CYGNI: All Guns Blazing certainly looks amazing and sounds amazing and is a big step forward for the genre in that aspect of presentation. The problem is that the actual gameplay in CYGNI: All Guns Blazing feels almost secondary to the experience. The gameplay is fast and fluid, yes but extremely rushed and cluttered at the same time.
CYGNI: All Guns Blazing feels like a game that is not trying to be a bullet hell shmup, but ends up imitating the worst aspects of those games. It is too chaotic to adjust to and the fluid movement actually ends up working against you by playing on your reaction time. Split second reaction shmups are a fine genre, but CYGNI: All Guns Blazing just does not pull it off well.
It feels like too much of the development on CYGNI: All Guns Blazing was spent on how the game looked, because some of the visuals add nothing to the gameplay. The weapons are given in a small variety, which isnt bad per se, but CYGNI: All Guns Blazing feels like it should have a lot more variety to improve the gameplay, and that would merit the visuals. For a game subtitled All Guns Blazing, there is a distinct lack of diverse guns.
Another issue in this regard is that you only have one upgrade to pick up during the missions, which gives a lackluster feeling. If anything, this combined with the lack of diverse weapons makes CYGNI: All Guns Blazing pale in comparison to many indie shmups that may not look as good, but are more fun to play. CYGNI: All Guns Blazing was a chance to do something new with the shmup genre and instead it is all show and no go. No real story, minimal additional mechanics, and lacking in optimization on PC, which is where I played the game.
I had been looking forward to CYGNI: All Guns Blazing to see what it would do for the shmup genre, but this does little if anything to move shoot em ups forward. A game that looks nice but does not play well and has a higher price tag than many indie shmups that actually give a lot in terms of gameplay, is not something I see going over well. The difficulty feels artificial, as if it is a result of lacking proper game design, and the amazing visuals only serve to highlight how lacking CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is in terms of gameplay.
I cannot in good conscience recommend CYGNI: All Guns Blazing, as it is just not worth it. This is a game that I am not sure who its target audience is. Hardcore shmup fans will not be impressed and will go elsewhere, and while some casuals may be interested in the visuals, the overall experience will drive many away. CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is a game that looks good, but that is all it has going for it.
