CYGNI: All Guns Blazing

If you're willing to practice and learn its ins and outs, CYGNI: All Guns Blazing becomes an absolutely thrilling shoot 'em up that will stay with you for a very long time. It may be divisive now but let me assure you, genre fans will eventually hold this gem in high regard.

CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is a space shoot'em up that has evolved amongst the rest. Use your Orca ship to devour the oncoming alien-machine hybrid takeover in this beautiful action packed journey where what you reap is what you sow.

The game presents a formidable challenge, and most players should begin at the easiest difficulty level, where the laser bullets fall like a shower rather than hail, and you have a modest stock of lives that replenish between each of the game’s seven lingering stages. It is, at times, repetitious, and Cygni’s novel systems will no doubt prove divisive among the genre’s dedicated and often conservative followers. But for those who approach with an open mind and dextrous fingers, it remains a thrilling vision.

More than just a shoot-'em-up game, CYGNI: All Guns Blazing brings modernity to the genre in a challenging way. The visual effects and combat design, especially the boss battles, have a unique charm, and despite the superficiality of some elements, the experience offers fun based on speed and explosions.

The pace is fast, there are any number of enemy ships to shoot, plenty of content and a successful framing of a space war that I learn just the right amount about. There are definitely parts of the upgrade system that didn't need to be there in my opinion and parts of the game's soundtrack that don't quite fit, but those are small complaints for a game that on the whole entertains on the grandest of premises.

KeelWork’s strikingly opulent shooter dares to do new things with its genre in an effort to unite players of every level. This is what a blockbuster shooter should look like.

A fantastic 2D shooter, that despite being the developer’s first game shows they understand the genre perfectly – but perhaps not the needs of those that are less familiar with its traditions.

CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is a demanding and challenging game for its genre that will hook us from the first moment. It has a unique gameplay and customization options. It does not reinvent the genre but it is quite replayable.

CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is an assault on the senses in the best way possible, with thrilling combat and some gorgeous visuals.

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.

Cygni is an exceptional evolution of the shoot 'em up genre, one that relentlessly pummels the player with enemies and explosions. Its combat is extremely satisfying and its lengthy stages and customisable elements make it the sort of game you'll play through numerous times. We'd be recommending it as a full-price game, but at £25 / $30 it's a no-brainer.

CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is a nice surprise, a flash of light in the darkness of a market that is all too domesticated and at the same time the passionate homage of a small Scottish team to the glorious and all-Japanese era of bullet hell-style shooters. Faithful to these prerogatives yet capable of introducing some interesting new elements, the game is completed quickly but only if you approach it in a distracted and superficial way: those who want to invest effort and energy will have it for several days.

As a revolutionary step forward for the arcade SHMUP, CYGNI: All Guns Blazing misses its mark. However, as a perfectly entertaining arcade romp, it does hit its target. Whether players boot it up and play a level at a time for the story or try to do it all in a single life in Arcade Mode, it hits all the right notes with engaging mechanics, fluid gameplay, challenging enemies that frequently fill the screen, and intense boss battles. CYGNI throws everything and the kitchen sink at players, sometimes to its detriment, because dozens upon dozens of enemies filling the screen did lead to occasional performance issues, even on the PlayStation 5. 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 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.

While the thrill remains and the audiovisual show lives up to the billing, then, you wonder if the designers of genre classics might have pushed the envelope even more. [Issue#402, p.122]

A frantic, chaotic, visually splendid shooter that plays like it came from the mid-’90s. It can be overwhelming, but when the bosses go down, you’ll feel immense. [Issue#44, p.94]

Though it takes time and skill to master, Cygni: All Guns Blazing is a satisfying arcade-style shoot 'em up that only gets better with replays.

Quotation forthcoming.

KeelWorks have done well to deliver such a polished entry into the shoot 'em up genre and we're pleased to see them focus on quality. That said, the game can feel a bit messy and complicated at times.

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.

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.

CYGNI All Guns Blazing is not your typical "shmup" but, despite a convincing visual system and some successful gameplay ideas, it is a product that is unlikely to become the new point of reference for purists of the genre and will struggle to engage that segment of the public not accustomed to vertical scrolling shooters, due to intricate menus and a poorly calibrated and poorly customizable difficulty level. In any case, the news of the game's arrival as a free download on the Epic Games Store for a limited period of time came like a bolt from the blue, allowing curious people to add it to their collection and give it a chance regardless.

Cygni: All Guns Blazing isn’t a SHMUP essential, but it’s damn good fun once you start shooting and completely forget all of the cutscenes.

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 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.

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.

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.

A vertical sci-fi shoot-em-up with sublime atmospheric graphics and some incredible encounters, Cygni is ultimately let down by its lack of identity and a sharp difficulty spike straight from the launch pad. Shunting power between shields and weapons makes for a fun mechanic, but unless you’re a shmup aficionado, it’s a hard package to recommend.

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.