Cygni: All Guns Blazing

Mechanical aliens are threatening humankind's settlement on a mysterious planet so it's time to stop them in CYGNI: All Guns Blazing.

KeelWork’s strikingly opulent shooter dares to do new things with its genre in an effort to unite players of every level. This is what a blockbuster shooter should look like.

A stunning space shooter with smart modern mechanics, Cygni is a great return for a classic genre – if dragged down a little by the modern grind.

I was eagerly awaiting for the release of Cygni: All Guns Blazing. After literally finding out about its existence during a gaming show, when interviewing its developers out of the blue, I kept waiting for the final launch, as there were many things about it which caught my attention. A bullet-hell shooter endorsed by the publisher of Gradius, Salamander and Axelay, boasting some of the most impressive visuals the genre had ever seen at that point, actually taking advantage of the power of ne...

KeelWorks did a great job bringing vertical-scrolling shmups up to speed with modern trends. Despite its pacing issues and overall visual clutter, Cygni delivers an intense shoot-'em-up experience.

Mechanically-engaging and technically impressive when it wants to be, CYGNI: All Guns Blazing goes all in on spectacle with mixed results. Where its core energy-management system is an anxious-but-delightful thing to manage, it's most of what surrounds the gameplay that KeelWorks sadly don't fair as well on. Putting its immediate and dense introduction to one side, its lack of a stand-out musical or artistic identity, while not the end of the world, does mitigate a hefty chunk of how much enjoyment one can find. Particularly in such a visually-busy take on shmups as CYGNI is. Even so, a suffic...

Cygni: All Guns Blazing, developed by KeelWorks and released by Konami, is a visually stunning vertical shmup with twin-stick shooter mechanics. While it offers full freedom of movement and innovative power management between shields and missiles, it has a few drawbacks such as lengthy stages and inconsistent difficulty spikes. Despite some frustrating elements, its cinematic presentation and engaging gameplay mechanics make it a noteworthy addition to Konami’s Shmup catalog. If you’re a fan of shmups looking for something fresh, Cygni: All Guns Blazing is worth checking out.

Cygni: All Guns Blazing is the best-looking shoot 'em up out there, and along with its epic soundtrack, it's a treat for the eyes and ears. But a number of issues, such as its stages being too long and the screen often being simply too busy, mean that it doesn't fulfil its potential.

What CYGNI: All Guns Blazing lacks in tightened combat it makes up for in visuals, though sadly that might not be enough to win over die hard shoot ‘em ups fans.

Cygni is a gripping bullet hell shmup that manages to thrill despite its ho-hum aesthetic sensibilities.

CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is a functional arcade shooter that’s pretty to look at and pleasant to listen to, but it's an average experience with uninspired ideas that add nothing to the genre.

Perhaps if it was balanced better, had more meaningful upgrades, or strove to play as well as it looks, it might be worth it. As it stands, I’d say wait for a sale and don’t bother paying more than $15. It’s a fun way to kill an afternoon and gives you a taste of the genre, but that’s about it. Here’s hoping that developer KeelWorks can learn from its debut effort and bring its gameplay design to the same level as its visuals.