damn I didn't know Yuzo Koshiro did the soundtrack for Sol Cresta! Only issue I have with it is that it's kinda expensive for a shump, been waiting for a decent sale on it on Steam. I actually bought most of the games on your list during Steam's Spring Sale!
Best wishes for 2023. The top 6 was what I expected (not necessarily in the same order) except for the like dreamer that I didn't even know the existence. I thought that the top 2 would be disputed by sophtstar and gunvein, which in my opinion were the 2 jewels of the year (maybe like dreamer os Also a gem) Although I may have a wrong opinion, I objectively found sophstar better. Very original, with very varied mechanics with different ships, bosses with different behavior patterns, bullet patterns that went through all eras of shmup. On the other hand, the graphic and sound presentation did not have the level of gunvein. gunvein was a flawless game, super polished on every level, but followed the cave fórmula without improving/creating with a lesser degree of quality. Maybe because I'm used to the high level of cave After the initial impact, I tend to play less often than sophstar, as I end up going back to the cave classics. Also expected to see terra flame from terarin in the bottom off the list, but probably it is fair . Not a amazing game (far form it), basic and primitive, but polished as a retro game as hell, but It was tons of fun for me. Also did not play "never awake", that looks good, but unfortunaly i can´t buy all games.
You know what's funny pedro is that I was on shmups BR podcast (the vid should be up soon) and the south american players really dig Sophstar's style and toaplan roots! I think it's a fantastic game as well. Like I said in the vid, i personally would have placed it at 2, but the power of touhou got like dreamer into the 2 slot, and like dreamer is also a really solid release. Just some stiff competition this year. I think I'm going to cover sophstar again for the console release :-)
@@TheElectricUnderground yes. In the end both are great. Also use to watch shumpsbr as i AM from Portugal and portuguese is the oficial language of brazil
So many great games this year, but my massive backlog is making me mainly play older games. According to steam, my most played game this year is SuperXYX from 2020. I did pick up Drainus because I loved the art style. It’s a fantastic game that is let down by its difficulty, which really hurts its longevity. But I do tell all my friends to try it out because it’s an easy shmup. Well that and it looks and plays great.
Most shmups I stick on playing got sort of dynamic background. I wish to see more shmups like the Alltynex trilogy. About "euroshmup", I played the demo of Knight Witch and I think that shmup/metroidvania hybrid fits perfectly as a terrible way of handling shoot em up. It also failed both as metroidvania and shmup for me.
Oh I was a guest on ShmupBR's channel last night (vid should be out soon I think) where we talked about worst games of the year and I selected the Knight Witch. I tried it out and it was so bad I didn't even want to play it enough to review it.
You forgot to mention that the OST in Gunvein is just as high quality as the rest of the game. I bought the download of the soundtrack from the composer's bandcamp (Exemia) so I could listen to it when I'm not playing, it's that good!
I need to grab Gunvein as soon as it either gets Steam Deck verified or the Switch port, whichever comes out first! My fav release this year was definitely Drainus. While it's still a tad too easy, I suck enough at the genre to where the gameplay is still engaging, and the presentation makes it a BLAST to just boot up for a run every few weeks.
both very solid games. Both are also a bit more on the traditional horizontal shmup side, so it makes sense that you like both of them if that's your preferred style within the genre.
Oh good question. So STG is the japanese nickname for shoot em' up (shmup). It's kind of interesting because they also will sometimes call run and guns STG as well.
Like Dreamer is the sequel to CosmoDreamer. CosmoDreamer has been out on pc for a while now and has just made the jump to the switch. I think the devs were planning on porting over Like Dreamer at some point as well.
I’ll be looking at Brazil with interest going forward. A difference between Japan and EU/NA when it comes to game design is that the western countries for the most part are having to rediscover what made the classics great. We’ve seen how the indies made “retro-style” games in the vein of how we remember those games being as opposed to how they actually were. The Japanese never stopped making or playing those kind of games and have thus never forgotten. I’m interested to see if Brazil ends up in a similar situation. Arcade games and the old console hardware has stuck around much longer in South America. The region has only now modernised rapidly thanks to PC gaming. It’s not far-fetched to think that these indie devs from Brazil are still very in-touch with classic style games much like the Japanese are. For that alone it’s worth keeping an eye on the country going forward as a shmup fan.
