This game punches way above its weight! I got it on sale for a couple of bucks, having had a passing interest but no particular expectation toward the game's quality. I'm delighted to say that Angelstruck is a juicy, well-polished twin-stick shooter that most arcade fans should enjoy!

I think the greatest strength of the gameplay is the balance it strikes in regards to mechanical complexity. While gameplay mostly amounts to simply aiming with two sticks (as you'd expect), tastefully-implemented secondary mechanics like active reload and dashing helps add texture to the gamefeel while still keeping play simple. There's enough input necessary to hold your interest, but not too much such that it interrupts the flowstate. And the flowstate really is a blast - excellent enemy variety and fantastic A/V design makes playing a joy. The game is difficult but fair, and honing your skills run-over-run is very satisfying.

The primary complaint I have about the game is that enemy waves are not randomized - you fight the same enemies, in the same order, every run. I'd prefer randomization for the sake of replayability, but enemy design (and particularly enemy movement) really is implemented well enough to keep runs from getting stale. The other thing worth mentioning is that the game is, overall, on the small side, but, at a $6 price point, I wouldn't call this a flaw. It's an indie game; I'm not expecting AAA-levels of content. I think the game is actually quite generous in terms of its price in relation to the experience on offer.

All in all, Angelstruck is an excellent little shooter that I'd easily recommend to fans of this style of game. There's a lot of quality here and very, very little to whinge about. This is not your next 1,000 hour TBoI game, but I think most people would get a handful of fun hours from the game, with a much higher ceiling if they're keen to try out different builds and push the hardest difficulty mode.