Nuclear Throne feels really good to play. Instant, immediate fun. Pick a character, move, shoot, pick up new weapons, shoot again.

I am usually not fond of top-down shooters, but Vlambeer completely nailed it. The feedback of the weapons is great (it is even possible to reflect shots). It is so much a pleasure to play that dying and trying again in the randomly-generated levels does not feel frustrating. Except for a few specific ways to be killed, like flames from some traps, and taking multiple hits from the same source because of a lack of 'invulnerability frames' after the first hit.

Another great thing is that progress through the levels is quite fast, so deaths are not as disheartening as in other games. I don't even care about permadeath and reaching the end: I just want to shoot things and get as far as I can until I die. And try again, because I am having fun. There are official daily runs: a common level for everyone, refreshed each day, that can only be tried once. As often, players are ranked daily on leaderboards. This feature gives me a great incentive to play Nuclear Throne each day for at least a quick run (sometimes, really really quick, like less than a minute - yeah this game is not a walk in the park). Unlike The Binding of Isaac, in which I know that a single run can last for a long time and thus I am less inclined to launch it on a whim.

Each character has different and original special skills that allow for a different gameplay, from minor variations to major differences. There is variety in the enemies and their way to attack, however since there are no alternate levels (there are many secret levels though), playing through the same starting area again and again can get a bit too familiar.

The art is cute and the music is perfectly adequate. Only gripe here is that the framerate is locked to 30.

An instant favorite to me.

http://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=622827607

Nuclear Throne feels really good to play. Instant, immediate fun. Pick a character, move, shoot, pick up new weapons, shoot again. I am usually not fond of top-down shooters, but Vlambeer completely nailed it. The feedback of the weapons is great (it is even possible to reflect shots). It is so much a pleasure to play that dying and trying again in the randomly-generated levels does not feel frustrating. Except for a few specific ways to be killed, like flames from some traps, and taking multiple hits from the same source because of a lack of 'invulnerability frames' after the first hit. Another great thing is that progress through the levels is quite fast, so deaths are not as disheartening as in other games. I don't even care about permadeath and reaching the end: I just want to shoot things and get as far as I can until I die. And try again, because I am having fun. There are official daily runs: a common level for everyone, refreshed each day, that can only be tried once. As often, players are ranked daily on leaderboards. This feature gives me a great incentive to play Nuclear Throne each day for at least a quick run (sometimes, really really quick, like less than a minute - yeah this game is not a walk in the park). Unlike The Binding of Isaac, in which I know that a single run can last for a long time and thus I am less inclined to launch it on a whim. Each character has different and original special skills that allow for a different gameplay, from minor variations to major differences. There is variety in the enemies and their way to attack, however since there are no alternate levels (there are many secret levels though), playing through the same starting area again and again can get a bit too familiar. The art is cute and the music is perfectly adequate. Only gripe here is that the framerate is locked to 30. An instant favorite to me. http://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=622827607