Can't say about other Brazilian Devs. But I grew up with an MSX2+ computer and had an Amiga computer on my early teen years.... And we had arcades here with the latest Japanese games. So I was in touch with both game design schools. And I mean, mame was a thing when I was 15 years old, and shmups have always been my fav genre since the MSX days. So I've played a ton of them thanks to emulation. I've always been more of an arcade game player than the modern ones which are heavy narrative-based. And Im the coder/game designer of Sophstar, heh :) I have a lot to say about oldschool game design Vs modern gaming expectations. But I don't think here's the proper space for it :)
I absolutely believe that south america is going to be a hotbed of amazing arcade-style indie games. It's like a well full of talented players and devs waiting to burst into an international audience.
Yeah blur, a lot of these games snuck under the radar this year. Almost no coverage at all outside of my channel. Like I'm the only large ish review of gunvein even. It's crazy.
Not sure how I feel about all these games having this lock on feature lately. Gunvein really gives me a hand cramp, and its a chore to have to constantly hold one button while releasing and holding another. Layer section and missile dancer are ripe with it too. I'll take sophstar or andos dunos 2 over that.
Oh you the pump lock on, it's am interesting one. I don't mind it personally, having played hours and hours of ccwe, but yes it does get tiring to the hands after a while. Problem is that its a mechanic that's very hard to automate (i've tried to do so in CCWE with custom settings) because there is a rhythm aspect to it rather than just pure mashing like most autofire.
The trick is to not use face buttons for both shot and lock-on. Use your trigger (R) for auto-fire/shot and a face button for lock on. Now you don't have to do thumb contortions to play the game.
I played that a bit last month, I just could not get into it at all. I found the pace to be really slow, but my tolerance for metroidvania is pretty low anyway.
@@TheElectricUnderground That's why gaming is so great! Everyone likes their own thing 👍. No matter what releases in the future for me, nothing will ever give me a wow moment like seeing Rtype in the arcades for the first time 👌
Gee.. I can't imagine why Like Dreamer is so popular beyond the 2hu inspiration ;) Jokes aside, interesting list and most are on my current Steam wish-list. Currently working on Andro Dunos 2, I keep dying on the stage 4 boss on Arcade, but I'm getting there.
A few there I need to pick up. Looks great thanks 🙂. I don’t see Cotton Fantasy / Rock and Roll in any end of year lists, which is a game I really enjoy. Am I the only one? 😬
Oh I mention that a bit in the beginning. The reason why fantasy is not on the list is that it originally was released in 2021, so it doesn't fall into the 2022 timeframe.
I'm gonna be petty but the biggest sin and why I can't put Sophstar as high is that the music does *nothing* for me, like seriously, the gameplay may be good but the music isn't on par with it
Oh shame, I know the feeling though with other games I've played. One thing you can do (I've done this with other shmups) is turn off the music in the options menu and then blast some great breakbeats or something ha.
Gunvein wins the top spot for me. Fantastic pacing, awesome feedbacks, ultimate readability, enjoyable mechanics, and my kind of patterns! It nails all the fundamentals. I enjoyed Drainus excellent presentation but certain mechanics like having all the power-ups at the same time being completely OP and then losing them meaning you're f*****... I so hate that.
Sol Cresta is the most disappointing game in years, because of that you say: it can be the second coming of Christ and it was not, far, very far, from it. Very disappointed with Platinum and It shouldn't even be on the list, in my opinion. Gunvein and Androdunos 2 are very great! Very good to give credit to Boghog. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Sol Cresta was a big letdown. Man plat are just not delivering like they used to. Bayo 3 was a let down as well. i think they have gone too deep into the rpg sauce and lost track of making quality action.
I'm the coder and game designer of Sophstar. I'm incredibly honoured to have our game ranked so high. This is being a tremendous , surreal journey. I never thought I would work on something so many people would enjoy that much. It's a huge honour, thank you.
Definitely well deserved my friend! Sophstar is a fantastic game and I'm glad it is getting recognition :-)
Wonderful game. I haven’t played an STG for over a year and your game pulled me back in ❤
Great job, dude! I am waiting for a console release since I saw it the first time. Really looking forward to play it!
Rafael I enjoyed Sophstar so much. Also, thank you for adding the “child” difficulty level. As a busy parent, I need super easy modes to finish games.
@@schlarptarf3675 It's digitally available for consoles for a while now through Red Art Games, hope you can get it and enjoy it! :)
YO very honored that hazelnut hex made the list, thank you once again for the kind words!! glad my silly username stuck in your head hahaha
absolutely deserved! The game's art style is a breath of fresh air I think, and it's always a relief when a cool looking game has solid gameplay as well ha (cough cuphead). Chunderfins is a fun username, it reminds me of a cartoon character or something ha
You deserve it! Your game rocks.
