Overview – developed by POLYGON BIRD and published by Eastasiasoft, BIRDCAGE is a story driven bullet hell shooter, using a mix of 2D spritework and 3D environments taking inspiration from 90’s classics. The world is threatened by the space colony CAGE, with a newly awakened pilot tasked with taking down their weapon from the inside. This title is available for all console platforms, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for providing the copy of BIRDCAGE that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. I will be covering the core elements of the game experience, as to prevent spoiling any of the secrets or surprises of the game.
Story – Mankind ventured into space and two factions emerged, with SELENE controlling the Moon and the remains of Earth, with RADON opposing them from the space colony CAGE. Led by Mother ROENTGEN, the RADON Daughters have created a new super weapon, the WORLD-EGG to take the earth. Deep Within CAGE, a pilot awakens in the experimental RADON gunship HALYCON, with a voice echoing within her mind and telling her to destroy the WORLD-EGG.
Gameplay – BIRDCAGE is a vertical scrolling shooter, taking inspiration from the classics of the bullet hell genre, with six stages of precise shooting action. The player takes on the threat of the WORLD-EGG from within, starting inside the CAGE and moving through different areas across the six challenging stages. Before starting the game, the player can select one of three modes, with Story, Arcade and Score Attack to select from.
Before playing the game for the first time, there is the option of a full tutorial for players to learn all of the mechanics of the game. This will provide the player with all of the functions that they need, demonstrating how attacks and mechanics work. This can be accessed from the main menu, or when starting story mode for the first time. In the main Tutorial menu, the player will be able to use the training options to practice the game.
In Story Mode, the player will experience the narrative of BIRDCAGE, playing through each of the stages with story and dialogue cut-ins. During the course of Story Mode the player will experience narrative interludes, which will push the story along to add depth to the story. The Arcade Mode is the same game but without the story cut-ins, focusing on the action and earning points. Score Attack is a limited time rush to get the highest score possible before the time limit expires.
In Story Mode, the player will also be able to select the stage that they want to play, which are unlocked as the previous one is cleared. The player will also be locked into preset ship choices, dictated by the narrative with the HALCYON ship and the SEED ship appearing at set points. Arcade and Score Attack have preset progression, with the player able to select the ship that they want to use before the action kicks off.
During play itself the player will need to dodge and weave through enemy attacks, while shooting down the different enemy forces that appear. The player is armed with three different weapons, consisting of a wide spread shot for enemy damage, a focus shot for enhanced damage and a special shot. The Wide and Focus shots are the same between both ships, but the special attacks are unique to the ship that the player is using in battle.
HALCYON has an energy sword, which will appear and extend from the front of the ship, blocking some enemy attacks and dealing damage on contact. This lasts for a limited time and can be manually aimed, but can also be launched from the ship as a projectile. SEED has special homing missiles, which will lock onto enemies and unleash large spread attacks. SEED will also launch missiles automatically by grazing enemy shots, acting as a counter attack.
As the player shoots down enemies, a meter on screen will fill up below the special weapon meter. When this bar is full, the player will be able to unleash the HYPERBLADE attack, which is a massive high damage burst of damage that lasts for a limited time. This special ultimate attack will also clear away enemy shots, making them very useful during challenging encounters with the RADON horde. But it does take some time to charge up by battling enemies.
Throughout the stages the player will fight off wave after wave of enemies, while avoiding their shots as well as hazards and obstacles that get in the way. At set points during each of the stages, the player will encounter powerful boss enemies, with most of the stages featuring a sub and main boss. In Story Mode, these battles are often heralded by a narrative cut in, with a warning on screen for both Story and Arcade modes.
Over the course of the game, as players destroy enemy forces, they will drop coins for the player to collect. These will be added to the player total and boost the score. There will also be medals that can be found in the stages, with each stage having three special medal coins to collect. These are totalled up and added to the player score. A chain multiplier can also be racked up, giving the player a massive boost to their score during stages.
