Info about Shikhondo: Blue Pieta:

Official game description:
**❋ Act 2 of Shikhondo unfolds atop a new stage**
The darkness of the city and fantastical beasts of legend appear as formidable new enemies!
Enjoy the fierce struggle of our two protagonists, drawn in an unmatched style, as the passionate performances of the all-star vocal cast bring them to life!
**❋ Chase the shadows that lurk within the glorious city centers!** 
Set amongst meticulously drawn modern stages, including a big city, a theme park, a subway station, and more, the thrilling hunt of the Youkai begins, and you can't let your guard down for a single instant!
**❋ A battlefield without limits, shaken to its core**
Alongside the sense of immersion delivered through the overwhelmingly expanded scope of the battlefield, feel the tense action of drilling a hole through the brilliantly laid-out bullets!
On top of that, the game fully supports ultra-wide 32:9 monitors!
**❋ Shoot for the highest score with 'Soul Collect!'** 
The more risk you take, the more powerful you become with the 'Soul Collect' system!
Avoid the enemies' bullets by the slightest of margins to recharge your Soul Gauge, then unleash all the energy at once to turn the tide and reach the highest scores!
**❋ Shoot 'em up fun that anyone can enjoy!** 
Enjoy the challenge that best matches your skills as you get a taste of the diverse array of game modes packed into Shikhondo: Blue Pieta!
*   **Arcade mode:** A mode to enjoy the main story
*   **Boss rush:** An extreme series of battles against powerful enemies that won't give a moment's rest
*   **Custom mode:** A special experience allowing you to set your own conditions and challenge your limits
**《 Characters 》**
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**Grim Reaper (Voiced by Ikumi Hasegawa)** 
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An ordinary college student buried under busy days, moving between the ordinary and extraordinary in her duties as a Death's emissary trainee.
**Vampire hunter (Voiced by Yoshino Aoyama)** 
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Heir to a family of wizards with a long history. As payment for the powerful magic she inherited from her predecessors, time has stopped for her, and her body shows no sign of aging for all time.
※ Regarding gameplay upload and streaming
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Any individual or company may stream or upload videos of this game as long as the copyright information and store URLs are included within the video description or the video itself. We would appreciate creators leaving out spoilers of the ending whenever possible.

Release date: May 18, 2026

Categories: Bullet-hell, Shoot 'em up, Arcade, High Score Chasing, Boss Rush, Horizontal Scrolling, Score Attack