I want to thank you for making this game. It rekindled my love for shmups and I already bought a bunch of them and having a blast. Hope your game gets a sequel.
YO! It took my luv for Mobile to remember your Funtaztic & colorful creation was still being developed & now it is part of my Switch collection👾 please consider giving us collectors a physical cart & disks with perks like keychains, t shirts,mouse pads,coffee mugs, side of the bus art, posters, artbooks, refrigerator magnets,pool & boat covers, gigantic billboard ads
Before June of this year I owned zero STGs. I just purchased my 40th the for the switch alone. You gave it a good review. I bought it. Thanks to Mark and Junkie for all these new games and a crippling case of reset syndrome. I can't help but play the first stage perfectly or reset. Also I feel like a punk if I slam that bomb button.
That s awesome!! I m always happy to hear when the channel helps introduce new players to the genre :-)
I've been playing for about two years.... I'm really good at the first two stages of many shmups lol.
@@HideAndRead god this is so true. I've started a new thing though, hear me out, three credits then reset. Boom it's a life changer!
@@joltzyclayton8674 i resort to easy modes or just creditfeed for fun.. Way less depressing that way xD
@@dadrising6464 I'll play the easy modes at first to get a feel but I'm in it for the normal 1cc. For years reset syndrome was a real pain. Using 3 credits to learn the game is a lot better than reset syndrome.
As someone who started shmups in 2022, I'd say it's been a wild ride coming in between all these great indie shmups released this year and the recent release of Crimzon Clover World Explosion on Steam, not to mention LiveWire's recent Cave ports to the Nintendo Switch. This is a great list and I surely need to check out all of the other titles mentioned here. Happy 2023!
I'm always happy to hear when new players are getting into the genre. I think you arrived just in time cuz stuff is going to get cooking in 2023! I'm already very excited for DOJ for example
Another newbie to shmups in 2022 thanks to the release of Andro Dunos 2 getting me interested in the genre. Glad to see that game on the list, although I can't believe you didn't mention the banging soundtrack! This channel has been essential viewing to catch up on releases and guide my purchases (too many!!). Thanks for all the effort! Looking forward to the switch release of Gunvein next year. All the best for the new year
Andro Dunos 2 does have a cool ost! I'm really glad this channel has been helpful to keep up with the genre! So many amazing games come out and don't get recognition.
Gunvein deserves a number 1 spot simply for actually having a practice mode that EXPLAINS HOW THE GAME WORKS. Genius.
The practice mode in GV is really solid. I know Bog put a ton of time into the tutorial modes and stuff like that
Reviewing the general trend was a nice bonus to the video! Glad to see indies and doujins picking up where the big arcade developers like CAVE left off. A lot of these look so interesting to play, my shmup backlog keeps growing XD
Here's hoping 2023 will be another awesome year for shmups. STG never die!
Glad you enjoyed my wrap up thoughts! I didn't just want to only drop a list, but also discuss the year as a whole. I'm really looking forward to 2023, i think it's going to be a stacked year (we're already getting M2 DOJ!)
@@TheElectricUnderground Game of the year, easy.
Thanks for the list! Really excited to try at least two or three more shmups in 2023. Moving/interactive backgrounds are more of a 2.5D shmup thing imo, like ThunderForce IV/V and Einhander. Having busy backgrounds in sprite-based 2D shmups is a hard balancing act to pull off. I would like to see more sprite rotation/stretching. Maybe a BG maze that could flip or fold inwards :D
Absolutely thom! Backgrounds are really hard to get right without them being odd, but when they are done well it really adds a lot to the games presentation
OMG Einhander was the Bomb ! Love that game. I always prefer vertical shmup but Einhander 🤌🤌🤌👌👌
Mark, thank you for your coverage in 2022. Look forward to seeing what's new on your channel in 2023! 💖
Absolutely! 2023 is gonna be a cool year I think :-)
YESSS! So happy Like Dreamer made it so high. It was my personal favorite of 2022.
Yeah like dreamer is a real hidden gem. i hope more people come across it in 2023 because it sort of snuck under the radar this year.
I really enjoy shmups with a more relaxed soundtrack. Usually I turn off the music after a while when playing shmups because the music is so stressful, but games like like dreamer I actually enjoy having the music on.
I'd actually never heard of it before this video. The character art seems a bit funny but it looks tight I gotta keep an eye on it
@@TheElectricUnderground a lot of people are turned off because the character design is... bountiful. There is a data window you can activate that covers most of that side art though, so it's not a reason to not try the game IMO.
