Cygni - All Guns Blazing - PS5

Great graphics and very fast gameplay. In my humble option the best shoot'em up on the PS5 or any console come to think of it.

So having played Cygni for a few sessions now, I thought I'd write a review to help others make their mind up if they should buy the game or not. It really is a mixed bag in my opinion!This game is at it's core - fun. It's a top down shooter with a loose story with some nice cutscenes and some background lore if you'd like to explore a bit further. If you're expecting huge depth or a long campaign then this isn't the kind of game for you. In fact it only has 7 missions & an arcade mode which just replicates the campaign content.Controls are easy to learn and can be tough to master. Timing your weapon energy vs shields can make a big difference. It's tempting to just keep piling energy back into shields when stuff gets hard, but it's often not the best play. There is also an upgrade mechanic which is nice, allowing you to improve your ship.The gameplay is fun and scales well to difficulty. If you find it a little tough easy mode provides some challenge while still being pretty easy to beat and gain upgrade points. Medium is again what it says while hard is genuinely tough and you'll need to get in some practice, some upgrades or be excellent at this kind of game.The cutscenes and story are a nice touch but a little short. The first cutscene is really nicely done and fully animated. After that they get shorter, less well produced (image stills) and some missions don't even have them?! They do add to the feel of the game, but aside from the first you can tell they were rushed.On that note, the first level is easily the best and has the most to offer. Nice intro scene, good music, 3 bosses to beat and a long level with lots of variety. After that you get one boss a level only. It feels like all the effort went into the first level then the rest were left almost unfinished. I don't want to spoiler anything but some of the later content feels uninspired compared to that first level.The game looks very pretty, especially on ps5. The scenes look nice enough and the game itself has lots of detail/stuff going on. This said you can sometimes miss how your ship is doing unless you tweak the options. The music is also nice, but honestly nothing ground breaking.I also noticed no "advanced AI" in how ground units or indeed any units acted. They just did what they did even when I changed tactics or replayed levels. I feel this was a bit of a fake boast which I felt let things down.So why 3 stars? On first impressions I gave the game 4, but had to deduct another due to a few reasons.The biggest reason is length vs cost. It's a very short game and while you can replay levels at harder difficulties or play arcade mode it won't be the long experience. For the price tag I'd expect double the content honestly. This should have been £20 rrp with most selling at £15.Loads more could also have been done to enhance the experience and just make it better. A longer campaign, another mode, more upgrades to purchase, maybe alternate skins or looks for your fighter and some easter eggs /more story (even if it was just text/still image scenes) could have really brought this game to the level of "must have/keep" and kept you wanting to play it for longer.Finally, the game has some bugs. I had a couple of crashes which were frustrating when I'd gone through a level only to almost beat the boss then it crash!If you like shooters or just want to try something different give it a go, but honestly I'd wait until it's cheaper.

Awasome Shootem up. Great graphics and playability. I love it and it's from Konami

Only took under 2 hours to beat. The graphics and gameplay are solid but the price was a bit much

Cygni is a visually impressive space shooter that offers a blend of classic shoot-'em-up action and modern graphics. While the game looks great and has moments of excitement, it doesn’t quite manage to live up to the potential of its concept.Visuals and SoundThe visuals are one of its standout features. The environments are rich in detail, with the glowing neon spaceships and distant stars creating a strikingly immersive experience. The art direction is strong, capturing the essence of space exploration with its vibrant colours and vast, glittering backgrounds. The electronic soundtrack complements the visuals well, adding to the atmosphere and drawing players further into the game’s universe.GameplayIn terms of gameplay, this sticks to a traditional shoot-'em-up formula, with responsive controls and a variety of enemies to battle. The action is fast-paced, and there’s a certain satisfaction in taking down waves of foes. However, the gameplay starts to feel a bit repetitive after a while. While the enemy types and power-ups are decent, there isn’t enough variation to keep things feeling fresh. Additionally, the difficulty curve can be unpredictable, at times swinging between frustratingly hard and far too easy, which makes the overall experience feel a little uneven.Story and ProgressionThe story is where things start to falter. The premise of a lone ship trying to survive in a hostile universe is interesting, but the execution lacks depth. There’s very little character development or narrative progression to draw you in. With minimal dialogue and no real emotional hook, the story feels secondary to the gameplay, and you may find yourself more focused on dodging lasers than caring about the narrative.ReplayabilityWhile there are multiple levels to work through, the game doesn’t offer much in terms of replayability. The lack of meaningful upgrades or branching paths means that once you’ve finished the main objectives, there isn’t a lot to come back to. Higher difficulty settings can provide some extra challenge, but it's not enough to keep you coming back for more once the novelty wears off.Cygni is a good-looking, solid space shooter, but it doesn’t quite manage to stand out in the genre. While it offers some enjoyable moments of gameplay, the lack of story depth, progression, and variety keeps it from being something truly memorable. If you’re a fan of space shooters, you’ll likely find some enjoyment, but don’t expect it to leave a lasting impact.

Good shmup, shame it did not get more attention. Perhaps too short

Pretty difficult on the easy setting. Long levels so you have to go a long way back to re-start.I was Hoping it would be a modern ZAXON but sadly not.