Boss Up Review (PC)

I’m twelve battles out from evolving into my ultimate form—a Boss—and claiming eternal bragging rights over not only the sporadic eagle that regurgitates bullet casings like they’re popping candy, but also the ex-wife who, even to this point, makes my life a living nightmare. It’s not that it’s a painfully long journey, it’s that, even with the interludes consisting of ironic camaraderie amongst foes, the battles are grueling—break-your-keyboard, sort of grueling. But it’s in the job description, so I can’t really complain about the conditions. Eh, I just wish I had spent more time with white-knuckle bullet hell games before sinking my teeth into the fray.

I suppose Boss Up is a lot of things. For starters, it’s a bullet-addled bonanza of a love letter to high-octane arcade shooters—a concept that ought to resonate with those who not only enjoy the adrenaline rush of a free-flowing twin-stick shooter, but the negative energy that often comes with imminent failure, too. I say that with love, though to be clear, Boss Up isn’t the sort of game to hold your hand as you gradually tiptoe through the motions, nor is it a game that slaps you on the wrist for making the smallest mistake. Instead, it tells you that you’re terrible, and it reflects your lack of competence in its stupidly unforgiving death sequences and perpetual loop of ludicrously challenging situations. Already, that puts a lot of folks off.

On the bright side of things, Boss Up does reward you for your time and patience. Granted, the rewards aren’t always made to feel worth the sacrifice, but it does make a commendable effort to drip feed you small bursts of dopamine over a relatively short campaign that touts just eighteen stages. Is that enough? Maybe.

Bullets & Bloodlust

If you’re familiar with twin-stick shooters from the past, then you’ll no doubt have a vague understanding of how Boss Up plays its cards. In a similar fashion as your traditional bullet bell IP, the game more or less tasks you with venturing deep into a carnivorous batch of aggressive worlds and unleashing chaos in a side-scrolling frenzy. With that, there are thousands of bullets and projectiles to evade, monolithic bosses to wage war against, and, if you can believe it, ex-wives to barter with for a spot of well-needed vengeance. But more on that later.

Aside from Boss Up being something of a relentlessly tough bullet hell arcade shooter, the game is also a homage to several other distinct genres. At its heart, though, it’s a ravenously complex weapon of mass destruction—a sensory overload of emotion and color that, in all honesty, enjoys toying with your brain a little too much. But that’s all part of the charm, I think. True enough, the game isn’t a walk in the park, nor is it built with the intention to ease you into the mechanics or praise you for your small achievements. It is, for lack of a better description, an invitation for a bouquet of bloodshed and primal carnage. If that’s a trip that you would soon rather avoid, then honestly, I wouldn’t blame you.

Rocking the Apple Cart

Going back to the other genres that Boss Up adopts, the game contains a surprisingly diverse selection of battles, each with their own energetic characteristics, mode of action, and qualifying rules. For example, in one battle, you don’t necessarily have to beat the boss in an old-fashioned bullet spree fashion, but in a race, of all things—a souped-up arcade-like blitz to the finish line. There are also additional segments that pepper themselves over the general foundation of the game, such as a quirky dating sim, a 2D platforming battle, and a lathering of dialogue befitting of a B-movie cliche. I suppose, with all of these moving pieces, you have quite the unpredictable banquet. It’s just a shame that it doesn’t stick around long enough to explore these genres in greater depth. Maybe that’s a good thing, though.

From a mechanic standpoint, Boss Up isn’t massively difficult to learn, though it is one that requires a great deal of patience and determination to crack. Similar to your typical bullet hell, it mostly consists of dodging, rolling, and jackknifing through various cluttered areas whilst mindlessly ejecting projectiles to whittle down and gradually chase frustratingly unfair win conditions. And to answer the question of whether or not it’s a fun process, to learn the ropes and deface the world in an archaic way — yes, it is, but it comes with its downfalls, as you would naturally expect from a bullet frenzy that exchanges glamor for punishingly disadvantageous situations.

Visually, Boss Up doesn’t do anything particularly exciting to shake up the usual formula of an arcade shooter. That said, it does make a good attempt at breathing life into a treasure trove of classic formats, with its flamboyant style making for a picture-perfect time capsule for fans of old-school shooters.

Verdict

Boss Up delivers an excruciatingly tough bullet hell shooter that doesn’t often let up on the brakes to ease its players into the action. For that reason alone, I can imagine that a lot of players will struggle to find solid ground here, especially those who are hoping to sink their teeth into a shooter that’s more accommodating and far less intimidating. Simply put, Boss Up isn’t that sort of game; it’s a bloodbath of bullets and epic battles, tedious curveballs and imminent failures. If that’s enough to whet your appetite, though, then I can assure you that there is more than enough of a feast here to satisfy your hunger.

Although Boss Up isn’t the lengthiest shooter in the world, it is one that packs a serious punch in its vast array of stages and boss battles. The character design, too, is something that makes it all the more appealing, despite the fact that each of the in-game bosses are made to feel both punchable and maliciously unique. But again, that’s a small thing that just makes Boss Up a contender in its own league. Is it a strong candidate for its chosen collection of genres? I’d like to think so, yes, even though it may invoke a lot of hatred towards its unforgiving mechanics and stage design. But that’s a bullet hell, in a nutshell — so you can take it at face value, I guess.