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A Hauntingly Difficult And Fantastic Shmup For U!

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Developed and published by Squarehead Studios Star Ghost is an extremely challenging yet enjoyable procedurally generated shoot 'em up title released exclusively on the Wii U! Does the game live up to its Studios' Rare pedigree? Continue reading our review to find out!

The gameplay is fairly simple with the A button being used to move the ship up "release it to drop altitude" and the left analog stick is used to shoot and aim your shots. The controls definitely take some getting used to, but it shouldn't take too long to learn them. Still it would be nice if the controls were a little less awkward. Star Ghost is divided into several sectors with multiple procedurally generated stages. The stages and enemy patterns are well balanced so the game never feels cheap or unfair.



There are several types of enemies and obstacles that are introduced as you progress through the sectors and from the second sector on you'll face-off against boss battles! The boss battles play-out like a game of cat-and-mouse, but after awhile the roles are reversed and you'll take the offensive to defeat the worn-down bosses. This is a refreshing new take on boss battles that we thoroughly enjoyed in the game!

You can also earn blue orbs to spend on power-ups, health, and even a continue if you earn enough orbs. Purchasing continues is very important early on in the game when orbs are easier to come across and you're less likely to die. You only get one life per continue and start off with absolutely no continues and everything past the second sector is quite challenging so expect to replay the game many times before reaching the end!



Star Ghost also features flawless Off-TV-Play which is an excellent feature to say the least. In-terms of the audio-visual presentation the game is superb! Visually the stage backgrounds are vibrant and detailed with excellent lighting effects. The ship looks decidedly retro and so do the aquatic and insectoid enemies! The look of the stages will instantly remind gamers from the 80's and 90's of titles such as Gradius and Salamander!

The music is by far the game's strongest point, as the entire sound-track has been composed by the video gaming legend David Wise himself! With music this good you'll feel like you've been sent to the past and it's a wonderful feeling! The rest of the audio in Star Ghost sounds like something you would have heard in a 90's arcade room! You just won't find many modern games with such an authentic turn of the millennium sound-track and sound effects which is something we feel must be stressed as the developer deserves praise for this accomplishment!



Bottom-Line:

With excellent gameplay that is extremely challenging, but never feels cheap, fantastic visuals, Off-TV-Play, and one of the best sound-tracks we've heard from an eShop title Star Ghost is near perfection, however the rather awkward controls do take some getting used to so we felt that was an issue. Regardless Star Ghost is a wonderful title and because of that we give the game a great level of recommendation!

Price: £7.99/€8.99/$8.99

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

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#Review #Shmup #Shooter #WiiU #eShop #Nindie #SquareheadStudios

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