@@GojiGuy Please don't let that turn you off from playing the game, it's unfortunate that one of the characters has that design but the game is too good to pass up if that's your hang up with it.
*Like Dreamer gets 2nd place*
"I've seen enough, I'm satisfied"
Yes like dreamer had a very strong presence in the voting and I do think it deserves its placing. It's a very solid game.
@@TheElectricUnderground It's just so good~
It even has a speedrun mode...a vertical scrolling shmup with a speedrun mode, that's just crazy!
Found so many great STGs thanks to your channel, thank you for putting in the work on these videos, they're excellent. Now back to chasing that Gunvein 1cc
I am very happy to help!! Yes this channel is all about digging into the genre and finding the gems and explaining what makes the genre great.
Excellent and exciting 2022 summary - thanks a ton for yet another 12 months of unique, original, creative gaming content Mark; looking forward to all your coverage and content in 2023 and beyond.
It's been a really good year for the channel! Thank you for the kind feedback, I've put an insane amount of work in this year and I think next year is gonna be awesome :-)
I really hope Gunvein gets a western digital release on switch.
Sophstar was definitely my favourite game of the year on switch. I was worried that with all the different systems like warp, it would be a bit too complicated (for me) to play like Radiant Silvergun. Everything on Sophstar feels like second nature though and it's great fun. Still no where near a 1cc.
Yes I think we will see GV get a wide release on all the consoles :-) sophstar is fantastic!
It’d be great to see a video on background design! Thanks for the amazing content Mark, happy new year ✌🏼
Absolutely gonna cover that in 2023 :-)
Thanks for a great list Mark. Congratulations on a superb year for the Electric Underground. Looking forward to your coverage in 2023 and a new shirt!!
Thank you very much Retro Super Box! This year has been a great time for the channel, I think the channel has hit a groove so def working to keep in going into 2023
Thanks a lot for reigniting my passion for this genre and happy new year
I'm chuffed Operation STEEL snuck onto the list, thanks to everyone who gave it a vote!
I am sad Dead End City didn't receive more votes, more people need to play it. Also I picked TerraFlame over Moon Dancer but nice to see Terarin getting that love :)
ps. Happy New Year everyone!
Dead End City is definitely in my top 10
Glad to hear it BB! I need to get around to doing like a 1cc commentary of STEEL soon, just been completely backed up editing vids and keeping up with the crazy release schedule.
@@TheElectricUnderground Maybe when the Switch release finally comes out :D
Yes, terraflame an dead end city are very good games.
Great list, was a lot of fun guessing what was coming up next as I watched. Really appreciated the end segment as it's most fascinating, to me at least, to see where things can be improved. Thanks for all your hard work this year Mark, keep it up my man!
What an awesome comment Christian! I'm glad you enjoyed the video, I think it's helpful to reflect on the releases for the year :-)
Thank you for the list and good job on the overall improvement of the video/recording quality.
thanks so much bzlom! It's been a journey to improve the video quality, it's not a natural talent of mine ha
Excellent video as always, off to pick up the games on the top 10 I have missed from this year.
Thank you David!
Great vid!!! Thanks. I just got back into playing these. The PlayStation end of the year sale was good enough to get 10 shmups.
Thank you my dude!
Nice I'm getting back into shmups after a couple decades good to see the genre still innovating
Pretty good year for shmup releases here's to 2023 cheers Mark!
Just a reminder, Hazelnut Hex is on sale in the eShop for like $2.50 for a couple more days. Worth every cent! Great list👍
Oh awesome!! yeah def jump on that sale while you can
Good video, we have been lucky with some great releases and re-releases, ty for your coverage.
Thank you my friend!! Been a solid year for sure
Solid list, I found out about a few games I missed out!
Thank you my dude!!
I really enjoyed this video. My fav was sofhstar but a lot of the other games I oddly never heard of.
I absolutely love Moon Dancer. Made by the same people that did Raging Blasters, Missile Dancer, and Gememi Arms. I am 2nd in the world on the Expert difficulty on Moon Dancer. I've played the crap out of it lol.
Moon Dancer is the definition of a hidden gem. Even I wasn't aware of it until i worked on this list.
I highly recommend. It's such a perfect game in my opinion. Just simple to understand and can be played and short bursts. One of my top 10 of all time. I'm biased though lol
Was there a doubt about number one 😂?
Mark i want to wish you an amazing new year, I'm glad i found your channel, i appreciate the fact that you actually respond to comments and you even linked me to some shmup guides when i asked, i also appreciate your honesty and integrity man. Hey I'm not being a simp 😂, credit where credit is due and i hope your channel grows much more.
