Following the very enjoyable and totally retro Gleylancer comes another port of a quality Masaya-developed Genesis/Mega Drive shoot ’em up in the form of Gynoug. Ratalaika Games’ is back on the helm bringing the same suite of features as their last release, but this time instead of going with a sci-fi setting, Gynoug‘s style is more of a mythological one as you control a winged hero firing orbs of energy at all sorts of incredible creatures.
As with Gleylancer, Gynoug‘s package is straight to the point and basic, but extremely functional. You can use save states to record your progress, and cheats are plenty in case you just want to sit down and blow through the game without breaking a sweat. Not to mention the bevvy of options when it comes to the emulation side of the game, which include various tweaks to the CRT filter, helping give Gynoug a suitably old-school look and feel.
Overall, the game is as you’d expect from one of its time: it relies on your reflexes and pattern recognition in order to come out on top, delivering a satisfying amount of challenge depending on the difficulty level you choose.
The main difference in comparison to Gleylancer, as it’s the closest game to grab on to for that, is the lack of any explanations in regards to any aspects of gameplay, so a lot of your time will be spent at first just experimenting with pickups and finding out what they do.
That’s not that big of an issue since most of what Gynoug has to offer when it comes to power ups is thrown right at you from the very get-go, so it only takes a few minutes to learn and get accustomed to them. The visual theme of the game is somewhat unique in comparison to the usual futuristic shoot ’em up settings, and it’s all well drawn and crisp especially when playing portably on the Switch.
Gynoug is yet another excellent addition to the quickly growing library of shoot ’em up treasures that are being brought back from the depths of expensive online marketplaces and into the hands of players looking to have a fun time with quality shooters such as this. I honestly can’t wait to see what’s next in line.