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 1.0h
  - Story completion: 1.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The review explicitly states that clearing the game on Easy difficulty takes less than one hour, supporting both gameCompletion and storyCompletion as approximately 1 hour. Another review mentions 'a fun few hours' as total playtime, but this is not a precise session length. The Japanese review notes each boss fight takes about 3 minutes, which is not a full-game metric. The comment about the overall short length corroborates the short completion time. No evidence supports sessionLength or endgame hours.
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes:
  - Traditional STG Purist (buy)
    - Motivation: To experience authentic, old-school bullet hell gameplay with traditional mechanics.
    - Playstyle: Focuses on grazing bullets to build resources, precise movement, and mastering classic patterns.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: bullet hell players; STG fans
    - Reference games: Progear; Deathsmiles; Akai Katana
  - Hardcore Challenge Seeker (buy)
    - Motivation: To conquer the hardest modes and achieve perfect runs.
    - Playstyle: Practices relentlessly, memorizes patterns, and aims for no-miss clears.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: veterans; hardcore players
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Accessible Newcomer (buy)
    - Motivation: To enjoy bullet hell without overwhelming difficulty, focusing on fun and aesthetics.
    - Playstyle: Uses easier characters and difficulties, relies on auto-aim and continues.
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: bullet hell refugees; new players
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Gorgeous visuals and art (weight 0.58): The visuals and art style are frequently praised as gorgeous, beautiful, and a major highlight. The aesthetic quality significantly enhances the overall experience.
- Boss second phases are creative (weight 0.4): Bosses have a second phase with transformed, grotesque designs and increased difficulty. These transformations are both creepy and enjoyable, adding challenge and variety.
- Good voice acting (weight 0.35): Voice acting, including Japanese and full story voiceovers, is praised for adding immersion. Both characters have quality voice performances.
- Game is fun and enjoyable (weight 0.32): Players consistently report that the game is fun, enjoyable, and worthwhile. This positive sentiment is a strong indicator of overall satisfaction.
- Soul collection mechanic is engaging (weight 0.31): The soul collection mechanic, which converts enemy bullets into score items, is highlighted as a fun and strategic element. It adds depth to gameplay and scoring.
- Excellent background music (weight 0.26): The BGM is highly regarded, with players noting it is very good and enhances gameplay. The soundtrack contributes positively to the game's atmosphere.
- Impressive boss bullet patterns (weight 0.21): Boss battles feature beautiful and impressive bullet patterns, especially in the final boss. The visual spectacle of these patterns is a standout feature.
- Solid level and boss design (weight 0.15): The overall level and boss quality is solid, with well-designed battles and experiences. This contributes to a satisfying gameplay loop.
- Polished controls (weight 0.15): Gameplay controls are described as excellent, well-polished, and feel good to play. Responsive controls are essential for a positive experience.
- Near-perfect art and bullet design (weight 0.15): Art design and bullet patterns are described as near perfect, with two-phase art and bullet design being well-executed. This visual polish is a key strength.
- Graze mechanic adds strategic depth (weight 0.15): The graze mechanic fills a soul bar to release a free bomb that clears all enemy bullets. This adds a strategic layer to dodging and scoring.
- Horizontal scrolling is a good change (weight 0.15): The shift from vertical to horizontal scrolling is praised for allowing more diverse backgrounds. This design choice is seen as a great decision.
- Reasonable difficulty level (weight 0.15): The difficulty is considered not too high, with normal difficulty being fine. This makes the game accessible to a wider audience.
- Two distinct playable characters (weight 0.15): The game features two playable characters with distinct attack styles, offering variety in gameplay. This choice allows players to find a style that suits them.
- Custom mode offers stage selection (weight 0.15): The custom mode allows players to choose any stage to start from, providing flexibility and replayability. This feature is appreciated for its convenience.

Common complaints:
- Short playtime and limited content (weight 0.44): The overall playtime is short, with only five stages and little incentive to continue after finishing Arcade and Boss Rush modes. Content volume is average and leaner than previous series entries.
- High difficulty with unfair moments (weight 0.4): The game is considered very hard, with many beginner-killing moments and dense bullet patterns that are difficult to dodge. Normal difficulty already poses a challenge, and hard difficulty is unbalanced.
- Price too high for content (weight 0.36): The entry price is seen as relatively expensive, especially given the short playtime and limited content volume. Players feel the game does not offer enough value for the cost.
- Unsatisfying combat feedback (weight 0.3): Shooting, enemy destruction, and bomb release lack strong feedback, making combat feel less punchy and satisfying. Bombs are particularly underwhelming and lack exhilaration.
- Weak story and narrative presence (weight 0.29): The story is simple, not outstanding, and lacks a coherent complete narrative. It serves more as an atmosphere supplement than a driving element.
- Art style declined from previous works (weight 0.25): The art style is more common and cartoonish, not as good as the ukiyo-e style of previous games. Map backgrounds and character models are simpler and more perfunctory.
- Poor new player guidance (weight 0.21): New players find the game's guidance insufficient, with unclear controls and mechanics at the start. The tutorial lacks clarity, and the language is hard to understand.
- Lack of progression and upgrades (weight 0.21): Characters receive no upgrades during play, and there are no progression or roguelike elements. This reduces long-term engagement and makes the game feel monotonous.
- Bullet visibility issues (weight 0.21): Cyan-green bullets are hard to see when mixed with butterfly collection, and overly flashy backgrounds hinder bullet judgment. This affects gameplay clarity and fairness.
- Grazing mechanic not useful (weight 0.2): The grazing hitbox is small, making the gauge hard to charge, and the mechanic is not useful for most players. System mismatches also prevent grazing in some situations.
- Repetitive and reused bullet patterns (weight 0.2): From Stage 4 onwards, many bullets are similar, and Stage 5 large enemies use boss-like bullets, feeling like reuse. This reduces variety and novelty.
- Control and configuration issues (weight 0.2): Keyboard controls only use arrow keys instead of WASD, and key config cannot be changed. Controller settings also fail to allow button reassignment when using an arcade stick.
- No enemies spawn in Arcade mode (weight 0.16): Players report that enemies fail to spawn in Arcade mode, making the mode unplayable. This is a critical bug that prevents progression.
- Boring and reused BGM (weight 0.15): The BGM is somewhat boring, like listening to ballads or classical music during a racing game, and some boss BGM seems reused from earlier works. This reduces the game's energy.
- Lack of practice and replay features (weight 0.15): There is no practice mode, only restart stage, and no replays are available. This limits players' ability to improve and share their runs.
- Tedious boss battles (weight 0.15): Bosses have high durability, with each fight taking about 3 minutes, making them tedious on repeat. Boss Rush becomes tiresome due to long battles.
- Boss Rush final boss broken (weight 0.09): In Boss Rush mode, the final boss does not attack, breaking the experience. This is a specific bug that affects the mode's completion.
- Undisclosed AI narration in tutorial (weight 0.09): The tutorial uses AI/voice narration without disclosure on the store page, which players find misleading. This raises transparency concerns about the game's production.
- Voice language inconsistency breaks immersion (weight 0.09): A character who spoke Korean in the first game only has Japanese voice here, breaking immersion for players. This is a localization and consistency issue.
- Tight death bomb timing (weight 0.08): The death bomb timing is very tight, making it difficult for players to execute emergency bombs. This adds frustration in high-pressure situations.

