Gameplay Tips

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First and foremost, this is a shmup (shoot 'em up), though unique as it's in VR. You can YouTube tips on getting better at shmups, so feel free to check them out. Some tips will be relevant and pay off. A couple tips that helped me were to dominate the space (so, increased bravery in taking on and taking out enemies), immediately target enemies that are super close together as their combo of patterns creates bigger problems otherwise, and find the flow/pattern of enemies in general but especially bosses.

 

Next, you do need to get used to moving your body, as the game advises. Most of the game you don't need to do so, but when giant objects come on screen, not only your Move controllers but you yourself may have to sway side to side or go low or high. Even though there are red grid boundaries, you can make the most of them to go very low or way up or way off to the sides to avoid enemy fire.

 

Finally, you will likely need to do multiple playthroughs. When you go to the Workshop, there's a difference between Charms and Power-ups. Charms should be prioritized as they're permanent. Power-ups, you'll learn, aren't permanent in that they're not your stats. You have to go on patrols, get a power-up, and hope the ones you choose from yield what you'd want. When you're built up enough and really want to beat the game, some that you'll want to prioritize are health (when you're doing Episode 4 and 5 runs with full health, getting extra health early will be very helpful), rate of fire, increased damage, and more drones to fire along. I never found charging shield or freeze bombs faster or having shields last longer did anything consequential so I passed every time.

 

Now for a potpourri of tips:

 

-You should eventually get good enough where Episodes 1-4 are a breeze, except for the Episode 4 boss. By the time you get to that boss, you should be nearly full health - that's how good you should get if you want to beat the game and you're not the kind of gamer who's beating the game on your first run. Aim for nothing less than just about full health by the time you get to Episode 4, at least.

 

-Episode 1 - Save a freeze bomb for the end. You'll know the spot. That's the only place that you might possibly get hit, and go ahead and freeze the two clusters of enemies for a no-hit victory.

 

-Episode 2 - Those horizontal rings that rise up - just stay below them rather than try to hold back as long as you can, hoping they'll rise before you run into them. When they come down purple you may evade them or push Yuki ahead of them before they fall on her. As to the boss, prioritize the right and left targets first. You'll notice if you save the middle one for last the expanding-and-breaking-sphere attack is super wide and easily avoided. As to the rest of the boss battle, go in a clockwise or counterclockwise pattern while continually firing at the boss and ignoring/evading the four enemies targeting you. They're not worth focusing on. Find a way through the giant mess of bullets after the expanding-and-breaking-sphere attack. For me, going lower and moving during the attack toward a side allowed me to avoid the green wave of bullets falling from above while avoiding the two sets of two orange whips of bullets. Hopping over the purple star crests or ducking them was an afterthought and easy.

 

-Episode 3 and 4 - Work on dominating space, taking out enemies immediately when they're spaced right next to each other to make your life worse. Try to go as long as you can when there's a fair number of enemies on screen without resorting to freeze bombs or shield (but please do so when you think you're overwhelmed and about to get hit).

 

-Episode 4 boss - As it turns out, there are patterns that are relatively easy to avoid. When he shoots at you with breath two times while a giant cluster of purple bullets open wider and come at you like a sea of pollen, you can use your side-to-side body motion to get into a rhythm of avoiding the breath blasts and then laser in on darting between the purple bullets. But an easier exploit is to bait the boss into targeting you toward the left or right because as it turns out, you can actually move Yuki outside the entire batch of purple bullets coming your way. Isn't that much easier to do? See for yourself. You should be looking for such patterns with bosses to exploit in shmups.

 

-Episode 5 - A prime time to use freeze bombs is to save them for the multiple rows of faces that don't move but shoot straight forward. There's a better chance at least one will yield health that you may need. Also, get used to going low, especially with obstacles in your face, and working around fire patterns even while low to take enemies out. If you find the ones shooting orange bullets annoying, focus on them. If you find them predictable in tracking you, you can use their predictability to your advantage to stay on the move while taking out the other ones with their bothersome patterns. I like to focus on one enemy until it's dead, even though I'm evading continually. Spreading the wealth didn't help me as more enemies stayed on the screen until one finally died.

 

-Episode 6 - There are a couple of new patterns to deal with - giant shotgun pellet spray, and a trio of green curving but somewhat tight bullet waves that come fast. I like to use a freeze bomb before the first set of doors as the enemies can be problematic in that area. Regardless, if you've built your skill up enough, you will eventually get to the boss with enough health to survive it. The boss has three phases - bells, masks, and a woman. The left-front bell has the more in-your-face patterns IMO and is worth prioritizing. The right front-bell has more of a shotgun style. Take them both out. Try to balance the last two bells evenly so you kill them at the same time rather than save one for last which might go extra crazy on you. You can see their health bars to help you. As to the masks, focus on one at a time. It'll boost your confidence to see progress in taking them out. I start with the one front-and-center. As to the woman, her patterns are fairly easy to avoid. Move Yuki outside of the purple spray and over or under or around the orange waves. If you manage to get to her, you've got the game on its knees. Prevail!

 

-Bonus Tip -  As to Bladewings, I was partial to Tracking Star, which is like homing bullets. They're a little weaker than K1-M1, but I liked being freed up to focus on evasion rather than accurate shooting, even if bosses took a tad longer. But my main advice here is to use the firepower that you think works best for you. Everyone has a different style in shmups. Finding your style will make you even better. Good luck!