RXN: Raijin

When it's firing on all cylinders, running fast and smooth with massive and beautiful enemies getting obliterated by hundreds of lasers firing in all directions to furious metal guitar solos, RXN -Raijin- is everything an old school shmup fan needs, and a strong call back to what made the genre so revered in the first place. Unfortunately, the game also has some missteps ranging from the tolerable multi-pilot levelling system to infuriating slow down. The structure and chapter length suit short sessions, but may leave some players wanting more to chew on. At times thrilling, and at others confounding, it's a flawed but nonetheless enjoyable straight-up shmup.

RXN -Raijin- falls into the predicament that many bullet hell shooters suffer from, which is not fully standing out among its peers. While it features some good gameplay and controls, its combat segments are way too short and the progression system is unbalanced. Overall, this makes the game less involving that it could be, which is a shame as there was potential here to go further.

Stages divided into chapters and automatic health recovery make this newly released shoot 'em up for the Nintendo Switch an easy pickup for people unfamiliar with the genre. However, its level design and presentation fail to shine anywhere in particular, making this mediocre bullet hell STG a game with little excitement or sense of accomplishment.

RXN -Raijin- is filled with wasted potential - it looks great and sounds good, but its core gameplay is severely lacking. With so many better shmups available on the Switch, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this game.