Violet Storm Review
PROS
- Changes the formula for the genre; not your typical twin-stick fare.
- Over-the top visuals; oodles of enemies, crazy weapon power-ups.
CONS
- Player never really feels threatened by the enemies they face; it takes overwhelming odds to make any dent in your ship.
VERDICT
Violet Storm aims to shift the focus of the twin-stick shooter from being a fragile, yet powerful ship to something more brutal and thuggish, but its novelty wears off quickly without any real threats or changes in the gameplay.
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It's not always easy to make your mark in the big-bad world of twin-stick shooters - especially when you present yourself in the usual neon-coated, explosive clothing so-often used in the genre. By all appearances, Violet Storm by Sad Cat Software looks the part of a typical twin-stick shooter, but does its eschewing of limited environments and one-hit-deaths mix things up in the right way?
To jump straight to the answer: while unexpected and novel at first, the removal of these boundaries turns the game in to something far more brutish and ultimately less appealing.
This is a shame as the attempt to try something new should at least be praised. There's an initial burst of fun and curiosity that comes from blasting away oodles of enemies or taking the odd bump here or there, and eventually winning out thanks to the overwhelming firepower at your disposal.
Power-ups also provide a nice change-up, granting you invincibility and damage boosts, though the longer you survive, the more powerful your ship becomes, eventually reaching eye-popping levels of craziness. Ending up lasers and homing-missiles that fill the screen is not uncommon in the basic campaign mode.
Should you tire of lazily blasting endless amounts of enemies, you can switch things up with the Sniper mode (a timed run where accuracy is rewarded generously) and Speed Havoc (kill as many units as possible as fast as possible).
Violet Storm tries its hand at breaking out of the usual tropes of the hyper-color twin-stick shooter, but it doesn't end up with something quite as compelling and for veterans it can even border on banal as you rarely feel like you're at any risk. For those who enjoy a bit of mindless blasting, this is likely to be down your alley.
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