Gameplay feedback:
- Four game modes available (weight 0.84): Players consistently report four distinct game modes: Standard, Boss Rush, Hardcore, and Custom. These modes cater to different play styles and difficulty preferences.
- Horizontal bullet hell shooter (weight 0.69): The game is widely described as a horizontal-scrolling bullet hell (danmaku) shooter. This genre definition is a core aspect of the game's identity.
- Multiple difficulty levels (weight 0.47): Players mention three selectable difficulty levels, typically easy, normal, and hard. This provides accessibility for newcomers and challenge for veterans.
- Hardcore mode one-hit death (weight 0.31): Hardcore mode is characterized by one-hit death and no incremental progression, offering a high-risk, high-reward experience. It also features faster soul gauge charging.
- Grazing builds soul gauge (weight 0.26): Grazing enemy bullets fills the soul gauge, which is a key mechanic for activating special abilities. This encourages risky play near bullets.
- Six stages with dual-phase bosses (weight 0.25): The game features six stages and six bosses, each with two phases. This provides a structured and varied campaign experience.
- Unlimited revives in arcade (weight 0.25): Arcade and Boss Rush modes allow unlimited revives, even when HP reaches zero. This makes these modes more forgiving compared to Hardcore.
- Soul absorption mode invincibility (weight 0.21): Filling the soul gauge via grazing activates a soul absorption mode that grants temporary invincibility. This is a strategic defensive tool.
- Custom mode flexible options (weight 0.21): Custom mode allows players to configure difficulty, soul gauge charging, charge speed, hardcore toggle, dialogue display, and starting stage. This offers extensive personalization.
- Bomb button triggers collection (weight 0.21): Pressing the bomb button near enemy bullets activates soul collection mode, converting bullets into absorbable souls. This is a core offensive and defensive mechanic.
- Soul collection converts bullets (weight 0.21): Soul collection mode converts enemy bullets into score items, with a score multiplier. This rewards aggressive play and bullet management.
- Two playable characters (weight 0.21): Players can choose between two characters: Laira with straight bullets and Choi Uri with homing bullets. Each has distinct playstyles suited to different preferences.
- Second-stage collection uses bomb (weight 0.2): The second-stage soul collection consumes a bomb and doubles the score multiplier, offering a high-risk, high-reward scoring opportunity.
- Character abilities differ (weight 0.2): The two characters, Lyla and Choi Yuri, have unique abilities: Lyla has an auto-attacking familiar, while Choi Yuri has auto-aiming bullets. This adds variety to gameplay.
- Standard mode six stages (weight 0.19): Standard mode consists of six stages, providing a full campaign length. This is consistent with the overall stage count.

Performance notes:
- Steam Deck compatibility praised (weight 0.08): Players report the game runs well on Steam Deck, indicating good optimization for handheld play. This is a positive note for portability-focused users.