Yeah this year's number 1 pick was pretty obvious ha. Like Dreamer had a strong showing in the voting, but still lost by a wide margin.
Always good lists; before even watching thank you!
New years resolution to actually have time to play some of them...
Ha no kidding! My new years resolution is to finish my quest for the ketsui omote. I might need to take a month off vids and just play ket nonstop to make it happen.
“But HOLD ON. Before you just click off the list because you’ve had your way with me, you’ve gotten what you want from me, you’ve got your dirty little numbers…” LOL
Glad you enjoyed that lol! I thought it would be fun to do a recap of the year as a whole at the end
Great list, great video. One day I would love to see a top 10 shmups ranked for their music, displayed right next to a standard top 10 shmups, like a table with two columns, to see how many titles are present in both columns. Good soundtracks are very important in Shmups. Danmaku 3 would be my top1 in the standard list, but would it be also present in the soundtrack top 10, not sure, possibly yes ; ). Just an idea
My GF just got her first 1cc on Gunvein. She's very proud.
That's awesome!!! Great game to start the genre with I think
@@TheElectricUnderground Absolutely. And agree it's 2022 number 1. She has beaten my score now. I can't allow that. Going to shut her down
Yay! Andro Dunos nostalgia! Played a lot of Andro Dunos on the arcades.
Seeing these games made me wonder whether I should develop another SHMUP after more than 10 years.
Excellent list with great titles!
Like Dreamer is my GOTY simply because Cave+Touhou! I have never smiled so much playing a shmup in years!
Great video, appreciate it, a few on the list I missed this year that look fun and need to pick up. Thanks for all the vids this year, I really enjoy how you approach the reasoning behind your reviews. I came for shmups obv but would love to see you do more vids on other genres. I loved your bayonetta and gun grave views/opinions for example. Happy new year
Would love to see a video on upcoming shmups like Mechanical Star Astra and Wyver Ultra.
Thank god you played like dreamer. You talked about all shmups this year except for this one lol. I also like that the game has a lot of content compared to other games. It has many modes, progression ideas, unlocks, customizable characters options, and really well thought difficulty options so newcomers and experienced players can enjoy equally. Really hard to achieve in shmups.
Yes I finally got around to it! It is an excellent game, absolutely worthy of its number 2 placing. I was actually impressed by how polished the menus and overall construction of the game is.
@@TheElectricUnderground I also see it popular because it catches casual audiences. Because graphics , humor, progression and difficulty system. It feels that you can do a lot besides 1cc the game. For example, I see gunvain a great game but I haven't spend in it so much time like in like dreamer because it doesn't have many goals to achieve.
Great list! And you're right, operation STEEL is amazing. Shoutouts to Dolphin for that amazing OST as well!
Yeah when i saw it's place in the voting I remember how much you enjoyed the game! I'll have to try it out soon, just been slammed with vids and editing ha.
@@TheElectricUnderground would love the official TEU take on this game eventually 😆
I really liked sol cresta, but i bought it recently so a lot of issues must have been patched out.
Sophstar is awesome btw
I bet it has benefited from a number of patches since release. It's a good game, but I think that there is still a lot of room for platinum to improve upon. I'm curious to see if they will make another shmup or if this was a one time deal.
Nice. I didn't even know about Hazelnut Hex and Like Dreamer.
yes, they def snuck under the radar.
Personally I'd put Pocky and Rocky Reshrined in all 10 spots
Pretty cool game, also if you like it you gotta check out wild arms reloaded
Great video! It's funny, because I tend to buy games physically, a lot of 2022 games I won't get until 2023 🤣
And fwiw I think I played the G-Darius V2 update more than anything else this year lol
Oh yeah the delay on the physical releases lately has been crazy.
Gunvein is a masterclass on how to properly implement continuation in console arcade titles. The continuation system is fair, even though it has infinite continues. It keeps me highly engaged.
I knew Gunvein was GOATed the minute I heard that stage 1 music
GV does have an awesome ost!
For me, #1 is Andro Dunos 2 - it's an amazing game, but perhaps also the biggest surprise because at first, everything about it somehow screamed "Amiga Shmup" (That's not a good thing) - it even has an upgrade shop! But nope, it's a legitimately fun and approachable shmup. Kick Ass Soundtrack, and the hyper weapon system that encourages actually using powerful shots and switching weapons, the bosses are fun. It's my most played shmup that isn't a port/re-release. That said, I haven't checked out Gunvein yet.
