Published by EastAsiaSoft and released on all modern consoles for $20, Schildmaid MX is a horizontal shooter with a gimmick. Instead of focusing on avoiding enemy fire, you want to intentionally take damage (at times).
Like most schmups, you hold one button to shoot rapid fire. However, your main machine gun will only do so much damage. This is where the bullet absorbing feature comes into play. Colliding with the first bullet activates the absorbing mechanic. For a limited time, any bullets that touch your ship will build a meter in which super attacks can be unleashed, establishing combos along the way. This system is one big risk/reward system though as it might run out of juice when you need it most. Plus, some enemy attacks cannot be absorbed so by no means are you invisible the entire time.
While the first stage is intentionally easier going, the action heats up quickly. Within a few stages, there will be times the screen is filled with bullet pollution and the only way to survive is to time your absorption trigger and build your combo meter appropriately. There is a steep difficulty spike right around the third stage though. At the time I am writing this, I am playing this game pre-release but there are already a handful of scores posted to the online leaderboard. With the exception of the first-place player, which I am assuming is the developer, all other scores are within close proximately of each other. Point being, I am not the only one struggling with this middle difficult section.
Visually, the game looks fine. The most important aspect is covered – being able to tell what is an enemy, what is an absorbable bullet, and which is a non-absorbable missile. However, even with a few playable ships, I can’t help but feel the repetition – Shoot a while. Wait for the annoying Japanese voice to indicate that it is now ok to take intentional damage to absorb bullets. Then wait for the other annoying Japanese voice to indicate absorbing time is over so be extra careful. Then do it all over until you beat the boss or die. Each stage is more or less the same too. Without any set pieces or enemy variety, you just fly left to right without any flavor.
Schildmaid MX isn’t the best shooter but it is an interesting one as it puts a twist on the Ikaruga polarizing attacks. Even with welcomed features like a comprehensive tutorial, online leaderboards for each ship and mode, and different playable crafts, it still feels like something is missing. While it definitely isn’t bad, this is one of those games to put on your wishlist and watch for a sale, especially if you are into shooters. At the very least, I thank EAS for releasing another shooter. It seems they are sort of the only ones keeping this genre alive at the moment.
RATING
OUR SCORE - 6.5
6.5
SCORE
Schildmaid MX has an interesting mechanic, intentionally taking damage to absorb enemy fire for a limited time, but the overall repeating stage design and mid-point difficulty spikes do not do it any favors.
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