Feeble Light (PS4) Review with Stream
Outstanding soundtrack – seriously, so so good!
The banner art, which looks nothing like the actual game, is also extremely well done
Unlocking different color palette reminds me of Super Gameboy color options
Simple control scheme, just shoot and bomb. Collect stars from fallen enemies to fill the bomb meter.
Some stage design, like the one with the tight corridors, is often unfair and frustrating
Even though each run is random, it is still the same thing just in a different order
The online leaderboard does not instantly update – takes times before your new best score is posted
Steep difficulty spike with the Stage 5 boss in each run; taking a cheap hit from behind is frustrating
For a $5 shooter, Feeble Light is an outstanding value. It is a fun, little shmup that doesn’t take itself too seriously but will easily please both casual and dedicated players.
Made by a small team and published by EastAsiaSoft, you control a tiny ship as you need to blast enemies and avoid hazards. This is typical shmup gameplay with moments of bullethell. The gimmick comes from the 3-tone color scheme and scoring system – there isn’t one!
Visually, it looks like a classic Gameboy game and the player can unlock difficult palettes over time. In fact, the entire Trophy system is based around playing enough to unlock all the color options. The 3-tone color scheme works exceedingly well and reminds me of playing original Gameboy titles on a Super Gameboy. The gameplay is also fast, but the simple background never interferes with the enemies or collectables of the foreground. For a 1-bit style game, it sure is good looking.
As for the scoring system, the online leaderboard isn’t about making scores swell. Instead, it posts the number of stages you cleared before getting game over. You see, Feeble Light is essentially a roguelite… sort of. It jumps between five different overall stage designs but with different enemy placement. For the most part, this works but it is one of those things where you’ll anticipate the repetition once you’ve played a few runs. The one stage that involves navigating tight corridors is the worst as it is loaded with cheap hits. The boss at the end of Stage 5 is also frustrating because it carries a steep difficulty spike.
Other than a few of these minor complaints, I had a lot of trouble putting down Feeble Light. It is a simple shooter that you can take as seriously as you want. Want something to play when you get home from a long day of work, something where you don’t really need to think too much? Here ya go. Want to study the enemy spawn points and patterns of the bosses so you can climb higher on the leaderboard? Knock yourself out. Either way, it is an approachable shooter (there is only a shoot and bomb button) with responsive controls, a fun visual style, and competitive leaderboards. Oh yeah, it only costs five bucks and has a soundtrack that is so outstanding, you’ll bad you only paid $5 for this game. Seriously, the soundtrack will make you slap your momma. So good.
Also Play: 1993 Shenandoah
Better Than: Hyper-5
Don’t Forget About: Drainus
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
Twitter: @ZackGaz
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