2015.12.18
At our core, Playism does one thing really, really well: Japanese indie titles. It's our bread and butter. Our clam chowder. Our deep fried, buttery goodness with a side of bacon and just a hint of oh God I'm hungry.
Ahem.
WitchBot Meglilo is everything that's wonderful about Japanese games. Core gameplay of a solid shmup? Check. Interesting teleportation mechanic that I've never seen before? Check. Adorable protagonist? Super check. Wanton, unchecked violence treated as a joke? You'd better believe it's check.
Meglilo has two great things going for it. First of all, this top-down shoot-em-up flows sublimely, giving you occasional breaths of air between dodging a barrage of bullets. If you reach a point where you're definitely about to eat it, you can use magic to teleport away to a safe part of the screen. Don't think this makes the game too easy: you can only teleport so much AND the enemies know you'll be zipping about the screen. Never bring magic to a gunfight. Unless you also have a gun.
Secondly, Meglilo is interspliced with a manic amount of humor. Right from the beginning, there's an homage to Vulkaiser, which, in itself, is an homage to 70s anime (also by ASTRO PORT). Each scenario deals with Meglilo watching abject violence unfold before her and wanting to see if it's actually worth stepping in. Turns out, it always is, and it's always too late.
If you've gotten used to running levels through Touhou on insane mode, you might find Meglilo a little lighter than full on "bullet hell," but it's still a great challenge. Not to mention there's a cute little replay incentive with Meglilo's various outfits. After the completion of a level, you have a random chance to spin the outfit roulette wheel and unlock an interchangeable piece of costume equipment. Not absurd enough being a robotic witch with a plucky talking duck sidekick? How about a robotic witch MAID? We're going full Japan here!
Don't wait and see what happens: get into Meglilo today!
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