Andro Dunos 2 is a really solid game. I had a ton of fun with it when I did my 1cc commentary for it. I think in a less stacked year it would have won, but these days the genre is putting out some really solid games so even hitting number 4 is impressive I think.
what's the track during the patreon thanks/video outro?
Damn I didn't know Yuzo Koshiro did the soundtrack for Sol Cresta! Only issue I have with it is that it's kinda expensive for a shump, been waiting for a decent sale on it on Steam. I actually bought most of the games on your list during Steam's Spring Sale!
Best wishes for 2023. The top 6 was what I expected (not necessarily in the same order) except for the like dreamer that I didn't even know the existence. I thought that the top 2 would be disputed by sophtstar and gunvein, which in my opinion were the 2 jewels of the year (maybe like dreamer os Also a gem) Although I may have a wrong opinion, I objectively found sophstar better. Very original, with very varied mechanics with different ships, bosses with different behavior patterns, bullet patterns that went through all eras of shmup. On the other hand, the graphic and sound presentation did not have the level of gunvein. gunvein was a flawless game, super polished on every level, but followed the cave fórmula without improving/creating with a lesser degree of quality. Maybe because I'm used to the high level of cave After the initial impact, I tend to play less often than sophstar, as I end up going back to the cave classics. Also expected to see terra flame from terarin in the bottom off the list, but probably it is fair . Not a amazing game (far form it), basic and primitive, but polished as a retro game as hell, but It was tons of fun for me. Also did not play "never awake", that looks good, but unfortunaly i can´t buy all games.
You know what's funny pedro is that I was on shmups BR podcast (the vid should be up soon) and the south american players really dig Sophstar's style and toaplan roots! I think it's a fantastic game as well. Like I said in the vid, i personally would have placed it at 2, but the power of touhou got like dreamer into the 2 slot, and like dreamer is also a really solid release. Just some stiff competition this year. I think I'm going to cover sophstar again for the console release :-)
@@TheElectricUnderground yes. In the end both are great. Also use to watch shumpsbr as i AM from Portugal and portuguese is the oficial language of brazil
So many great games this year, but my massive backlog is making me mainly play older games. According to steam, my most played game this year is SuperXYX from 2020.
I did pick up Drainus because I loved the art style. It’s a fantastic game that is let down by its difficulty, which really hurts its longevity. But I do tell all my friends to try it out because it’s an easy shmup. Well that and it looks and plays great.
Let's take a moment to recognize how awesome SuperXYX was, i had so much fun with that game when it came out :-)
Any chance gunvein will come to the Dreamcast,beings as no dev have released games on the good ol dc in the past?
Idk I don't think so though as it would be a very extensive port process from gamemaker
Most shmups I stick on playing got sort of dynamic background. I wish to see more shmups like the Alltynex trilogy.
About "euroshmup", I played the demo of Knight Witch and I think that shmup/metroidvania hybrid fits perfectly as a terrible way of handling shoot em up. It also failed both as metroidvania and shmup for me.
Oh I was a guest on ShmupBR's channel last night (vid should be out soon I think) where we talked about worst games of the year and I selected the Knight Witch. I tried it out and it was so bad I didn't even want to play it enough to review it.
Cosmo Dreamer on Switch is so good. I need Like Dreamer as well. It's supposed to drop on Switch early next year I heard.
Yeah i think I saw some kind of upcoming physical release of them?
it's been a great year for shmup but it will be better in 2023, i'm excited for Rayz Arcade Chronology. See you all next year.
Don't count your shmups before they hatch ;-) but yes I think 2023 is going to be a very strong year for the genre.
You forgot to mention that the OST in Gunvein is just as high quality as the rest of the game. I bought the download of the soundtrack from the composer's bandcamp (Exemia) so I could listen to it when I'm not playing, it's that good!
nice list, but wish mecha ritz 2.0 was there, that game was 10/10
I would have put Mecha Ritz on the list but it fell outside of the criteria of being a new game :-) great update though
I need to grab Gunvein as soon as it either gets Steam Deck verified or the Switch port, whichever comes out first! My fav release this year was definitely Drainus. While it's still a tad too easy, I suck enough at the genre to where the gameplay is still engaging, and the presentation makes it a BLAST to just boot up for a run every few weeks.
Gunvein runs great on Steam Deck since release. I've played the sh*t out of it on Steam Deck. Enjoy!
