Just saying, but I do have a curator page. If you somehow like my remarks about games, you can find more of them here: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44130985-TDP%27s-Gaming-Escapades

I feel like I have to clarify something first:
This game is beautifully made and the rating I have given it, is mainly based on its single player experience. If you want to purchase this game to play it in multiplayer mode with your family or kids, I encourage you to read further.

B.ARK is a shmup game that I bought a very long time ago, but never got around to playing it until recently. The devs claim that the game was inspired by saturday morning cartoons and they surely have accomplished what they had set out to do. But while the game succeeds in nailing the audio and visual aspects, it becomes a divisive title when it comes to the actual gameplay.

Seems like the developers cut no expenses in the presentation department, because the game appears stellar in that regard.
The developers have nailed the saturday morning cartoon looks and feel of the game. The character designs are really kid-friendly, the environments are colorful and not very complex in design, and the animations are absolutely well-done with smooth movements and added little details. The game also starts with a seamless transition to the first and only animated cinematic of the game, which is beautifully made and also features a competent English voice acting.
I have nothing but respect for the devs when it comes to the presentation of the game. It just screams that a lot of love and care was put into making the visuals and animations. However, that only makes one part of the game and gameplay is of importance as well.

Fundamentally, the gameplay is solid and does what you expect from a shmup pretty well. However, I do have some problems with it.
First, sometimes there's too much happening on the screen; as if the game is suddenly experiencing a difficulty spike. You would have some enemies attacking you from behind, some of them from forward, and some of them preparing for a kamikaze attack that goes through terrain (unlike your own shots) while EMP bombs/thunderbolts are about to hit you. In these situations, I encountered lots of moments where I either had no choice but to get hit, or honestly did not know what hit me. There's so much happening on the screen with different colors and in so many directions that you cannot have a clear grasp on the situation.
Now imagine if you have to share this same situation with 2-3 more people on the screen, each firing their guns non-stop and throwing lots of colorful projectiles around. That would create one of the most severe cases of visual clutter you have seen in a shmup game and pave the way for unfair hits even more. Thankfully the friend revive system, a leisure you do not have access to in single player mode, remedies the constant deaths to a degree. However, it does nothing to quell the frustration of not being useful, should any of the players feel that way.
Second, the powerup system makes for an honestly not fun time in single player when you get to the bosses. I'll be honest, I am not a fan of shmup games tying firepower to hitpoints (instead of lives), as I believe they will eventually make the game a chore to play through at parts for the casual audience and those who just want to have fun with a game.
Normally, taking a hit and your weapons powering down doesn't even feel like a problem, as the powerup items are plenty and the enemies don't require much firepower to kill. However, it does become an issue in the boss fights. I don't think weapons getting a power down in multiplayer mode causes much problem because of more players helping the cause, but in single player mode it makes the boss fights a boring chore to go through. When you take enough hits to go back to the first firepower level (which is more common than you think), some of the dodge-heavy bosses like Enyo or Chog become a massive borefest to go through alone.

Unfortunately, it looks like B.ARK is another instance of quality taking over quantity. It will only take you an average amount of 80 minutes to finish the entirety of the game in single player mode, and maybe even less in multiplayer. Because of this, I really cannot bring myself to recommend this game to the passionate/hardcore fans of shmup games. If you are going to play this in local multiplayer mode and preferably with your kids, it might prove to be entertaining and offer a pleasant family gaming time.
But those who play shmups alone and for fun, will not be able to find much value in this game. There are extra item pickups in the game and achievements for beating bosses on higher difficulties, but the former is incredibly easy to find on first playthrough and the latter... well... I have explained before how they feel while playing the game alone. So, this group of players might want to look elsewhere or consider picking the game up on sale.


Beautifully made, yet extremely short. If you want to play it in multiplayer mode and preferably with your kids, it will offer you decent entertainment. Other players however, won't get much out of it.

