B.ARK Reviews

Why is this game so amazingly, odds-defyingly, groundshakingly good? Well, I'll tell you. BARK has taken a niche genre of game that usually focuses on punishing difficulty, overwhelming screens full of moving objects to track, and distilled the classic elements of it down to a simply adorable, sweet, accessible story that can be absorbed in five minutes and appreciated immediately. BARK is [i]fun[/i]. Seriously fun. Stupidly fun. Fun alone. Fun with friends. Fun for longtime shmup fans who aren't afraid of cuteness. Fun for brand-new players who don't want to be dropped into bullet hell without a lifeline. It's quick to pick up and roll with, and yet, it's challenging enough to hold interest for a broad range of player skill levels underserved by the HERE THAR BE MONSTERS LADDIE brutality of hardcore shmups. Thing is...I love the brutal shmups. And I love BARK too. What I needed to do was immediately obvious, but the game was balanced to make it a little harrowing, purely for timing on some enemy swarms. Memorization helps, but learning the capabilities of your ship and making decisions about your approach to enemies helps, too. Every technique that'll serve you well in the hardcore shmups is right here. It's also beautiful. If you have issues with the idea of being a talking animal in a cute, color-coded spaceship, go out, touch grass, and fix your heart, because I have seen the future of shmups, and it is animal-pilot-inclusive, baby. The cuteness isn't just a gimmick; not only is the story, while simple, every bit as worthy as "the alien menace arrived and you have a ship, try not to die," but the cuteness is broadcasting that this is a friendly game, a positive game, a welcoming game. This is a game that wants you to feel safe enough to try it, and even if you don't need that, your friends might, man. I didn't have this much fun with R-Type Final 2. I didn't have this much fun with Darius Burst CS, even. I enjoyed those games, but none of them felt like something I'd hand a new player, and say "Check this out, this is a genre of game I love." "Daunting," I think, is the word. Hardcore shmups are [i]daunting[/i]. BARK is not daunting. BARK is accessible, colorful, cute, fun, and [i]still[/i] a rewarding, engaging, and well-built shmup. The pilots and their ships handle differently, interact differently, and the "rescue" function keeps you going basically forever, if a buddy can tag you back into the action. This is a really, really good shmup. A stupidly good shmup. And it's a fun, accessible, friendly shmup. We've needed more of those. I own dozens of shmups that demand mastery from me, and now, I own a shmup that both my more casual friends and I could enjoy, together. This is Exhibit A to your non-shmup-playing friends of why shmups are so much fun. And if your friends are put off by the cute colorful doggie, kitty, bunny and bear, well then, as the man in the fleece vest and no hat said so succinctly, they ain't no friends of mine. Good dog, BARK. Good, [i]good[/i] dog.