Luftrausers

1. bearcav

   Apr 30, 2014

   10

   Completely freaking worth the purchase. Yes, it's a pure arcade-style game with random enemies and one setting/stage for ten bucks, but theCompletely freaking worth the purchase. Yes, it's a pure arcade-style game with random enemies and one setting/stage for ten bucks, but the mechanics are so fine-tuned, the aesthetic's so unique, the crazy color palettes are just insane, and the part combinations make it very replayable. My favorite thing to do is just play the game with all random parts - just restarting with a new build each time. With just that one stage, I've put more hours into this than I did with Assassin's Creed IV, so that's something.… Expand

   • 1 of 3 users found this helpful
2. thejuiceweasel

   Mar 26, 2014

   10

   We've been waiting a long time for this one, and it's finally here. From the guys who brought us Ridiculous Fishing, Super Crate Box andWe've been waiting a long time for this one, and it's finally here. From the guys who brought us Ridiculous Fishing, Super Crate Box and Nuclear Throne, yet another title that screams "Vlambeer". What that means should be clear if you ever played any of their games. This game is the modern definition of arcade at its finest, having an easy to grasp concept, challenging difficulty and that certain "punch" that the dutch developing team is famous for. This game isn't an epic, but it certainly is epic fun if you just want to play a fun game without any strings attached. In "Luftrausers" (a somewhat nonsensical German-jibberish title), you play as an aircraft that shoots down other aircrafts. And boats. And Submarines. And other crazy stuff. There's not much more to it, really, but as simple as this formula might be, it's extremely effective at what it does. The handling of your little plane is extremely intuitive, it just feels so well balanced, an aspect that Vlambeer is known for. During the course of playing the game, you will unlock new parts for your little vehicle, giving you a total of 125 unique plane types to experiment with. Ever saw a flying nuke that shoots a laser from its front and bullets from its rear? Well, this is only one of the many combinations that you will try out in order to kill everything you see and survive. And surviving isn't easy, since in good old arcade fashion, the enemies aren't pushovers, and if you think you can relax for a moment, a barrage from a cunning ace pilot chasing you down will kick you straight back to reality. Time to kick back. And with style. This game oozes the latter, with its retro-ish graphics and its fantastic, dynamic soundtrack that changes depending on your loadout. Luftrausers is meant to be played in short boosts, just like in the arcade days, but because of its stellar, minimalistic gameplay, putting the controller down after 5 minutes is almost as difficult as the super-hard mode that hides somewhere in this little indie gem. If you like an easy to get into, fun game that is polished to near perfection by its devoted and beloved creators, take a look at Vlambeer's dogfighting indie casual arcade hardcore roguelike realtime kamikaze piloting simulator Luftrausers. Rauser included.… Expand

   • 0 of 1 users found this helpful
4. R-U-R

   Mar 18, 2014

   9

   Luftrausers is the sequel to Luftrauser, a Flash game by Vlambeer. "What!?" You might say. "I'm paying ten bucks for a glorified Flash game!?"Luftrausers is the sequel to Luftrauser, a Flash game by Vlambeer. "What!?" You might say. "I'm paying ten bucks for a glorified Flash game!?" No, what you're paying ten bucks for is a very satisfying arcade aerial combat shoot-em-up game. Luftrausers is visually appealing to look at, from its well-done pixel art to its vaguely German aesthetic. The gameplay is also very appealing, as I have a soft spot for any game that lets me fling a plane around the skies spewing bullets at everything (see also Sine Mora.) The game's appeal is also enhanced by the soundtrack, a pumping electronic death march that changes as your plane is customized with different parts. It's important to note that watching the game may be a bit bothersome to follow with all the camera shake, but when playing it the motion is very fluid and somehow this makes it a bit easier to keep track of your Rauser. While the graphics may look dated and yes, there are a handful of bugs you might occasionally encounter, it's not nearly enough to diminish the game's fun factor. If you're still on the fence, you might want to go give Luftrauser (the original flash game) a try and see if you like this sort of thing.
   + Aerial combat -- always a plus in my opinion!
   + Appealing aesthetic
   + Exciting soundtrack
   + Lots of plane customization options
   + Simple yet addictive gameplay
   - A handful of bugs
   - Repetitive… Expand

   • 5 of 8 users found this helpful
5. MikeZillaGames

   Apr 5, 2014

   7

   I'm gonna go out on a limb and call Luftrausers overrated. Yeah. Here goes...
   
