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Next Month, One Of 2022’s Best Shmups Will Launch on Switch

• Jacob Chambers
• January 20th, 2023

Recall how we begged Team Ladybug to port their gorgeous-looking shmup Drainus to the Switch? It appears that someone was paying attention. On February 2nd, PLAYISM will release the 2D side-scrolling shooter on the eShop.

Although the port was previewed a few months ago, the game’s release date was just today announced by publisher PLAYISM. Anyone who has played a Team Ladybug game should not be surprised by the stunning visuals since they created Touhou Luna Nights and Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth, two pixel art games with breathtaking animation.

Drainus is no exception, even though it employs some pseudo-3D sprites in addition to pixels to produce a remarkably intricate and distinctive appearance. Important for a shmup, a genre known for its incredible enemy designs and chaotic effects. Take a look!

The ability of the ship to drain energy, which you can use to customize your ship and also unleash more potent attacks, is the game’s distinctive formula. Team Ladybug has marketed the game as a shmup “that can be enjoyed by players of all levels” and there are three different difficulty settings.

Below you’ll find more details on this amazing shoot ’em up, along with our own opinions from when we played it last year on Steam.

A Modern Evolution of 2D Shooters Made for All Gamers

DRAINUS is the first original IP created by Team Ladybug, the developers behind Touhou Luna Nights (the Touhou Project derivative work with over 300,000 copies sold) and Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (Derivative work of highly popular Record of Lodoss War franchise).

Players take control of “DRAINUS”, a fighter jet with a unique ability to absorb energy. Any energy-based enemy fire can be absorbed and unleashed back the other way. Alternatively, stored energy can also be used to customize and enhance features of the DRAINUS. Team Ladybug’s aim with DRAINUS was to create a shooting game that can be enjoyed by players of all levels.

The game comes with three difficulty settings, “Easy” and “Normal” for beginners and casual players, as well as “Hard” for the seasoned veterans of the genre. Upon completing the first playthrough, players will also unlock two additional modes geared towards competitive play.

In May 2022, the PC version released on Steam without any prior announcements to highly positive feedback from the gaming community for its overall excellence and quality. It is our absolute pleasure to now be able to bring that experience to the Nintendo Switch community on February 2, 2023.

Game Details

Take control of the “DRAINUS”, a ship that can absorb energy attacks, to take down countless enemy ships zipping through space. Energy absorbed can be used to enhance the ship’s functions, such as adding new weapons.

■ Story

The Planet Halpax, located in the far reaches of space, is suffering from the oppressive rule of the Kharlal Empire. One of the slaves residing there is battling an illness known as “Planetary Compatibility Disorder”, he must return home to the far-away planet of Earth to be cured. His daughter Irina, also a slave, is both devastated by her father’s illness and helpless to do anything about it.

At that moment, a humanoid named Ghenie, who looks strangely like a frog, appears before Irina and says “I have come from 30 years in the future. A galactic war is about to break out, in which more than 5,000 planets will be annihilated by the Kharlal Empire. I have come to this time period to stop that war and the oppressive rule of the Kharlal Empire. I need your help.”.

“Why me? What can I do?”, Irina had no idea what was going on, but her father’s illness was worsening by the minute. With no time to hesitate and nowhere else to turn, she takes Gehnie’s green hand and sets off, beginning her journey to reach her distant home planet while taking the Kharlal Empire down once and for all.

■ Game Features

The most distinctive feature of this game is the “reflector”, a function of DRAINUS that allows the ship to absorb energy-based enemy fire over a period of time while activated, before letting you unleash it all back in a devastating counterattack.

Absorbed energy is also stored in a tank, which can be used to customize and enhance various functions of DRAINUS.

https://youtu.be/wJi0qAeY_fM