Xbox 360 Critic Reviews

Beneath all of the beautiful levels and endless bullets there is an emotional story, which is a bit surprising considering that most of the games in the genre don't have any. It's very melodramatic and reminiscent of a visual novel-style of storytelling - this Otaku's dream come true.

Every 2D-shooter fan needs to have this game in their collection. Shmup releases of this caliber are extremely rare outside of Japan.

DeathSmiles is an old school shoot'em'up with an excellent art direction, frantic gameplay, wonderful soundtrack and a good amount of contents. The product however can be fully appreciated only by the old time shoot'em'up lovers, in search of new challenges.

You'll need dozens of playthroughs to get a handle on everything that's going on, and Deathsmiles is addictive enough to keep you replaying. [Aug 2010, p.79]

To me, this game is well worth the dough -- Cave's superior development quality is more apparent to those who play these games a lot.

The bullets are plentiful in this crazy, colorful shoot-'em-up.

Cave knows what it does and does it well. Fans won't be disappointed and if you want a hair-pulling challenge and can actually fathom what's happening on the screen in these bullet-hell shooters, you'll feel right at home.

Bullet hell at its finest, with some genuine innovation for a 2D shooter and some great visuals.

It will still be far too difficult for most, but the game is one of the developer's most accessible titles to date, and while its jagged 2D art and unpopular genre will never grant it more than an extremely niche audience, the few who are interested will be more than satisfied with both the game and Rising Star's commendable publishing efforts.

Those able to see past the idiosyncratic, somewhat stale visuals to perceive the zeros and ones ticking away beneath the surface will discover one of Cave's finest achievements: a game that lowers the barrier to accessibility without compromising its ultimate depth, a new Defender of the shoot-'em-up faithful.