Ghost Blade HD | Xbox One

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Are you missing the Dreamcast-era glory days of bullet hell shoot ‘em ups? If, like me, you’re firmly in the ‘yes’ column then look no further: Ghost Blade HD brings the staples of intense techno, big bosses, vivid colours and classic art design together to concoct a smashing shmup that manages to stay the right side of entertaining, despite its lack of originality.

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By
​Rob
​Holt

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@acousticmagic

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Players: 1 -2
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Wii U
Developer: Hucast Games
Publisher: 2Dream

Like many shmups before it, Ghost Blade boasts a simple, intuitive control system. There’s one button for a standard spread of bullets from your chosen craft, another creates a beam of destruction ripe for taking down girthier foes, and another fires off one of your precious stash of bombs. Managing these three types of fire is crucial to your success, as is the speed your left thumb can navigate your dinky craft around the battlefield.

The game features five traditional stages in a vertically scrolling arcade-style arrangement, with enemies that move towards you, around you or, in the case of the towers, just stand still. Those of you who have played genre classics like Ikaruga and Giga Wing will be familiar with what Ghost Blade is trying to achieve; fast paced, bullet dodging fun that begs to be played over and over again.

Ghost Blade gets a lot of this delightful formula right: the music for one is absolutely fantastic - think arcades of the 90s, full of hectic electronic beats, synthesizers and warning klaxons - and the gameplay is finely tuned, we just can’t shake the feeling that the game borrows too much from its predecessors.

​Bosses are a large part of shmups, and, unfortunately, they’re a weak point here. The good humoured warning signs that blast across the screen are great, but the mostly generic metal beasts that jump out after them simply aren’t. It’s not that they’re no fun to shoot at, it just felt like we’d seen these grey towers and ships fire these same bullet patterns a hundred times before.

In spite of its familiarity, Ghost Blade is a real blast (pun intended) to shoot through. The enjoyably high difficulty level - especially on the hard setting - will provide shmup fans with hours of play. The online leaderboards, score attack mode and two player option add considerable meat to its bones, whilst the invaluable training mode provides the novice with a benevolent hand as well. ​

If you’re a big shmup fan then we’d recommend adding this one to your collection, but for the non-believers, there’s nothing groundbreaking here to warrant your attention.

Pros

• Cracking soundtrack
• A fun challenge
• Online leaderboards encourage repeat play
• Fast, frantic gameplay
• Simple, efficient controls

Cons

• Will only truly appeal to diehard shmup fans
• Repetitive enemy types
• Boss designs lack originality

Score 7/10