Elixir (@shmups on Twitter) has created a Discord server for shmups fans, players and developers. You can join it by clicking this link: disc.gg/shmups
The forum here is very quiet these days, most people have moved away from forums to Facebook and Discord for their online discussions. I recommend this Discord channel to anyone interested in shmups! It’s a very active community with high-score runs, discussion of new-releases and developers posting their work.
Pawarumi is a verizontal shmup, inspired by the likes of Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun but with its own original mechanics, set in an universe based on south american folklore and 90s pop culture reference.
It’s currently on Steam Greenlight, so vote for it to see more high-quality shmups on Steam.
The game is being made in Unity by some experienced developers who have previously worked on titles such as Assassin’s Creed, Ruse and The Crew. Take a look at the forum post to see some development screenshots from the Unity editor.
OPQAM’s new shmup “Dogos” is launching on September 6th on PS4, and September 7th on Xbox One and PC.
Great to see an original high-quality shmup getting a console release. Dogos expands on OPQAM’s previous title “Project Root” with fantastic canyon flying stages and multiple weapon upgrades.
I particularly like the design of the main Dogos ship – it’s very reminiscent of classic shmup aircraft like those in Raiden or Gradius, but with a modern feel.
Find out more about the game here: http://www.opqam.com/dogos.html
DOGOS is a new shmup in development from OPQAM, the team that developed Project Root.
This is an early development test video, showing some boss bullet patterns. It appears to be building on the open-world style of Project Root. You can discuss the game in the forum here.
Two new shmup releases this month.
Steelbound Sky is an iOS game, using touch gesture mechanics to play.
The official site is here: www.steelboundsky.com
And Battle Crust, the retro style vertical shmup has been released on Steam. You can buy it here.
The forum thread for Battle Crust is here, and Steelbound Sky is here.
Battle Crust is a new vertical shmup on Steam Greenlight. You can vote for it here.
It looks like a classic shooter, and the audio reminds me of R-Type 2. Forum post here.
Game Jolt are hosting a 72 hour game jam, where you must make a game with a scoreboard using the Game Jolt API. The theme will be announced when the jam starts. Apparently the theme will be “well-received by SHMUP lovers.”
Read more in the forum thread here.
A new shmup to back on Kickstarter…
Super Thrustforce: Orbital Meat Police (STOMP) is based on the classic 8-bit game Thrust, and also the great Amiga game Gravity Force (hence the Thrustforce in the title). Aliens have abducted all Earth’s cows, and you must infiltrate the alien mothership to get them back. This mainly involves blowing everything up, but you’ll need to master control of your ship, which is affected by gravity.
Dimension Drive needs a little help to make its Kickstarter budget.
Back their Kickstarter here and read more about the game in the forum post here.
Zenzizenzic is now available on Steam Early Access.
As the game is in Early Access, I would really like to go for a lot of community driven feedback on Steam to further improve the game. So if you have a moment, I would hugely appreciate it if you could drop by on the Steam forum and leave a comment, review on the store page, anything. Or of course just here in this thread. The more we can push shmups to the attention of the public, the better!
Geometry Wars 3 has received a free update. Some welcome changes include a classic mode, where you can replay Geometry Wars’ original gameplay with the new engine, as well as hardcore leaderboards for players who wish to play without drones or super weapons.
Power-Up, a popular Xbox Live Indie Games shmup, which is also available on Steam, is coming out on iOS on April 9th.