   I'm not saying it's bad...it's pretty neat for what it is.I'm gonna go out on a limb and call Luftrausers overrated. Yeah. Here goes...
   
   I'm not saying it's bad...it's pretty neat for what it is. The game looks, and sounds awesome...and the whole free fall physics makes you feel like you're dog fighting.
   
   But, this novelty quickly wears off when you consider some of the game's shortcomings...which, in my opinion are numerous.
   
   The worst thing: too much screen shake. I found this incredibly disorienting and, coupled with the game's odd frame rate dips (I can't believe I'm getting frame drops on my rig for what's essentially a flash title) make it easy to lose track of your aircraft. At times, my craft will seemingly stick to one side of the screen for a while...unexpectedly.
   
   The sprites...I also have a bit of a problem with. Actually, they're more like outlines of sprites...and they don't contrast well with the background. Because your craft is essentially a silhouette, it's sometimes hard to get directional feedback as to which direction your are facing and because your thrusters blend seemlessly with the clouds...this too is disorientating.
   
   Maybe it's just me...but this stuff really bothered me while playing. I also have some very minor complaints about the game's controls, menus, etc. but they're not as important.
   
   But...hey...still pretty good. Got a rockin' soundtrack.… Expand

   • 0 of 3 users found this helpful
6. xenoxinius

   Jun 1, 2014

   7

   Beautiful game.
   The ability to change the plane parts certainly does it for me
   Certainly worth the prize Only reason I only give this a 7Beautiful game.
   The ability to change the plane parts certainly does it for me
   Certainly worth the prize
   
   Only reason I only give this a 7 is replayability, I put like 4 hours into this game and I've pretty much seen it all.
   Ofcourse I might pick it up for the 'time filler' once in a while, but I might as well play other Indie games to fill that time.
   
   Is the game good? HELL YES
   will it be my indie of the year, or be a game that will capture you for hours? Unfortunately not… Expand

   • 3 of 4 users found this helpful
7. GRANITsalvo

   Mar 10, 2015

   7

   Simple, non-confusing graphics, tight controls, and good beats make this a fun bullet-hell. I particularly enjoy the varied parts changingSimple, non-confusing graphics, tight controls, and good beats make this a fun bullet-hell. I particularly enjoy the varied parts changing the attack styles as well as having a dynamic soundtrack that changes with the parts: Guns=Drum track, Body=Lead Track, Engine=Bass Track.
   
   The flaw is that most lives play out the same way (if I'm not trying for a specific unlock): after 2 minutes I have nothing to fight except for 5+ battleships.....I speculate that the enemy spawns are on a queue with a value equal to difficulty and the queue opening up as your score progresses, but I always end up between 10k and 15k points with no aircraft and sometimes an airship. The game starts with aircraft but if I kill them all first, by the 3,000pt range, 3 battleships spawn but no aircraft. If I can take out a frigate I can get 2 aircraft to spawn, but that wont get my multiplier up to open the queue. The trick is to rush for some frigates early and ignore the small aircraft, try to kill an odd number to keep them spawning fairly well. Try to take out the first battleship while keeping frigate dead, then you should be able to have fun with the air battles.
   So yeah, it's fun as hell for the first 2 minutes. If you want a life to last longer you have to plan ahead. Thus, I took points away. I wanted more freedom in it. I don't like being forced to take on 3 battleships at once to spawn more aircraft (not all builds are ideal for this). I enjoy the heated air-to-air fighting. I even tested this and just did aerobatics dodging the battleships at 11k points.....no aircraft for 5 minutes, blimp wouldn't spawn either. Kill a frigate, 2 aircraft spawn.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
8. jackhunter

   Sep 10, 2014

   5

   The difficulty of the game is much too high and the controls are rather counter intuitive, even for a oldschool game. The musics are a bit tooThe difficulty of the game is much too high and the controls are rather counter intuitive, even for a oldschool game. The musics are a bit too repetitive and increase the feeling of frustration, increased by the lack of a proper tutorial. Last but not least, it seems the game doesnt really have a story mode, which would have been nice, even for that kind of game.… Expand

   • 0 of 2 users found this helpful

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