[quote]Just saying, but I do have a curator page. If you somehow like my remarks about games, you can find more of them here: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44130985-TDP%27s-Gaming-Escapades [/quote] [b]I feel like I have to clarify something first:[/b] This game is beautifully made and the rating I have given it, is mainly based on its single player experience. If you want to purchase this game to play it in multiplayer mode with your family or kids, I encourage you to read further. B.ARK is a shmup game that I bought a very long time ago, but never got around to playing it until recently. The devs claim that the game was inspired by saturday morning cartoons and they surely have accomplished what they had set out to do. But while the game succeeds in nailing the audio and visual aspects, it becomes a divisive title when it comes to the actual gameplay. [h2]Production values are surely high[/h2] Seems like the developers cut no expenses in the presentation department, because the game appears stellar in that regard. The developers have nailed the saturday morning cartoon looks and feel of the game. The character designs are really kid-friendly, the environments are colorful and not very complex in design, and the animations are absolutely well-done with smooth movements and added little details. The game also starts with a seamless transition to the first and only animated cinematic of the game, which is beautifully made and also features a competent English voice acting. I have nothing but respect for the devs when it comes to the presentation of the game. It just screams that a lot of love and care was put into making the visuals and animations. However, that only makes one part of the game and gameplay is of importance as well. [h2]Not really fit for single player, chaotic in multiplayer[/h2] Fundamentally, the gameplay is solid and does what you expect from a shmup pretty well. However, I do have some problems with it. First, sometimes there's too much happening on the screen; as if the game is suddenly experiencing a difficulty spike. You would have some enemies attacking you from behind, some of them from forward, and some of them preparing for a kamikaze attack that goes through terrain (unlike your own shots) while EMP bombs/thunderbolts are about to hit you. In these situations, I encountered lots of moments where I either had no choice but to get hit, or honestly did not know what hit me. There's so much happening on the screen with different colors and in so many directions that you cannot have a clear grasp on the situation. Now imagine if you have to share this same situation with 2-3 more people on the screen, each firing their guns non-stop and throwing lots of colorful projectiles around. That would create one of the most severe cases of visual clutter you have seen in a shmup game and pave the way for unfair hits even more. Thankfully the friend revive system, a leisure you do not have access to in single player mode, remedies the constant deaths to a degree. However, it does nothing to quell the frustration of not being useful, should any of the players feel that way. Second, the powerup system makes for an honestly not fun time in single player when you get to the bosses. I'll be honest, I am not a fan of shmup games tying firepower to hitpoints (instead of lives), as I believe they will eventually make the game a chore to play through at parts for the casual audience and those who just want to have fun with a game. Normally, taking a hit and your weapons powering down doesn't even feel like a problem, as the powerup items are plenty and the enemies don't require much firepower to kill. However, it does become an issue in the boss fights. I don't think weapons getting a power down in multiplayer mode causes much problem because of more players helping the cause, but in single player mode it makes the boss fights a boring chore to go through. When you take enough hits to go back to the first firepower level (which is more common than you think), some of the dodge-heavy bosses like Enyo or Chog become a massive borefest to go through alone. [h2]Extremely short[/h2] Unfortunately, it looks like B.ARK is another instance of quality taking over quantity. It will only take you an average amount of 80 minutes to finish the entirety of the game in single player mode, and maybe even less in multiplayer. Because of this, I really cannot bring myself to recommend this game to the passionate/hardcore fans of shmup games. If you are going to play this in local multiplayer mode and preferably with your kids, it might prove to be entertaining and offer a pleasant family gaming time. But those who play shmups alone and for fun, will not be able to find much value in this game. There are extra item pickups in the game and achievements for beating bosses on higher difficulties, but the former is incredibly easy to find on first playthrough and the latter... well... I have explained before how they feel while playing the game alone. So, this group of players might want to look elsewhere or consider picking the game up on sale. [h2]TL;DR[/h2] Beautifully made, yet extremely short. If you want to play it in multiplayer mode and preferably with your kids, it will offer you decent entertainment. Other players however, won't get much out of it.