Graze Counter GM review

Good morning, Glorious Massacre, or Graze Master?

Decades of shoot-‘em-up games have imparted a crucial message to players: the enemy projectile should be avoided at all costs. But that enduring adage gets challenged in Graze Counter GM, Bikkuri Software’s remix of 2017’s Graze Counter. Once a PC exclusive, the follow-up also opens up the vertically-scrolling action to PlayStation 4/5, Switch, Xbox One, and Series S/X owners.

As the game’s moniker implies, players are encouraged to fly uncomfortably close to bullets, allowing enemy projectiles to graze the player’s ship. Not only does that feat exponentially escalate a player’s score, but it also fills your ship’s graze gauge- permitting players to retaliate with a potent counterattack. Pleasingly, there’s feedback to let you know when grazing is being counted, with enemy bullets turning red and a subdued whirring echoing over the soaring soundtrack.

To assist you with threading the virtual needle, Graze Counter GM includes variable ship speeds, which can be controlled automatically or independently by the player. Allow the game to take control and your vessel moves slower when firing, permitting players to dart through furious fields of enemy fire. Alternatively, you can opt to use a dedicated “slow” button. This is the equivalent of driving a manual transmission: there’s a bit of learning but also a definite benefit of continuous firepower. Either way, when opponents bombard an entire section of the screen, a quick evasive response is essential.

Yet that’s only one of Graze Counter’s numerous risk/reward systems. As mentioned, coming dangerously close to adversaries can send the game’s multiplier hurtling toward a quartet of digits. But as soon as you play it safe and move away from fields of fire, the score multiplier rapidly deescalates, pushing score-chasers toward a persistent state of peril.

Activating the game’s Graze Counter does more than just augment your arsenal, converting enemy bullets into gold stars. When collected, these icons gradually fill up your Break Gauge. This is linked to an even more devastating attack that fills the screen with your munition and larger stars with lofty point values. While Break Attack is a great last-ditch response, it can also be employed during less hectic moments, where you’ll have the ability to collect all those bigger stars to earn a place on the game’s (woefully offline) leaderboards.

Initially, Graze Counter GM’s multitude of mechanics might seem confusing. While the follow-up lacks the practice mode of its predecessor, the game’s 30 standalone missions gradually prepare you for a single-credit run. These challenges task you with fundamentals such as evading bullets, defeating foes, or hitting certain combo thresholds, all of which are essential for the hope of a single-credit playthrough. And while the game’s quintet of stages is on the shorter side, there’s the possibility of tackling alternative stages adding some longevity.

Pleasingly, GM doesn’t feel like an inadequate experience thanks to a wealth of play options. Beyond a collection of six unlockable characters/ships that extend different aptitudes, there are also selectable skills- from auto-shields, guards that protect your ship during counterattacks, and even over-graze, where your ship absorbs nearby enemy bullets. Other amenities include the exceedingly demanding Pacifist mode, where your only offensive measure is the Counter Attack as well as boss rush mode. Sure, each kind of playthrough is brief, but it will undoubtedly take multiple plays before players can contentedly tackle Graze Counter’s challenges.

Aesthetically, Graze Counter GM channels the look of the 16-bit era, albeit without the flicker and shortage of sprites. To supplement the space theme, the game’s storyline brings in several pixelated pilots, providing a bit of moe to the proceedings, thanks to a cast of gender-bending personalities. A storyline about escaping from a virtual network has been done before, but GM’s conversations are succinct, with compulsory insults delivered by boss characters. Sonically, the game’s soundtrack extends the type of perpetually upbeat and harmonious melodies that fans of the genre expect.

If you played the original Graze Counter, GM offers several welcome improvements. Steam Deck owners won’t have to deal with a launcher. Now, settings can be adjusted in-game. Most notable is how the remix moves many user interface options off to the sides of the screen, allowing for a better view of the action. Manage to sneak a glance at the periphery, and you’re able to check a score log, combo tracking, and an indicator of your inventory of ships. Pleasingly, Graze Counter GM is generous with the 1UPs.

Danmaku disciples will undoubtedly appreciate Graze Counter GM’s numerous allusions. While the nod to Psyvariar’s bullet skimming is obvious, smaller references such as the red diamond at the heart of bosses or a crystal stage pay homage to the Raiden and Gradius franchises. But marvelously, Graze Counter GM stands on its own, with a play mechanic that makes each run riveting.

Graze Counter GM was played on Switch with review code provided by the publisher.