Buy DiadraEmpty

Game-breaking bugs only present in Rockin' Android's Steam version. Has been acknowledged as an issue since August '15 or earlier, albeit only in the comments thread of an old update. No fix or ETA for a fix as of January '16. No public statement. Getting ahold of customer service is like pulling teeth. I can't recommend anyone purchases this or any other Rockin' Android game until they change the way they support their products and treat their customers.

I was really interested in trying this game out, but it's hard to enjoy this with common bugs that have been around for months, which Rockin' Android doesn't even acknowledge, and which I heard aren't present in non-Steam versions. I'm going to keep this review here and not buy anymore RA games until they fix it, which is a shame because I was considering gifting someone Suguri Collection.

GREAT Game, but steam ver is too buggy!

Update (16th August 2015):
I'm changing this to Not Recommended for reasons explained below.

It seems that an update breaks the game, allowing you to shoot absurdly more bullets than you normally could. As a result, most bosses can be shot down in about half the time you're supposed to take (or even less depending on your shot type). Also for some reason, pressing certain buttons makes the character shoot in a specific direction instead of my desired direction. I'm not sure if it's due to the strafing settings (I chose the third one) or it's because I play the game with the gamepad/controller. Either way, this NEEDS to be fixed before I can recommend this game again.

Until these issues are patched out or someone can recommend a solution, I do not recommend getting this game. Sorry.

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ORIGINAL REVIEW (Recommended at the time):

Diadra Empty is an obscure and awesome free-roaming bullet hell shooter unlike most other games in the recent years.

The game allows you to use up to two different weapons to shoot stuff, in which you will even unlock more as you keep playing. You are also allowed to dash to be temporarily invincible to cover against most bullet waves and can be used as an attack. Should you get hit by an enemy or a bullet, there's a Defense mechanic where shields you from losing a life once until it recharges back to full. The game also has an upgrade system where you use up gathered coins to power up certain things such as your weapon shots or movement speed. You will definitely be playing this game more times not only to unlock more weapons to choose from but also to unlock other game modes (haven't tried them yet as of this review) and as well as more useful tips in the main menu. There are a few bugs here and there (Results Screen displaying incorrectly is one of them) but none of them affects the gameplay so far. Also, you should NEVER hit the Escape button if you play this game with your keyboard.

The soundtrack is also pretty good and it blends in with the game's atmosphere.

There's not much else I can say here and it's extremely hard for me to express the game in words. I'd recommend watching the trailer in the store page to see it for yourself (There are a few gameplay videos of this game on YouTube, but there's also a longplay of it by Rockin' Android if you're interested.). I don't know if there is a demo present, but you're free to explore around to find it. This game was on Steam Greenlight but there was no mentioning of the game's release for over a year. Thus, the game became obscured within the depths of Steam.

This review may be updated once I've play a couple more times in this game and/or something else happens here.

A good bullet hell game does not need a long story
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Maybe a long review? I don't even.

Game control 6/10
Pausing mechanism is slightly annoying that you have to use S key to pause instead of ESC key. Which this ESC key directly brings you back to your desktop and results in you staring at your desktop for full 10 seconds and asking yourself isn't ESC the pause key?

Game play 8/10
Standard bullet hell game, however, it does introduce an upgrade system allows you to upgrade your character's abilities. Since you can only control one character, the game provides you new weapon every time when you level up 3 full levels until you successfully unlocked every type of options. As for game play itself, screen full of bullets and enemies are expected. However, the game uses turbo movement(makes the character move faster) instead of precise movement(makes the character move slower), results in easier to escape from enemies but harder to fight the bosses since it gets harder to approach bosses while avoiding bullets. Overall the game flows really well as a bullet hell game, however, I do not appreciate the game throws three bosses into my face in a row.

User Interface 5/10
It is user friendly, shows all the controls upon player starting the game. However, a major problem is the game provides you the option to use ESC to exit the game and P key to pause the game. This is not really a problem until players realize using ESC to exit the game will not save the player's status. In order to save the status, player is required to use the Exit option in the menu, rendering ESC key completely useless or downright annoying. Art style is enjoyable.

Background Music 7/10
It fits the genre of bullet hell games, which is similar to Touhou project in my opinion. An audio setting option will be nice though, really.

Overall 7/10 Slightly annoying UI
Otherwise, this game should be a refreshing game if you like bullet hell games or want to try this type of games.

a relaxing and beautiful SHMUP.

everything from the colors, the BGM, the aesthetics; the serenely floating luminescent atmosphere... even in a rain of bullets, i feel at peace here.

Game is awesome, but a myriad of bugs and issues prevent it for being a recommendable purchase.
Avoid the Steam Release

Pros:

• so many bullets
  
• beautiful soundtrack
  
• huge replay value
  
• multiple loadout combinations
  
• pedobear. seriously
  
• insanely fun
  
• extra level is basically all the bosses at once plus 20,000 enemies

Cons:

• very buggy achievements, breaking multiple of them and preventing 100%
  
• the loadout has some inferior choices leading you to use the same loadout often
  
• hasn't been patched in ages albeit the devs recognize the flaws
  
• extra level is basically all the bosses at once plus 20,000 enemies

Overall an extremely fun game that I wouldn't mind sinking 100+ hours into
9/10
Edit: I sunk 100+ hours into it

Might just be me, but I found this to be one of the most beautiful SHMUPs I have ever played. It's hard to precisely express what it is about this game that got me to feel this way, but to make an attempt: its atmosphere, music, and story about Nyalra's desperate struggle to be reunited with her sister against a seemingly endless horde of... things, all build up to a powerful experience that should be experienced by all SHMUP fans looking for something a bit offbeat. This game builds a world that sucked me in and brought me on quite the emotional rollercoaster. Mechanics wise it's also fun. There are a lot of options and weapon types to choose from and there's a lot of replayability to be had.

It's a shame that this game is currently mired with bugs that haven't been addressed yet. Throughout the game I faced the bug that just lets your weapon keep shooting even if you aren't pressing the fire button. I really wish Rockin' Android would fix some of these issues and other issues in other past titles because they have some great games worth playing, but you'll have to deal with issues to play them.

The excessive autofire while merely moving in a direction makes it extremely easy, and as a result unplayable. That's a shame, because I know it would be an enjoyable experience, different than any other shmup.
Thank you Rockin' Android for not caring about your customers.