But players must be careful as there is constant danger, with lasers, heavy fire and deadly traps to avoid. If the player takes damage, they will lose some of their ship HP or Shield if activated. The player ship has a limited amount of health and if it runs out, the player will be shot down. When this happens, a life will be used to return to the field, but there are a limited number of lives available. In the event the player loses all health and lives, they will get a game over.
Sometimes, there will be health drops from enemy ships, providing the player with a boost of health to keep the player alive. When a sub boss is defeated, the player will be awarded with one of three options that can be selected. These consist of Health-Up, Extra Life and Coin bonuses, which the player can manually select. The bonuses are consistent between the stages when it comes to the mid bosses, but the main bosses act differently.
When the player encounters the main stage boss in story mode, there will be a story scene where the main character interacts with another. Then the fight will begin and these can be very challenging. If the player is able to shoot down these imposing foes, the player will clear the stage and they will be awarded with bonuses points based on various factors. After this the player will progress, but there will be no additional rewards like with sub boss enemies.
If the player gets a game over, they can retry the stage but they will lose the score that was earned for the stage. However, if the player wishes to submit their score to the leaderboards, they will be able to go to the main menu and submit their best for the ranking. Scores can also be submitted when the game has been cleared by the player. This functions differently in score attack, as the gameplay loop is different from the main game.
When playing Score Attack, the player will take on a never ending horde of enemies, while under a limited time clock. Here the player will need to quickly eliminate the enemies, as the game immediately ends if they are shot down or the time limit expires. This mode also uses its own unique stage, which is distinct from the main game modes. When this mode ends, players can put their scores onto the global rankings to challenge other players.
The last thing to cover is the Dryad Memory, which is a special collection mode that allows the player to unlock special items. These are accessed by spending the currency that has been earned from play. The costs for these items varies for each offering, with gallery art, special screen boarders and more as a pretty good incentive to keep playing the game. In general, there is a lot of replay value on offer with this release.
With the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – BIRDCAGE uses a special control system, which functions differently than you would expect for an arcade style bullet hell shooter. The action controls are on the shoulders, with all weapon and special attacks across the top. This set up works well, with the Sword for the HALCYON ship being manually controllable with the right stick, which can take some getting used to. Thankfully there is some auto aim which makes it playable with a range of controllers.
Difficulty – as a bullet hell shooter, BIRDCAGE can be very challenging to play, with the barrage of fire that will rain down on the player. This is common for the genre, but there are multiple difficulty options, as well as the training mode for players to practice. The biggest roadblock for players will be the limited lives, which will lead the player to needing to restart stages often when learning the stages. But it works well and is beatable with enough patience and practice.
Presentation – from a visual perspective, this game feels like it came from the era that inspired it, with sprites and models that are reminiscent of Treasure and CAVE shooters. The game is pleasing to the eye, with enemy attacks and bullets that are easily visible, alongside excellent use of color, as well as Metal Gear style portraits. The sound is also very well made, with an exciting soundtrack and voiced dialogue that is performed during narrative scenes.
Final thoughts – I do enjoy classic bullet hell games, especially those on SEGA and arcade systems. So this was a definite yes when I was offered the game to cover, and I am happy to say it was worth the time. The narrative, setting and general feel of the game works very well, providing a familiar experience that still feels unique and distinct. I quite like this game, it feels pretty good to play, with exciting action and explosive chaotic carnage throughout.
BIRDCAGE isn’t a perfect game, as it has some hiccups to it, like the limited lives that make the game a little frustrating at times. This is due to the repeated restarts that can be needed to get through the game, which can be difficult for players who may not be great at Bullet Hell shooters. This may be off-putting for some players, as they will need to really grind out practice time to get through the game. But in general, I recommend this game to those interested in bullet hell shooters.
In the end, I give BIRDCAGE a final score of 4/5. This is a solid retro styled bullet hell shooter, with a good amount of content and an engaging narrative, alongside solid action, an exciting game feel and a lot of replay value in a modest package. If you want to check this game out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
