Lilac 0 (PC) Review

Let it be said from the very beginning. This was made with hardcore shmup-ers in mind. If you are in the mood for a chill vertical shooter, with plenty of room to move, and lots of health to spare, this isn't it. The cyber-samurai who is the "ship" you will control can only endure a few hits before a Game Over, health items are in very short supply, the action is fast, and the screen is usually filled with orange projectiles of all shapes and sizes. In other words, this is a typical bullet hell-type shooter, and far from one that can be enjoyed by newcomers to the genre, like the more casual-friendly Angel at Dusk. Long story short, prepare to die, and then die some more. In Lilac 0, one either strives for perfection, or simply keeps on failing. Forget about making a decent run. There's no mercy here. No middle ground.

Each failure in avoiding damage leads one closer to the end, as boss battles (as well as some tricky, mid-level spots) require being somewhat healthy. There's a Continue Coin (which is turn is an unlockable power-up) that simply adds a few more minutes of hand-sweating action, but you still need to get good at it. Completing each of the five stages is quite the feat on its own, even in the Novice difficulty mode, yet "true" shmup-ers are expected to be able to reach the finishing line by completing every single level in one playthrough. The one writing this, obviously isn't a true shmup-er, as he still struggles to complete the darn thing on the easiest freaking setting!

There's a story here, and it's as deep as the one you could find at the arcades back in the day. In other words, all this talk about the war between the machines (against other machines) in the world of Molybdion, is just an excuse for some cool action between cool hi-tech foes of all shapes and sizes, be it simple drones that spits bullets, or giant mega-tanks with turrets everywhere you look. The hero of this tale will begin his journey high at the sky, fly lower at the cities below, go underwater, deep inside the earth, and then back up into the sky. This trip through all these locales will make it abundantly clear that Lilac 0 is quite the looker.

This goes for a nice, early '90s arcade look, reminiscent of the highly detailed and crispy pixel art of titles usually found on SNK machines. It features the, now-common in faux-retro titles, CRT filter, and uses it very good, and even has a slight distortion that simulates a curved screen. It's also possible to unlock additional palettes, like one resembling the visuals of Game Boy! All these wouldn't matter if the design of it all wasn't good, and thankfully it is, with some of the backgrounds and some of the larger robo-monsters looking stunning. Memorable? Not really, to be perfectly honest, and that applies to the music itself which is basically a Mega Drive-esque assortment of tunes that sound nice and all, but won't exactly stay with you longer than the five or so minutes they play.

For the most part this is a standard vertical shoot em' up. You move around and hold a button to shoot a barrage of projectiles. There seems to be a weird lack of power-ups, however. The gameplay can be summed up in: shoot at things, and avoid the fire these things throw at you. It's a bit of a shame that there's nothing else to spice things up. Or is there? Lilac 0 implements two additional mechanics. The first is a lock-on feature that basically acts like a scanning wave that tags enemies and then hits them with a powerful blow when the button is released. The second, and probably the most important one, is the dash move, which is more like a dash-and-slash, as it is meant to go through incoming damage, but at the same time can hit enemies, and even cut them in half if the right conditions are met.

Here's the thing. The scanning/lock-on feature is the same as the simple attack move. In other words, you just spam it forever, which makes it more of a chore, as you are constantly holding a button to shoot, while also pushing and releasing another one to lock and shoot. It would be much better if the lock-on attack was a far more powerful ability that was restricted by something, be it a recharging meter, or a form of energy that could be acquired from fallen foes as "fuel." The dash, on the other hand, not only feels good to use, but also needs to be mastered if you have any hopes of surviving. At first players need to practice with it so that they don't end up somewhere where they can get hurt right after avoiding something else. Is that all? Nope!

The dash recharges slowly, so hitting the button twice depletes its meter, leaving the hero defenceless - a big no-no in boss fights, and not only. The trick is to know when to use this so that there's enough time (and room to move around) for another charge to be ready. Additionally, slicing specific enemies, or groups of enemies, doesn't require a charge. All this makes the dash move an exceptionally hard technique to master, but it feels good when you finally do so. The game even rewards you with plenty of 'Style' points when using it correctly, and it's super-cool when you manage to land the final killing blow to a boss with a dash (called 'Overkill'), which rewards the player with a big chunk of points.

Lilac 0 is great, but not the most varied of its kind. Instead of a variety of different power-ups and many levels to beat, it offers plenty of different combat scenarios in the five stages that are available, and that's that. Said scenarios are pretty neat, and the feeling of becoming better and better cannot be put into words. There's nothing else here, though than playing and replaying the same few maps over and over. You are meant to constantly get better at it, not so much to reach the end (something that a skilled shmup-er can do in about an hour or two), but to reach the highest possible score in the leaderboards. Got first place and you think that it's all over? Your self is now your enemy!

Good luck…