Oh yeah I'm really looking forward to the Gunvein physical release. I'm gonna pick it up on ps4 :-)
Drainus and Andro Dunos 2 are the best two in my opinion.
both very solid games. Both are also a bit more on the traditional horizontal shmup side, so it makes sense that you like both of them if that's your preferred style within the genre.
Just got Moon Dancer a half hour ago it's pretty intense
Yes and you can turn up the difficulty!
@@TheElectricUnderground yeah playing on expert and getting my ass handed to me hahaha
What does STG mean? Is it another word for shmup or does it stand for something?
ShooTing Game(stg). Well that is how japanese people call it.
Oh good question. So STG is the japanese nickname for shoot em' up (shmup). It's kind of interesting because they also will sometimes call run and guns STG as well.
Thanks for sharing. Will have to start using STG! :)
It was a bit confused because it says "Light Dreamer" in the timelinks instead of "Like Dreamer" so I couldn't find the game online at first.
Gunvein is the best one this year closely followed by Sophstar for me.
Those would be my personal top 2 as well :-)
Dammit ,,, every time I see these vids I end up going on a shopping spree lol
What's the background music ???
oh it's some random video game breakbeat music I came across. Zeus II - Carnage Heart - BGM 2 (ARTDINK)
@@TheElectricUnderground good music ...
@@TheElectricUnderground This is the first time I've come across any mention of Carnage Heart in the wild, wow.
I have a question is Like Dreamer and Cosmos Dreamer the same game on Switch
Like Dreamer is the sequel to CosmoDreamer. CosmoDreamer has been out on pc for a while now and has just made the jump to the switch. I think the devs were planning on porting over Like Dreamer at some point as well.
I believe they are part of the same series, but different games :-)
Any are shared screen shoot em ups?
I’ll be looking at Brazil with interest going forward.
A difference between Japan and EU/NA when it comes to game design is that the western countries for the most part are having to rediscover what made the classics great. We’ve seen how the indies made “retro-style” games in the vein of how we remember those games being as opposed to how they actually were.
The Japanese never stopped making or playing those kind of games and have thus never forgotten.
I’m interested to see if Brazil ends up in a similar situation. Arcade games and the old console hardware has stuck around much longer in South America. The region has only now modernised rapidly thanks to PC gaming. It’s not far-fetched to think that these indie devs from Brazil are still very in-touch with classic style games much like the Japanese are.
For that alone it’s worth keeping an eye on the country going forward as a shmup fan.
Can't say about other Brazilian Devs. But I grew up with an MSX2+ computer and had an Amiga computer on my early teen years.... And we had arcades here with the latest Japanese games.
So I was in touch with both game design schools.
And I mean, mame was a thing when I was 15 years old, and shmups have always been my fav genre since the MSX days. So I've played a ton of them thanks to emulation.
I've always been more of an arcade game player than the modern ones which are heavy narrative-based.
And Im the coder/game designer of Sophstar, heh :)
I have a lot to say about oldschool game design Vs modern gaming expectations. But I don't think here's the proper space for it :)
I absolutely believe that south america is going to be a hotbed of amazing arcade-style indie games. It's like a well full of talented players and devs waiting to burst into an international audience.
Just realizing how many games I forgot about that dropped this year lol.
Yeah blur, a lot of these games snuck under the radar this year. Almost no coverage at all outside of my channel. Like I'm the only large ish review of gunvein even. It's crazy.
Omg I put Hazlenut Hex on my WL to track later and Like Dreamer is up my ally.
I tracked that on Steam
Some of my picks got in. Nice.
excellent! Yes like i said this list is essentially the viewer voted list :-)
Who makes that jacket!?! It’s sick!
Cannot go wrong with a good jean jacket my friend. This jacket is a Lee, which is one of the OG denim brands
Very cool jacket, Mark.
Thanks Danchi! Cannot go wrong with a solid denim jacket :-)
Yeah I think it’s a solid list don’t think I would deviate much.Gunvein rules looking forward to the PS4 release💪
I am too! I want it on PS4 disc :-)
What was the game in the background whenever it wasn't showing footage of whatever game he was currently talking about?
The game in the background is grand cross renovation, it's a beautiful one for sure :-)
Thank you so much:) love all your content!
I can only said UBUSANA its coming, happy 2023!!!
rick grimes is reviewing shmups. what a time to be alive.
Can anyone tell me which games are available on xbox series consoles? If it's not too much trouble
What's your opinion on Super Nano Blaster? I thinks it's sadly overlooked. Maybe a Switch release would get it some attention.
Oh snap I've never played the game.