Recommendations:
- Recommended for bullet hell fans (weight 0.97): The majority of feedback recommends the game to fans of bullet hell shooters, highlighting its appeal to genre enthusiasts. This is the most common and specific recommendation across clusters.
- Suitable for genre newcomers (weight 0.25): Several clusters note that the game is accessible to players new to bullet hell or shooters, with easy modes and continues allowing completion. This broadens the game's appeal beyond hardcore fans.
- General positive recommendation (weight 0.22): Several clusters simply recommend the game without specific conditions, suggesting overall satisfaction. This includes advice to buy on sale or try if interested.
- Appeals to art and music lovers (weight 0.2): Feedback emphasizes the game's beautiful art style and music, recommending it to players who value aesthetics in shmups. This is a distinct selling point separate from gameplay.
- Anime and voice actor fans (weight 0.12): Recommendations for fans of a specific anime and the voice actors from Bocchi the Rock! suggest crossover appeal. This may attract audiences based on talent or franchise connections.
- Cave-style gameplay praised (weight 0.08): Fans of Cave shooters like Progear and Deathsmiles are recommended this game due to its similar style. This suggests the game captures the feel of classic bullet hell titles.
- Risk-reward action appeals (weight 0.08): The game is recommended for players who enjoy risk-and-reward mechanics, indicating a strategic depth beyond simple shooting. This adds a layer of engagement for action-oriented players.
- Relaxing option with Choi Yuri (weight 0.07): Choi Yuri is recommended for players seeking a more relaxed experience, implying character choice affects difficulty or playstyle. This offers variety for different player preferences.
- Atmosphere from previous game (weight 0.07): Fans of the previous game's atmosphere are recommended this entry, indicating continuity in tone. This may appeal to returning players familiar with the series.

Other player notes:
- Sequel to previous Shikhondo title (weight 0.66): The game is consistently identified as a sequel in the Shikhondo series, continuing the story from previous entries. It is noted as the second act and third step of the series, developed by Korean studio DeerFarm.
- Compared to Touhou Project (weight 0.43): The game is frequently compared to Touhou Project in terms of bullet patterns, core mechanics, and overall style, though it is not a Touhou IP derivative. It is also noted as being easier than Touhou and familiar to its players.
- Rare bullet hell genre (weight 0.28): The game is noted as a rare bullet hell shooter in today's market, a genre once popular in arcades. This rarity adds to its appeal for genre enthusiasts.
- Compared to classic shooters (weight 0.25): Gameplay is likened to classic shooters like Thunder Force, Raiden, and Cave Shmups, with a focus on timing and score maximization. These comparisons highlight its traditional bullet hell roots.
- Voice acting changed to Japanese (weight 0.23): Voice acting has shifted from Korean to Japanese, with full voice acting featured. However, there is a noted mismatch between Japanese subtitles and voice.
- Leaderboards and achievements (weight 0.22): The game includes a score leaderboard and global ranking system, with 17 achievements. The hardest achievements are the hardcore mark and strongest hunter mark.
- Language support and issues (weight 0.18): The game supports Chinese and Japanese, but some text lacks Chinese and there is a subtitle-voice mismatch in Japanese. This affects accessibility for non-English speakers.
- Bugs prompt refund request (weight 0.15): A reviewer requested a refund due to bugs, and another may repurchase the game once it is fixed. This indicates technical issues affecting player satisfaction.
- Art style less grotesque (weight 0.13): The grotesque beautiful design of the previous game is gone, with a more cartoonish art style. This change may disappoint fans of the original aesthetic.
- No coherent story (weight 0.12): The game lacks a coherent complete story, though the story atmosphere is better than the first game. This may be a drawback for players seeking narrative depth.
- Steam Deck and streaming support (weight 0.12): The game was played on Steam Deck and can be enjoyed while streaming with viewers. This indicates good compatibility and entertainment value for streamers.
- Key config cannot be changed (weight 0.08): Players cannot change key configurations, which is a significant usability issue for those with specific preferences. This limitation may frustrate some users.
- No roguelike or meta progression (weight 0.07): The game lacks roguelike or meta progression systems, focusing instead on traditional arcade-style gameplay. This may be seen as a positive for purists or a negative for others.
- Character design issues (weight 0.07): Character design and representation issues were noted, though specifics are not detailed. This could be a point of contention for some players.
- No soundtrack included (weight 0.07): The game does not include a soundtrack, which may disappoint players who enjoy collecting game music. This is a minor omission but noted by reviewers.

