Dark Star... hmmm. It's not that fun, yet somehow it's still better than EVE. It has many flaws, but it's far from being bottom of the barrel.
-Graphics: Nothing to say here. Just very good from your typical Grimhelm art. But, the animation however is strangely different. It's less smooth and spine-animation like but it's more frame by frame instead. This animation is... interesting. I can't see it as bad or good.
-Sounds: No comment, pretty typical.
- Gameplay: It's... something. And it's not entirely fun. See, your character lacks any sort of advanced movement. It's just walk and jump. Your attacks is a single blaster that gets stronger by picking up upgrades and new shot-type as you go. It's not very balanced as the final blaster is obviously the strongest because of how enemy spawns. Enemy are quite annoying, though manageable. Their attacks can be dodged if you jump good enough, but more importantly you have to kill them before they have a chance anyways. This game basically enforces you to... well, plan ahead a lot. It's not really cheese, but I suspect that Grimhelm intended the game to be played with only the spiral blaster, therefore they balanced the game around it. At around level 3 onwards, enemy spawns... A LOT. Behind you, in front of you, etc. They don't spawn immediately (thank you Grimhelm) because they'll slowly fade into existence. This usually means that you have to shoot your spiral blaster into them beforehand. Now I'm not saying that this is bad, but it's not THAT fun. I have to admit, strategizing and planning ahead does keep the game from boring, but it's still far from what I think Grimhelm should have done to make the game fun. You know what ISN'T fun though? The final boss. Yeah, the cube is a Touhou, bullet hell boss, and you are a woman who is takes up half of the screen's height... yeah you can see the problem now. You have a big and tall hurtbox, while you're enemy throws a hundred projectiles at once. Your jump can't help you escape here, the only game plan is punching a wall until it breaks, you have to take the hits most of the time. Luckily, Grimhelm lets the boss drop healing packs but this clearly reveals that Grimhelm basically gave up on designing the boss and make it a healing contest, a habit that have poisoned them up until the final phase of developing Alien Quest EVE.
-H-content: sex scene is fine. There's a lot less compared to Dungeon & Maid and AQEVE, but it's still enjoyable. Again, no sort of mechanics tying the the sex to the gameplay.
Conclusion: It's basic, but it's fine. Gameplay is not exactly amazing, but it's not a cheese contest unlike its "successor". If you have a heart of iron and can withstand some bad boss design, maybe give it a try. If you feel that the game isn't entirely fun, maybe don't bother, because it doesn't get any better. 5/10
-Graphics: Nothing to say here. Just very good from your typical Grimhelm art. But, the animation however is strangely different. It's less smooth and spine-animation like but it's more frame by frame instead. This animation is... interesting. I can't see it as bad or good.
-Sounds: No comment, pretty typical.
- Gameplay: It's... something. And it's not entirely fun. See, your character lacks any sort of advanced movement. It's just walk and jump. Your attacks is a single blaster that gets stronger by picking up upgrades and new shot-type as you go. It's not very balanced as the final blaster is obviously the strongest because of how enemy spawns. Enemy are quite annoying, though manageable. Their attacks can be dodged if you jump good enough, but more importantly you have to kill them before they have a chance anyways. This game basically enforces you to... well, plan ahead a lot. It's not really cheese, but I suspect that Grimhelm intended the game to be played with only the spiral blaster, therefore they balanced the game around it. At around level 3 onwards, enemy spawns... A LOT. Behind you, in front of you, etc. They don't spawn immediately (thank you Grimhelm) because they'll slowly fade into existence. This usually means that you have to shoot your spiral blaster into them beforehand. Now I'm not saying that this is bad, but it's not THAT fun. I have to admit, strategizing and planning ahead does keep the game from boring, but it's still far from what I think Grimhelm should have done to make the game fun. You know what ISN'T fun though? The final boss. Yeah, the cube is a Touhou, bullet hell boss, and you are a woman who is takes up half of the screen's height... yeah you can see the problem now. You have a big and tall hurtbox, while you're enemy throws a hundred projectiles at once. Your jump can't help you escape here, the only game plan is punching a wall until it breaks, you have to take the hits most of the time. Luckily, Grimhelm lets the boss drop healing packs but this clearly reveals that Grimhelm basically gave up on designing the boss and make it a healing contest, a habit that have poisoned them up until the final phase of developing Alien Quest EVE.
-H-content: sex scene is fine. There's a lot less compared to Dungeon & Maid and AQEVE, but it's still enjoyable. Again, no sort of mechanics tying the the sex to the gameplay.
Conclusion: It's basic, but it's fine. Gameplay is not exactly amazing, but it's not a cheese contest unlike its "successor". If you have a heart of iron and can withstand some bad boss design, maybe give it a try. If you feel that the game isn't entirely fun, maybe don't bother, because it doesn't get any better. 5/10