Tenta Shooter - Lewd Shmup

 

Is Tenta Shooter Just Another Boob-em-up or a Legit Shmup Game?

There's shoot-em-ups, cute-em-ups and now lewd-em-ups. The best examples I can think of are from the indie market, I've seen Deep Space Waifu, but I'm sure it's just the tip of the erect iceberg. Indie devs know that there's a market for people that like to see naughty content mixed with their games, and it's usually simpler genres like shmups, puzzles, and visual novels. The naughty pictures, cg's and even dialogue are the reward for progressing in games that people otherwise wouldn't buy, it's the appeal of that special tingly feeling that comes from pixelated naughty bits that's the main draw, usually not well balanced gameplay or design. The reason that I bring up this contentious topic is that Tenta Shooter is a shmup with NSFW content, though it begs the question, is Tenta shooter just another vehicle for adult content, or a solid shooter on it's own?  

From the game's main menu is the typical list of options and game modes. There's two ways to play Tenta Shooter, three if you've already beat the game like I have, humble brag. You've got arcade, Death Mode, and Shock Mode. Most interestingly, the Shock Mode allows you unlock and equip cards. The stat boosting cards really give an advantage in winning the game, so it's the closest you'll get to any kind of saved progress, kind of like a roguelite in this way. Arcade is the most vanilla way to play the game, being more of a typical shmup mode and Death Mode has the damage meter increasing gradually while players fight to replenish their health to stay alive. There's already a lot more going on here than the typical lewd-shooters like the Deep Space Waifu series, but let's get into the gameplay itself. 

At first Tenta Shooter is a little confusing. Thankfully there's an instructional graphic that explains the gameplay basics and the status bars. The two important meters on the game's screen are the Counter and Death meters. Instead of other shmups that has damage taking away lives or a health meter, Tenta Shooter's Death Bar fills with damage, once filled it's game over. No lives or continues, it's back to the game's main screen. Staying alive is top priority, though there's a lot more to survival than just avoiding projectiles, you'll need to use that self-charging Counter ability too. The counter ability absorbs enemy projectiles and returns them in the form or homing missiles for massive damage. There is the ability to control the Counter Ability either on auto or manually, though both require a button press and I couldn't figure out the manual mode, either way, its a vital part of gameplay that can change the tide of battle in an instant. As you can see, there's a lot more going on in Tenta Shooter than some anime boobs. 

I'll admit, some of the bosses are pretty NSFW

The elements of Tenta Shooter are the typical shmup dance of avoiding enemy projectiles while the counter meter is busy charging. Movement speed can be either normal or slowed when using focus fire mode, vital for the finer movements between enemy volleys, not a unique gameplay mechanic, but it's something that well designed shmups often have. The counter meter doesn't completely break the game as you'd expect, later in the game there are some projectiles that pass right through an active counter, so even if you're counting down the seconds and making the most of your counter meter, there's still a need for traditional shmup skills. Your shmup skills are really going to be tested on the bosses, they're the ones spewing both normal and special projectiles like they were on bulk discount. I found the bosses challenging but not as hard as other shmups, closer to middling difficulty. What's not typical about Tenta Shooter is it's subject matter. 

There's no counter bar in real life to deflect the awkward questions about the games on your Steam account. Tenta Shooter isn't simply a lewd shmup, there's a case to be made that it's a solid shmup with lewdness in it, big difference. The actual gameplay sprites and backdrops have their share of phallic imagery and cleavage, some suggestive stuff that'd fit into any "M" rated game without an issue. What's available as free dlc, that can be opted out of, is the addition of the gallery mode's XXX rated pictures that come with each unlocked card. It's not like Tenta Shooter drags this kind of content to the forefront of gameplay and story, but if you go looking in the naughty extras then it's there. The choice is up to you whether or not to install that DLC. 

There's a lot more to Tenta Shooter than it's adult themes, from the counter system to multiple game modes and tight controls it's a solid shmup game that fits in with other conventional bullet-hell titles. The artwork  is full of insects, forests, beefy explosions and a fantasy setting that may not be unique to the genre, though it still has a lot more to offer than some lewd artwork. If you're overlooking this game just because of it's adult content, give it a try, just don't blame me if you install the dlc and opens you to a world of degeneracy. Keep that hand where I can see it Comrade!