If you grew up with shmups, there was always one controversy that was difficult to resolve. It’s almost like the chicken and the egg question. Vertical or horizontal? TATE mode or TV? Arcade games never had the same restrictions as home televisions and a number of shmups, including some of the best ones, are designed for a monitor to be oriented vertically rather than a traditional horizontal monitor. The arcade cabinets are built with this in mind. Transfer those games to a horizontal screen however and you end up with black bars on the side and a shrunken screen that doesn’t’ allow you to fully experience the game.
Back in the ‘90s when shmups really first started coming west to home consoles, this was a big issue. Thunderforce III was the bomb and the best shmups were ‘horis’ rather than ‘verts’. Sure there was the occasional vert that was awesome too, but by and large, horis ruled the day. Once imports became more feasible, we got older and started getting arcade cabinets before the price spikes and there was an opportunity to experience verts in all their glory (Cave, Raizing, etc), it was hard not to argue that verts were superior.
However, today it’s time to talk about horizontal shmups once again. Team Ladybug of Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth fame (review here) is back with Drainus, an unexpectedly epic horizontal shmup published by Playism that shatters all your expectations and leaves you wanting more! Not only is Drainus a spectacular experience but it reinforces the fact that you should never think you know everything a gaming style has to offer!
While the name doesn’t make a lot of sense at first, Drainus puts you in the pilot’s seat of a rogue advanced tactical ship that absorbs light energy from energy weapons (hence the ‘drain’ in Drainus). You’ve rebelled against the lawful authority of a totalitarian empire that is using its technological advantages to destroy entire planets and someone has to stand up for what’s right! The plot in the game is a bit forced but certainly not terrible. In the forthcoming physical deluxe edition (yeah, I ordered it) from Strictly Limited Games there’s also a manga that ties into the story and I’m legitimately excited to read it!
Now Drainus has actually been out for a bit in Japan and the hardcore shmup fans imported digital copies quite some time ago so this isn’t my first go-around with the game. While I didn’t have access to an English build, I got a chance to play the Japanese version on a PC Saturn pad last year and 1CCed Easy mode. Part of the appeal of coming back to Drainus is to look at the final Western product and it’s not only still fantastic, it’s gotten even better with the added English context!
So you’re a rogue pilot on a mission to stop a crazy dictator. Seems fair…good job so far. But Drainus is nothing if not challenging and that challenge starts almost immediately. Unlike traditional shmups, you’ll have to directly enter enemy lines of fire here to succeed. Holding down the A button activates your drain ability, allowing you to literally absorb power from enemy fire. The longer you hold the drain button down while under direct fire, the more energy you absorb until you release the button and a homing blast shoots out at everything on the screen. Using the drain ability allows you to fight tactically in a variety of ways, prioritizing high value enemies over lower ones unless you spot one that carries a power-up. Between standard fire patterns, drain shots, and an energy lance that does massive damage, you’re pretty stacked for combat, but there’s still more!
Drainus also features a robust upgrade system which allows you to upgrade your firepower several different ways, adding options, spread patterns, missiles, and a whole lot more. As you play through, you’ll earn bottles that are used as currency to purchase those upgrades. The upgrades don’t just kick in however. Instead you’ll have to pause mid-game in order to activate what you’d like to utilize. Equipping the right loadout makes a huge difference depending on which boss you’re on and how they move.
Speaking of bosses, Drainus has some of the most spectacular bosses in a shmup in years. Complex multi-part bosses that flow from one form to the next with destructible parts, unique attack styles and movements, and a high degree of creativity. Honestly, the bosses in Drainus are just awesome across the board and the challenges involved in beating each are pure entertainment. To a lesser degree, most of the enemies in the game are quite well-made but the bosses are something special to be sure. Strangely enough, most are not all that difficult however and that was definitely a surprise.
Drainus might be a unique game with its bullet absorption system, robust pause weapon menu and creative design, but it’s not a particularly difficult game as modern shmups go. This is no Cave bullet hell with a complex scoring system and tightly woven bullet patterns. Instead Drainus goes a different route, making the gameplay fun but not as hard and allowing for infinite continues at checkpoints. This allows average players to enjoy the game without struggle and hardcore players to try to challenge themselves on more of an honor system. But even a 1CC isn’t out of the realm of possibility for fair-to-middling gamers.
Getting a 1CC on the first playthrough on easy is entirely possible with a smidge of luck and even on normal, once you get used to the system, it’s possible to one credit the game relatively easily! That’s a surprise in this day and age with shmups getting tougher and tougher, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing either. Just be aware that this is one of the most forgiving shmups in a while as well as one of the most fun. There are some strange choices in terms of how arcade mode works too and modifications to the checkpoint system once you beat the game but for the most part, just expect to be only moderately challenged unless you choose to push for more.
And the visuals! Team Ladybug showed their stuff with Record of Lodoss War and man have they upped their game even further with Drainus! Honestly, this is an utterly gorgeous game with incredible design work, excellent complexity in the backgrounds, and a snazzy aesthetic to the menu system. The game feels like a borderline Cave or Raizing game or at the very least, the same high build quality as some of the best doujins to come out in the last decade or so. Responsiveness is also great and you can easily adjust speed settings on the fly. Drainus is built for players and the playtesting was definitely thorough. Very few shmups feel this user-friendly and the care that went into the visual and input design here really shows through.
Drainus is a great shmup and a great game. Most importantly, it’s a fun game and that’s something we forget about far too often these days, getting bogged down in the technical details of how this and that work and why devs made this choice rather than that choice. Games are supposed to be fun and shmups are supposed to test us. That’s just how things are and Team Ladybug doesn’t forget that with Drainus. Prepare for an entertaining experience that will have you coming back over and over! You won’t regret a single penny of the $20 you spend on this fun and flashy shmup! And if you really like it, don’t miss the boat on the physical from Strictly Limited Games either because this is definitely a game that belongs in your collection!
This review was based on a digital copy of Drainus provided by the publisher. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes. Drainus is also available for PC on Steam.