DoDonPachi Resurrection Review Summary

While offering many modes and a novice mode for beginners, the excessive difficulty, slowdown issues, and lack of the original arcade version hold it back.

Many different game modes: The game includes 8 different modes such as Ver1.5, Black Label, Arrange, and Novice modes, providing significant variety and replay value.

Novice mode for beginners: Multiple clusters highlight a dedicated Novice mode that is recommended for beginners, making the game highly approachable and easy to clear on the first loop.

Best shmup on Steam: Reviewers call this the best pure shmup on Steam and a masterpiece for fans, representing classic arcade quality.

Great soundtrack: The soundtrack is frequently praised as incredible and great, driving the action with rhythmic BGM.

Auto-bomb helps beginners: Generous beginner support includes an auto-bomb system and hyper bullet-clear features that help novices survive more easily.

Difficulty is excessively high: The game's difficulty is very high, even in novice mode, with bullet patterns that are excessively punishing and sometimes require luck to clear. It can be torturous for non-enthusiasts.

Slowdown issues in modes: Several arrange modes are missing expected slowdown, while others have too much, altering gameplay difficulty. Unexpected speed changes cause deaths for veterans.

Replay desync is broken: The replay feature suffers from desynchronization issues, making it unusable for practice and requiring external recording software. This is the biggest flaw for many players.

Scoring system is obtuse: The scoring system is extremely difficult to understand and feels like a puzzle, especially when aiming for high scores. It becomes incomprehensible as players push for better results.

Lack of tutorials: There is a complete lack of tutorials and in-game explanations for systems and modes, forcing players to research online guides. This is a recurring bad habit from the developer.

Bullet hell gameplay: The game is described as a bullet hell (danmaku) shooter featuring screen-filling bullet patterns, lasers, and high-speed action. It includes mechanics like auto-bomb, hyper counter, and multiple ship types.

Multiple game modes: The game offers a large selection of modes including Novice, Normal 1.5, 1.51, Arrange A/B, Black Label, Black Label Arrange, and more. Each mode changes rules, difficulty, and scoring, providing variety for different skill levels.

Hyper counter and bullet cancel: The Hyper system allows players to erase enemy projectiles by filling a gauge for a temporary power boost. This bullet-cancelling mechanic is a core part of offensive and defensive play.

Ship and style variety: Players can choose from three distinct ships, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, different bomb styles and shoot styles are available, allowing for diverse play strategies.

Novice mode available: A Novice mode is included for beginners, making the challenging bullet hell genre more accessible. This mode simplifies patterns or reduces difficulty to help new players learn.

Performance issues and lag: Players report frame rate drops during intense bullet patterns, unwanted slowdown in some areas, and screen tearing. Vsync introduces input lag, and the lack of an in-game v-sync option frustrates some users.

Optimization and crashes: The game is considered not optimized, with crashes occurring at stage 5 and when switching to full screen. Resolution is forced to 1280x720, limiting display flexibility.

Slowdown and emulation accuracy: Emulation slowdown is not precise and changes speed too suddenly. Some areas experience unwarranted slowdown, while one player finds the slowdown more arcade-like and smooth.

Input lag concerns: Minimal input lag is noted by one player, but another mentions that vsync introduces noticeable input lag. FreeSync/G-Sync may help reduce screen tearing.

Steam Deck performance: One player reports that the game runs smoothly on Steam Deck OLED at 60fps with no lag, indicating good compatibility for that device.

Great for beginners.: Multiple clusters recommend this game as a good entry point for newcomers to the bullet hell or shmup genre. It is praised for being accessible while still offering depth for experienced players.

Best for existing shmup fans.: Several clusters indicate the game is most recommended for players with prior shmup experience. Some advise that brand new players should research the genre first or start with other titles.

Excellent value for money.: Reviewers consistently mention the game is worth its price, even at full price. The amount of content, including multiple modes, is considered a good bargain.

Must-buy for genre enthusiasts.: For dedicated shmup or bullet hell fans, the game is described as an unmissable masterpiece and a must-buy. It is seen as a top-tier title within the genre.

Highly recommended overall.: Many reviewers give a strong, general recommendation without specific caveats. The game is praised as a solid and essential title for arcade and STG fans.

Community fair range: $7.00 - $15.00.

Game completion: 14.0h.

Session length: 0.5h.

Player reviews consistently describe the game as immediately fun and addictive due to its polished gameplay, music, and responsive controls, despite mentions of high difficulty and lack of tutorial.

Friction: complete lack of tutorial and explanations; some glitches and not optimized; super hardcore difficulty.

Hardcore Bullet Hell Veteran: Aggressive scoring, heavy use of hyper modes, grinding for perfect runs and hidden bosses. Motivation: Mastery of scoring mechanics and achieving 1CC completions. Stance: buy.

Novice-Friendly Explorer: Uses novice mode, auto-bomb, and learns basic mechanics before advancing to harder modes. Motivation: Accessible entry into the bullet hell genre without overwhelming difficulty. Stance: buy.

Technical Perfectionist: Explores all game modes and is sensitive to performance issues and glitches. Motivation: A bug-free, fully functional port that delivers all promised content. Stance: deep sale.

Steam Deck: The game runs excellently on Steam Deck OLED with no technical barriers reported. The only notable issue is partial incompatibility with PS5 DualSense controllers, but Steam Deck's native controls work fine. The gameplay is described as challenging yet fair with responsive inputs.

External guides: The reviews indicate that DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu lacks in-game explanations for its modes and mechanics, forcing players to rely on external wikis. However, many useful wiki resources have become unavailable, exacerbating the problem.