It seems that not a week goes by nowadays without someone sending us another promising-looking shoot 'em up to keep a tab on.
The latest example of this is Louloudi Asteri, an upcoming shoot 'em up from the Japanese indie developer @HoshinoHanabira, which came to our attention thanks to the regular Time Extension contributor Ashley Day.
The game, which is planned to be released on Steam in 2024, is a sidescrolling shoot 'em up that sees players taking control of the pilots Louloudi & Asteri as they battle a giant space virus that is threatening the solar system. It tasks players with travelling left to right blasting enemies in their path but also incorporates a fairly ingenious 3D mechanic that allows the player to simultaneously rotate their ship and the camera to skilfully avoid incoming attacks and target objects located out of reach.
It looks to be a fairly novel twist on the sidescrolling shoot 'em up. Although it is probably not the best for those who get motion sick easily. Nevertheless, we're keen to try it out for ourselves to see how it measures up to our expectations.
Beyond the ability to change perspective, the developer also mentions a few other features listed on the Steam page that are worth highlighting. These include the ability to switch between Louloudi & Asteri's ship on the fly to take advantage of their different load-outs, uncover hidden routes for an added challenge, and regenerate lost health and shield by using an energy resource.
There's no precise release date set for the game just yet, but the developer has recently announced that they will be showing a four-stage demo of the game at the Game Pavillion industry event taking place in Osaka, Japan on March 30th.
A Steam page is also now live for the game too, so if you're interested in lending your support you can head over to the store and wishlist the project.