CYGNI: All Guns Blazing Reviews
Cygni: All Guns Blazing might not entirely reinvent the idea of what a vertically scrolling twin-stick shooter can be, but it does do an excellent job of offering genre fans something slightly different by playing with depth, shield/gun prioritisation, and some seriously punishing, yet rewarding, sections. Yes, you’ll likely be done with the story in just a few short hours, and the narrative largely comes off as melodramatic, but Cygni: All Guns Blazing still sits comfortably as an impressive visual treat compared to its peers and one of the most cinematic genre entries I’ve played in recent years.
CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is an assault on the senses in the best way possible, with thrilling combat and some gorgeous visuals.
If you're not into shmups, or you're curious about the genre, you're going to find things you're going to like at CYGNI. Its gameplay is addictive, its staging impeccable (despite the occasional slowdowns) and if you're going to get stung by the rankings and scores, here you have to be hooked for a long time, despite being a "short" game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
CYGNI: All Guns Blazing aims to be a vertical-scrolling shoot'em up tied to the old traditions of the genre, taking advantage of what hardware has made possible over the last four decades. It has hit the mark, including everything that is to be expected in works of this type, without wanting to add anything else. The result is the closest thing to a coin-op we could find in a parallel universe in which arcades have not known oblivion. Fast-paced, colorful, pyrotechnic, punishing, and capable of making everyone realize that shmups can still provide a lot of fun.
Review in Italian | Read full review
CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is a spectacular shoot'em up, fun and with a unique twist to the typical gameplay of the genre.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
If already in the preview the feelings in front of Cygni: All Guns Blazing had been positive, the long-distance review confirms how well the small KeelWorks team did with this spectacular and intense mix of shoot'em-up, bullet-hell and twin-stick-shooter.
Review in Italian | Read full review
If you’ve been looking for a more modern take on Touhou, Radiant Silvergun, or any of the many other bullet hell shooters on the market, CYGNI: All Guns Blazing ticks the box. It’s fast, it’s frantic, and it looks frankly unbelievable at times. And considering it’s being flogged at half the price of most other modern PS5 titles, it represents relatively reasonable value for money, too.
Unfortunately, "Cygni" didn't really convince us. Yes, the game looks incredibly good and conjures up a real fireworks display on the screen. And yes, the snappy bullet hell battles are fun. Nevertheless, we felt that the spark of genius that is necessary for a game of this genre was missing. The balance between the difficulty levels isn't really right. The pacing within the missions isn't right for our taste either: "Cygni" keeps us stuck at certain points too often, and far too often these snapshots drag on too much. Then the action game is almost boring despite all its qualities. And the upgrade system and its options could also be more intuitive. All in all, "Cygni: All Guns Blazing" turns out to be a solid action game with some clever approaches and a first-class presentation. However, it is nowhere near as good as classics like "Gradius" and the like.
Review in German | Read full review
Cygni: All Guns Blazing is a rollicking bullet hell-inspired blockbuster that never lets off the gas.
CYGNI may not be the new "benchmark in shoot 'em ups", but it's still a fun game with a great passion for a genre that has almost become a niche one.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Cygni: All Guns Blazing is a "jack of all trades" type of shooter. It isn't afraid to use as many different gameplay mechanics as possible, and it isn't fearful of creating chaotic situations almost all of the time. You'll wish that more time had been spent refining these elements or adding some quality-of-life elements and tweaks to make the mix stand out more positively. What's available is good enough that hardcore shooting fans will enjoy it, and the hope is that improvements are made to tighten up the experience either through various patches or a potential sequel.
CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is an uneven experience that features great shoot-em-up elements wrapped in a bizarre cinematic focus that only seems to take away more than it gives. Particle effects can be disorienting and the story feels only partially realised. In the pursuit of cinematic excitement, it feels like the base experience has been compromised and damaged with a lack of focus across the board. If this was just a top-down shoot-em-up, I'd be far more positive here. If you can stick with it, you might find an enjoyable arcade-adjacent experience with cutting-edge presentation. Otherwise, maybe not.
Cygni: All Guns Blazing is the best-looking shoot 'em up out there, and along with its epic soundtrack, it's a treat for the eyes and ears. But a number of issues, such as its stages being too long and the screen often being simply too busy, mean that it doesn't fulfil its potential.
There are a number of elements present in Cygni: All Guns Blazing that underwhelm. From its unremarkable enemy designs to its banal story, it simply doesn’t feel like it has a strong identity. However, for all its shortcomings, it does deliver seven action-packed stages of controller-gripping, shmup goodness. The ship customization stuff is neat, the energy allocation mechanic is novel, and it features some highly enjoyable boss battles. When all is said and done, I doubt Cygni will make much of an impact with the general gaming populace, but I suspect that bullet hell fans will find something to love here.
CYGNI All Guns Blazing is not the classic "shmup" but, net of a convincing visual system and some successful gameplay ideas, it is a product that is unlikely to become the new reference point for purists of the genre and will struggle just as much to involve that slice of the public not used to vertical scrolling shooters, due to intricate menus and a poorly calibrated and not very customizable difficulty level.
Review in Italian | Read full review
All in all CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is a terrific title for shoot ‘em up fans. It has everything they need, such as a twisting take on the gameplay, the rudimentary plot of kicking alien butt, an RPG system to make your ship your own custom weapon, and even a mandatory co-op mode for your partner or friend to enjoy the game as well. It just requires some tweaks here in there, especially in the graphics department, to be enjoyed thoroughly, but still plays and feels like any other arcade shoot ’em up.
For a debut effort, KeelWorks should feel proud of CYGNI. It's also a foundation to build on, because there's certainly one in place to make something even better.
Cygni: All Guns Blazing is a SHMUP with some seriously high production values behind it. For a genre that is usually quite niche, seeing something that pitches higher like this is impressive. It’s not always perfect – the budget spent on the cut scenes was a noble idea that ultimately misfired – but once you’re into the thick of the swirling maelstrom of activity, it’s hard to be disappointed with what the developers have achieved.
What CYGNI: All Guns Blazing lacks in tightened combat it makes up for in visuals, though sadly that might not be enough to win over die hard shoot ‘em ups fans.
CYGNI: All Guns Blazing started out with a glorious purpose: to renew and modernize the bullet hell genre. It was an ambitious goal that aimed to bring enough novelty to the contemporary landscape to be able to make a ludic typology born to satisfy the masochistic desire of a few more attractive to the general public. Unfortunately, not everything went right: while the graphical and musical aspects are fully promoted, the gameplay adopts some ideas that make it not only punishing but also far too confusing. The result is a title that, instead of opening up to the general public, ends up speaking to an even smaller, Mesozoic circle of fans.
Review in Italian | Read full review