Shmup developers really are looking for new, innovative ways to keep you interested, and Schildmaid MX is one of them. Innovative also holds hands with another (s)child in the playground, and that’s Gimmick. I’m pleased to say that that relationship is a no-go here.
For those of you thinking that this could feature a healthy selection of scantily clad ladies, what with it being an Eastasiasoft release and featuring thumbnails that look straight out of Heavy Metal, you might be disappointed. There’s none of that. Aside from playing Twilight Parade: Moonlit Mononoke or reading an actual copy of Heavy Metal, the word for today is nada.
What Schildmaid MX delivers on is a weirdly named title and a really fun shooter that offers an abundance of replay, irrespective of leaderboards and trophies. This is old school in that the game is actually about the gameplay, and not about the mechanics, visuals, or boobs.
Selecting from three different spacecraft, the setup is the usual: a side-scrolling affair of chaining attacks, getting high scores, and defeating a series of behemoths along the way with perseverance and upgraded blasters. Sometimes the options available aren’t noticeably different, though with Schildmaid MX, the limited ships to choose from really do change up play.
Quite possibly because I’m obsessed with Nioh 2 for the umpteenth time, I find this game comparable to that. Though you don’t have a ridiculous amount to choose from and hone your style, the areas of the game are initially locked, and each one you progress through (paid for with in-game currency), the difficulty is significantly different, though with ample rewards. And, like Nioh 2 or any Souls-like, I found myself grinding areas to unlock achievements, learn the mechanics, but more importantly, because I was really enjoying it.
Holding the attack button is one thing, and as fun as that surprisingly is, the trick with Schildmaid MX is to not necessarily avoid attacks, but to embrace them. By allowing your ship to take damage, the shield kicks into overdrive, and your attack levels power up, creating modifiers. While it seems counterintuitive, you then collect blue projectiles to keep up the momentum and devastate the waves of enemies. The caveat? Once you lose that momentum, there’s a window where you’ll be killed one-shot.
I love this idea, which, embarrassingly, took a couple of runs to understand despite the mandatory tutorial. Worse: this game isn’t complex with its controls, so there’s no excuse. The same for building up enough chains where those blue projectiles shift to yellow for ultimate damage and a ludicrous amount of points. Top that with each ship’s special attack, and I see this being one of your go-to indies.
And, what do you do with all those points and currency? As mentioned earlier, you unlock more difficult areas – and it’s not an easy feat. Expect a good number of runs to do that. Besides the levels, there are also ship cosmetics on offer. Sure, it won’t change your game, but it’s nice flying a Borderlands-like bubblegum princess towards the stars. The skinny? Schildmaid MX is great.
