CYGNI All Guns Blazing in a short test: managing resources in a laser thunderstorm

• We visited Konami and played a new shoot ’em up.
• CYGNI appears for PC and consoles.

Lightning, glowing orbs and squadrons of starships are coming our way. It’s immediately clear that we’re playing a shoot ’em up. Or a shooter? No, this isn’t Call of Duty, it’s a modern take on a classic genre that was prevalent in Japanese arcades and still has a loyal following.

Well-known representatives of the genre are Dodonpachi, Mushihimesama, Lords of Thunder or Gradius. There are many more, a lot of them are 2D productions. In some you fly your spaceship or plane from bottom to top (vertical shooter, “Tate”), in others from left to right (horizontal shooter, “Yoko”).

It’s a niche genre, but it’s still popular and developers occasionally come up with entirely new games, including Scottish studio Keel Works. CYGNI: All Guns Blazing for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC is their first game ever.

CYGNI All Guns Blazing

The twin-stick shooter has a modern look.

Their claim is not the reinvention of shoot ’em ups, but definitely a new perspective on the genre, says studio boss Meher Kalenderian in an interview at a preview event at Konami.

Balancing act between graphics, music and story

There are “Next Generation” graphics on current platforms, a widescreen format, an orchestral soundtrack and a focus on the story that is rather unusual for the genre. Here you can not only expect fully animated intro and outro videos, but also cutscenes in graphic novel style.

You even have to play through the story first to access Arcade mode. This shouldn’t take too long as there are 7 levels in total, each taking around 10 to 20 minutes to complete.

What’s cool is that there’s a local multiplayer mode. You can also play CYGNI with two people if a friend is sitting next to you. Couch co-op doesn’t come naturally, but it’s loved by many fans.

Cleverly distribute energy between shield and weapons

You control your space fighter and have to eliminate hordes of opponents on the orders of your superior. Pick up upgrades and strengthen your shield. You can only improve weapons by allocating your shield energy to the weapon systems. So CYGNI requires resource management from you here.

If you have a full shield, you should redirect some shield energy to the weapons before picking up the next upgrade, since you will have a full shield again – if you pick up the upgrade.

If weapons and shield are at maximum, the upgrades are also noted. Later, between levels, you can spend this resource to upgrade your spaceship.

In addition to the normal shot, there are also guided missiles that automatically seek their target.

Also important: Some opponents are not at your altitude, but on the ground. In this case, you actively switch to your air-to-ground weapons and dismantle your opponents. Not only is this optional, it’s necessary to complete certain passages in the game.

Fluid and graphically beautiful

The gameplay is mostly smooth. The developers speak of 60 frames per second and that’s how it usually feels. We did notice a few dips in the frame rate, but it’s not the final version yet. So Keel Works can still improve on that.

Graphically, the title looks really chic. The levels are mostly dark, but also offer some variety. Their design and haunting music create a menacing tension, culminating in the bosses that await you at the end of each level.

Be prepared for different boss phases and different shooting patterns of your opponent and don’t forget that you may have to resort to air-to-ground weapons.

Audio-visually, CYGN presents itself as chic, but let’s discuss whether the developers might present the enemy projectiles a little differently, with more contrast or with sharper edges. It would be nicer if the projectiles were more clearly recognizable. As it currently is, it certainly fits into the game’s design language.

It is remarkable that the team led by Meher Kalenderian only needed a year and a half to develop the game. Kalenderian, a former Thunderforce and Gradius player himself, hopes CYGNI will bring a new perspective to shoot ’em ups.

network world means

We’ve only played a few levels, but CYGNI All Guns Blazing is really fun. This is a modern production of a classic, albeit niche genre, and if you’re looking for an action-packed casual game then you should give the title a shot.

Positive

• Modern shoot ’em up
• Nice look and music
• Animated cutscenes and graphic novel
• Local co-op mode

Negative

• A few stutters
• Projectiles could be shown more clearly

At Konami we also played Super Crazy Rhythm Castle. It’s a crazy co-op title for PC and console.