I was excited to hear this was a puzzle shmup, two of the genres I'm a great enthusiast of. But it turns out this is a jack of all trades, master of none.

For one, this game sometimes feels like borderline euroshmup (for those unfamiliar, a slang for unpolished shmups). The hitboxes are jank and the shot patterns are uninspired — often just aimed bullets, sometimes there isn't even a pattern at all. There are upgrades that neutralizes some challenges and makes them more braindead-friendly, but that's not the point. If anything, it just hinders the potential of what could have become a cornerstone for the puzzle shmup genre.

Now, speaking of the puzzle portion, it became clear they didn't plan the puzzle mechanics too far ahead. Since the grid is randomly generated, It's not unusual to become softlocked and completely cornered by impassible frozen enemies, the only option being to wait for the sweet embrace of scrolling death (infinite lives btw)

Also, it gets worse, oh it does. At the time of this review, I still haven't managed to clear the game because the game suddenly made collecting all emeralds a requirement to win the tug of war against the final boss. Yes, mandatory collectathon in a puzzle shmup game. Did you just want to see the ending screen and move on? That won't do. Not even a bad ending, just get kicked out of the battle with a instant Mission Failed.

I'm probably returning with a clearer head later and giving another attempt, but for now, I say you may be better off trying something else.

Edit: All emeralds collected and game beaten. It took me 3 hours and it wasn't that bad. But I still think there are better options