Emotions:
- Appreciation (weight 0.21): Players highly praise the game's art style, boss designs, and music, describing them as gorgeous, memorable, and fitting a dark fantasy aesthetic. The visual presentation, including hand-drawn backgrounds and flashy 2D bosses, along with the classical and traditional music, are standout elements that draw players in.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.19): The game delivers satisfaction through its rewarding graze mechanic, dense bullet patterns, and varied boss attacks that provide a sense of achievement when overcome. The soul gauge explosion and dodging mechanics are particularly praised for their rewarding feel, and the moderate difficulty makes it approachable while still challenging.
- Disappointment (weight 0.11): Players are disappointed by technical bugs, such as enemies not spawning and the final boss not attacking, which break the game. Additionally, the lack of a soundtrack, absence of a practice mode, and a perceived decline in art style compared to previous games contribute to the letdown, along with mediocre gameplay innovation and uninspired sound effects.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.1): The game is enjoyable due to its creepy boss designs, fun gameplay, and well-polished controls that make dodging bullet hell satisfying. The BGM and flashy visuals enhance the experience, and even beginners find it fun despite the difficulty, with later boss fights being particularly rewarding.
- Excitement (weight 0.09): The arcade-style gameplay and explosive score growth are visually striking, and the dynamic presentation and BGM pump up players. The grazing mechanic and dense bullet dodging create a thrilling sensation, and the custom mode with a 5x gauge feels like a hack-and-slash, adding to the excitement.
- Frustration (weight 0.07): Frustration stems from game-breaking bugs like no enemies spawning, poor new player guidance, and boss patterns that require being hit to learn, making first playthroughs nearly impossible without continues. Additionally, hard-to-see bullets, system mismatches that prevent grazing, and unchangeable controller button assignments add to the annoyance.
- Admiration (weight 0.03): Players admire the game's gorgeous and horrifying boss designs, which combine ornamental beauty with menace, and the overall visual presentation. The difficulty also earns respect for the genre's players, as experiencing it firsthand highlights the skill required.
- Appeal (weight 0.02): The game's appeal lies in its grotesque yet beautiful boss designs and the intriguing world view they inhabit, which captivates players with its unique aesthetic.
- Exhilaration (weight 0.02): The explosive burst when the Soul Gauge maxes out provides a special thrill, and the cool BGM enhances the sense of exhilaration during intense gameplay moments.
- Boredom (weight 0.02): Boredom arises from Sister Maria's patterns being too monotonous, and the high durability of bosses makes each fight last about three minutes, which becomes tedious on repeated playthroughs.
- Annoyance (weight 0.02): Annoyance is caused by the unreachable range not being marked, making it unclear where attacks can land, and the BGM volume being too loud even when set to 50, disrupting the experience.
- Surprise (weight 0.02): Players are surprised that the game is a pure STG without following roguelike or meta progression trends, and that it is better made than expected for an STG, exceeding their initial expectations.
- Happiness (weight 0.01): Happiness comes from the inclusion of settings that allow beginners to enjoy the game despite its challenging difficulty, making it accessible to a wider audience.
- Motivation (weight 0.01): The desire to clear easy mode without continues after more practice motivates players to improve their skills and engage with the game's challenges.
- Amazement (weight 0.01): Amazement is triggered by the boss fight scene where the first phase holds a large flower and the second phase's bouquet becomes severed arms, a surprising and creative visual twist.
- Immersion (weight 0.01): The art, voice acting, and music work together to create a strong sense of immersion, drawing players deeply into the game's world and atmosphere.
- Awe (weight 0.01): The boss battle bullet patterns are described as beautiful and impressive, evoking a sense of awe at their complexity and visual appeal.
- Relief (weight 0.01): Relief is felt because dialogue skip is now available, allowing players to bypass lengthy conversations and focus on gameplay.
- Delight (weight 0.01): Delight comes from the fact that a bullet hell shooter is a welcome addition in a time when such games are rare, satisfying a niche demand.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion arises from the sparse settlement data, making it hard to tell if the ranking is personal or global, which leaves players unclear about their progress.}