The franchises Konami are known for often vary from one individual to the next depending on which era they grew up in. Today they’re commonly referred to as the publisher behind Metal Gear Solid, Contra and Castlevania. Two generations ago, they were on a winning streak with Pro Evolution Soccer, which yearly went up against FIFA. Then back in the ‘90s, they found success with the Tiny Toons and TMNT licenses. It’s easy to forget that amongst all these cherished franchises, they dabbled with shoot’em ups too – with Gradius and Parodius being the most prolific, spawning sequels, handheld iterations, and more.
When it comes to reviving these glory days, arguably many would’ve been satisfied with an HD remaster of the Treasure developed Gradius V. This isn’t the path taken, however; Konami has instead trusted Scottish developer KeelWorks to create something new. Turns out the vertically scrolling CYGNI is a far richer prospect than any back catalogue remaster could ever be, helmed by ex-Pixar VFX artists. Visually, it’s often stunning, featuring richly detailed backdrops, alien craft with intricate designs, along with realistic smoke plumes and other elemental effects. Cut scenes also appear before and after all seven stages, setting the tone.
There’s a lot more to it than simply being a good looker, also being mechanically complex. Overlook CYGNI’s tutorial – amusingly presented like an 8-bit shooter – and chances are you’ll barely make it past the first stage. In fact, I had to replay the tutorial a couple of times over as there’s a lot to take in. It’s perhaps guilty of getting ahead of itself when explaining the basics, detailing upgrades that aren’t unlocked until a couple of hours in, which did result in mild confusion. The first stage is seemingly tough just to prepare you for what’s ahead, making you learn how to stay alive the hard way. Eventually though everything ‘clicks’ – and by this point, it’s likely you’ll be committed to the long haul ahead. The seven stages present last around 15 minutes each, granting just three lives and ending with a boss battle. There are no checkpoints; die on a boss, and you’re back to the main menu. Because of this structure and the challenging difficulty, each stage generally took me an hour’s worth of attempts to beat.
Let’s rewind back to CYGNI’s mechanics. Fundamentally, your female-piloted spacecraft can fire rapidly, use homing missiles, and attack ground troops waging war below. Nothing too complex there, but it’s also possible to direct the main cannon with the right analogue stick, ala a twin stick shooter, and aim the ground missiles manually. Then throughout battle, pick-ups are frequently dropped, restoring your energy gauge. This is where things become a bit more technical, as energy can be reallocated by pressing LB and RB, putting power reserves into the shield or to increase firepower. The amount of homing missiles also plays into this juggling act, forcing you to risk losing a life quickly in return for superior firepower. As only three lives are granted, boss battles can be incredibly tense, trying to stay alive by dodging bullets while the boss’ health percentage slowly dwindles – with a colossal explosion as your reward.
Any surplus pick-ups gained while at full capacity can be spent on upgrades. This is a very slow process, and the upgrade screen doesn’t do the best job of indicating where your valuable tokens should be spent. A few upgrades aren’t even available until several hours in, although the Arcade Mode – which unlocks after stage six – will let you pick and choose from a fully unlocked assortment. The first (cheapest) upgrades aren’t so much an improvement; they’re new bullet formations, including a three-way shot. These can be swapped between, allowing for welcome experimentation, and are again linked to the energy gauge.
The seven stages are different in their own way. The first stage begins with a neon cityscape, and as mentioned, is quite tough due to having sub-bosses. It sets the tone well, with the ground battles making it feel as if you’re part of a larger war, not on a one man (well, woman) crusade. A few other stages are narrower, restricting movement, and see you alternating between ground battles and aerial combat to generate extra pick-ups. Another has debris with trajectories that can be altered using firepower.
You’re up against swarms of twitchy, speedy, alien vessels with insect-like mindsets. The screen scrolls slowly, and is almost constantly full of things to shoot, with even larger enemies being instantly replaced the moment one is killed, like a never ending production line. Bosses have bullet-hell elements and are usually shielded initially, taking a good 2-3 minutes of blasting and bullet avoidance to whittle their health to zero. The second boss is a highlight, formed of gears that grind and spark.
There are a few things to become invested in, including unlockable badges, score chasing and leaderboard conquering, plus co-op play and the Arcade Mode – which has greater scope for experimentation, requiring numerous retries to beat. Easy Mode is manageable with practice, while Normal and Hard Modes are for those who want to see and unlock everything. The polished presentation and long runtime (by genre standards) make the £25 price tag reasonable – it feels like a natural evolution of the genre, in terms of mechanics and visual prowess.
If you’re a fan of the genre it’s close to essential as its faults are relatively few, such as the occasional unbalanced wave of enemies (being attacked from behind without warning led to mild cursing) and the lengthier final stage lacking in dramatic set-pieces. It reminded me of first playing Treasure’s Ikaruga, which isn’t a moment in time I thought I’d ever be transported back to, especially when most modern shooters favour pixel art. It’ll be interesting to see what KeelWorks does next, whether it’s a sequel or being trusted with one of Konami’s classic franchises. Until then, CYGNI won’t just scratch that shooter itch – it’ll leave your trigger fingers sore and your heart racing. And no, that isn’t hyperbole. It’ll genuinely do both.
KeelWorks’ CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is out now on PS5, Xbox Series and PC, availably digitally and at retail. Published by KONAMI.