Not sure how I feel about all these games having this lock on feature lately. Gunvein really gives me a hand cramp, and its a chore to have to constantly hold one button while releasing and holding another. Layer section and missile dancer are ripe with it too. I'll take sophstar or andos dunos 2 over that.
Oh you the pump lock on, it's am interesting one. I don't mind it personally, having played hours and hours of ccwe, but yes it does get tiring to the hands after a while. Problem is that its a mechanic that's very hard to automate (i've tried to do so in CCWE with custom settings) because there is a rhythm aspect to it rather than just pure mashing like most autofire.
The trick is to not use face buttons for both shot and lock-on. Use your trigger (R) for auto-fire/shot and a face button for lock on. Now you don't have to do thumb contortions to play the game.
@@drspod thanks , I shall try it
Just downloaded Hazel Nut Hex for Switch after seeing this, and the game is really good so far.
That's awesome! it's a fun one!!
Gunvein saved year 2022, I'll also remember Andro Dunos II and Sophstar probably as the best ones
Yes GV really stepped in where we needed a big juicy bullet hell.
Can I throw into the mix a game on Steam called The Knight Witch... Really enjoyed playing this a few months back..
I played that a bit last month, I just could not get into it at all. I found the pace to be really slow, but my tolerance for metroidvania is pretty low anyway.
@@TheElectricUnderground That's why gaming is so great! Everyone likes their own thing 👍. No matter what releases in the future for me, nothing will ever give me a wow moment like seeing Rtype in the arcades for the first time 👌
Gee.. I can't imagine why Like Dreamer is so popular beyond the 2hu inspiration ;)
Jokes aside, interesting list and most are on my current Steam wish-list. Currently working on Andro Dunos 2, I keep dying on the stage 4 boss on Arcade, but I'm getting there.
Ha the border art of the game is over the top, maybe that s why they won't allow for tate lol
In the future could you mention what platforms these games are on? Thanks for the vid ❤
Oh yeah that's a good idea! I'll try to do that next time around :-)
A few there I need to pick up. Looks great thanks 🙂. I don’t see Cotton Fantasy / Rock and Roll in any end of year lists, which is a game I really enjoy. Am I the only one? 😬
Oh I mention that a bit in the beginning. The reason why fantasy is not on the list is that it originally was released in 2021, so it doesn't fall into the 2022 timeframe.
Ah ok I missed that . I had started to think I had terrible Shmup taste 😂
I'm gonna be petty but the biggest sin and why I can't put Sophstar as high is that the music does *nothing* for me, like seriously, the gameplay may be good but the music isn't on par with it
Oh shame, I know the feeling though with other games I've played. One thing you can do (I've done this with other shmups) is turn off the music in the options menu and then blast some great breakbeats or something ha.
16:28
*Looks to the left*
Idk about that one mark
Hyper Sentinel pre order just went live at VGNY
Gunvein wins the top spot for me. Fantastic pacing, awesome feedbacks, ultimate readability, enjoyable mechanics, and my kind of patterns! It nails all the fundamentals. I enjoyed Drainus excellent presentation but certain mechanics like having all the power-ups at the same time being completely OP and then losing them meaning you're f*****... I so hate that.
Yes GV for me no contest. The voting showed that as well, it basically won in a landslide ha.
New Year’s resolution… add more Oooomph to my life.
It's a resolution we all should follow ha.
I am so looking forward to Gunvein getting a PS4 release sometime in '23 👍
Sad to not see NeverAwake here, but what can you do?
Also, a game that looks incredibly jank at first, but is so fun to play, is In Exterminus DX
Sol Cresta is the most disappointing game in years, because of that you say: it can be the second coming of Christ and it was not, far, very far, from it. Very disappointed with Platinum and It shouldn't even be on the list, in my opinion.
Gunvein and Androdunos 2 are very great! Very good to give credit to Boghog.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Platinum may or may not be making an horizontal shooter according to their April Fools' joke this year so maybe 2nd time is the charm?
@@hngdman Hope so!
Sol Cresta was a big letdown. Man plat are just not delivering like they used to. Bayo 3 was a let down as well. i think they have gone too deep into the rpg sauce and lost track of making quality action.
Why thumbnail is gomaotsu
Will be great to get a selection on Xbox!!!
Yeah shame more shmups don't come to the xbox, it's pretty neglected sadly.
Speaking of backgrounds , i highly recommend you check "Never awake" , a very beautiful looking 2022 shmup.
I have heard a lot of really good stuff about it, I think I am gonna cover it on the channel soon.
I LOVE GUNVEIN!
Me too :-)
Nice coat.