ballet of steel | 2024 | iced_lemon | turn-based strategy | prototype | posted 24 august 2024
so this game is just a jam game / prototype so i don't have much to say but it's such an interesting concept i gotta put it on this here corner. because the phrase "turn-based bullet hell" is in itself intriguing.
how it works is not entirely conceptually dissimilar to superhot, where bullets move when you do, except it kinda is. bear with me. movement is tile based. on your turn, you can move to anywhere in a certain radius (or stay still), and once you do, enemies act and bullets move. enemies will shoot every X turns, and they always flash red before doing so. bullets will always move at the same rate so you can predict where they'll be so that, yknow, you don't get hit. on your turn, you can walk into a tile containing bullets to deflect them back and damage enemies.
it's a simple core mechanic, but when patterns and movement speeds overlap you realize that being able to move in real time is kind of a luxury. this prototype isn't very hard, i cleared it first try with plenty of lives to spare, but if it gets completed there's potential for some really intricate machinery looking rooms. the completed game also intends to be a roguelike which... not to be mean but of course it does. it makes me sound like a hypocrite as i play plenty of them but it does get tiresome and i don't think there's much to be gained from that here. regardless, the visual style is pretty charming and the gameplay is interesting, so i'm keeping an eye on it. give it a go some time.